DR. ARAM Amassian, Assistant Professor

of Materials Science and Engineering,

and a team of KAUST and international

scientists recently published a paper in

Nature Communications describing a novel

crystallization process of organic molecules

(doi:10.1038/ncomms4573). This process

has potentially wide-ranging applications

in the electronics, pharmaceutical, and

food industries.

Their paper explains the production of

“strained organic semiconductors,” a type of

organic semiconductor which may lead to

the creation of high performance, low-cost,

flexible, and transparent electronic devices

and displays on large area substrates.

To produce the semiconductors, organic

molecules are dissolved into a solution

and the resulting liquid is spread on a flat

surface using a squeegee-like contraption.

The trailing liquid dries, leaving behind a

remarkably well-ordered, highly continuous

thin film with unusual structures and unique

electrical properties.

Stanford Professor of Chemical Engineering

Dr. Zhenan Bao discovered strained organic

semiconductors several years ago, when

she demonstrated that they were among the

fastest plastic electronics at the time. Dr.

Bao’s research team wanted to understand

how the process she pioneered created such

an electronically useful crystal lattice. To

do this, they sought the expertise of Prof.

Amassian, who specializes in studying

the formation of organic thin films for

electronics and solar energy.

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology at Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

www.kaust.edu.sa

BEACONthe ة املنـار

May 2014 / Rajab 1435 Volume 4, Issue No. 8

“SQUEEGEE” METHOD | Continued on p7

TRIPLE HELIX | Continued on p4

KAUST’S TTI | Continued on p3

عقد المجلس االستشاري الصناعي لجامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية اجتماعه السنوي الخامس بتاريخ 26 و 27 من شهر فبراير لعام 2014 في مقر الجامعة، في ثول، بحضور أعضاء المجلس من سعودية شركة 27 يمثلون والذين الدولية و المحلية الشخصيات ودولية فضاًل عن خمس قطاعات حكومية. ويعتبر االجتماع الخامس للمجلس حدثا مهمًا للنهوض باألبحاث التي تتم في جامعة الملك عبداهلل، إضافة إلى التطوير التعاوني لنتائج هذه األبحاث. ويهدف القطاع بين المثمرة الشراكات واستمرارية تقوية إلى المجلس والقطاع االقتصادية التنمية وأهداف وأنشطة واألكاديمي البحثي والخبرات والمساهمة في تطوير تبادل األفكار الصناعي من خالل

اقتصاد المملكة العربية السعودية. والعروض النقاش حلقات من العديد العام هذا اجتماع تخلل و عبداهلل الملك جامعة في التدريس هيئة أعضاء قدمها التي الفرصة بإتاحة تميز المشاركة. كما الصناعية الشركات وممثلي العليا اإلدارة مع فقط ليس والحوار للتفاعل المجلس ألعضاء اآلخرين المجلس أعضاء مع أيضا ولكن عبداهلل، الملك لجامعة الملك عبد اهلل جان-لو شامو اليه رئيس جامعة - وهو ما أشار بأنه أحد الجوانب المهمة في هذا االجتماع مؤكدًا ضرورة تفعيله بين التواصل فرص من المزيد وإتاحة القادمة االجتماعات في

المنظمات والقطاعات المشاركة. تتمه صفحة 4

KAUST’s first open-source product, KUBE, was developed

by Craig Kapfer in collaboration with his team in IT. KUBE

is a benchmarking framework for analyzing performance of

software applications and systems. It is a Linux application

designed to reliably benchmark systems over time. The metrics

used to measure a given application or system are user-

defined, allowing the user to test for performance, accuracy,

and scalability.

Kapfer joined KAUST in 2010 as a Computational Scientist,

and developed KUBE while in the IT department. He’s also

one of the recent scientists to have a technology licensed via

KAUST’s Technology Transfer and Innovation (TTI) department.

Kapfer recently joined the Computational Bioscience Research

Center, where he plans to continue using KUBE.

“I’ve worked on many other types of software in the past,

but this is the first one that has gone from initial concept to an

official licensed open source release,” said Kapfer.

IN HIS presentation as part of the 5th annual meeting of the

KAUST Industry Advisory Board (KIAB) in February, H.E.

Dr. Abdulrahman M. Al-Ibrahim, Governor, Saline Water

Conservation Corporation (SWCC), emphasized the strategic

importance of partnerships with KAUST and KAUST Industry

Collaboration Program (KICP) partners. KICP includes 34

industry members and five honorary members representing key

Saudi quasi-government entities, and is the primary conduit for

engaging industry in collaborative research with faculty. Dr.

Al-Ibrahim noted that KAUST and its robust partnerships with

industry and organizations like SWCC are key to transferring

knowledge and innovation.

SWCC is not interested in “black box” solutions, Dr.

Al-Ibrahim stated, reiterating the importance of developing

human capital to localize and improve on holistic systems.

The approach of integrating waste-heat and renewable energy-

driven desalination demands interdisciplinary, “triple helix”

partnerships among industry, academia, and government

agencies, he explained, and such collaborations are the hallmark

of KAUST, as exemplified by KIAB.

KAUST hosted a two-day event on March 26-27 to recognize

and celebrate the University's innovative global alliances first

established by the Global Collaborative Research (GCR) program.

The GCR program was launched in 2007 and helped introduce the

University to the world by involving over 30 institutions from Asia,

Europe, and North America in the development of KAUST's research

programs and infrastructure.

TRIPLE HELIX FRAMEWORK FOR INNOVATION AT WORK

االجتماع السنوي اخلامس للمجلس االستشاري الصناعي يف جامعة امللك

)KIAB( عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية

Researchers have created a novel way to do time-lapse studies of crystallization that could lead to more flexible and effective electronic displays, circuits, and pharmaceutical drugs.

SQUEEGEE METHOD LETS TEAM SEE TINY CRYSTALS FORM

GCR SYMPOSIUM | Continued on p5

KAUST’S TTI OPENS DOORS FOR SCIENTIST’S OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE

GCR SYMPOSIUM ENDS WITH INSPIRING POSTER COMPETITION

INSIDE: Research 4-7 Community 8News 1-3

President Jean-Lou Chameau, Director of OCRF Teofilo Abrajano, and research scientist John Archer at the poster session

Craig Kapfer

Crystallization captured on camera

VISUAL COMPUTING SUMMIT BRINGS EXPERTS TO SPEAK AT KAUST THE VISUAL Computing Center hosted a Visual Computing Summit at the University on April

14-15. Assembling a diverse array of experts from KAUST and international universities and

organizations, including the University of California, University College London, the University

of Hong Kong, INRIA, and Sandia National Laboratories, the summit enabled KAUST faculty

and students to engage with industry representatives, professors, and researchers through a

variety of academic seminars and lectures. Topics covered included computational imaging,

visualization, vision and tracking, and modeling and capture.

UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY FACULTY VISIT KAUST FOR SYMPOSIUM FOCUSING ON JOINT COLLABORATIONS

THE PHYSICAL Sciences and Engineering (PSE) Division and the University of Sydney hosted a joint

symposium on “Enhancing Research Collaborations” at the University on April 10.

Featuring presentations by visiting academics from the University of Sydney and members

of the KAUST academic faculty, including Prof. Karl Leo, Director of the KAUST Solar &

Photovoltaics Engineering Research Center (SPERC); Zhiping Lai, Associate Professor of Chemical

and Biological Engineering; and Osman Bakr, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and

Engineering, the symposium was divided into three general sessions focusing on materials,

energy, and water.

The symposium also included a poster session and competition which featured the work of over

30 students, postdoctoral fellows, and research scientists. The winner of the poster competition

was Dr. Osama Shekhah, a Senior Research Scientist in Prof. Mohamed Eddaoudi’s Functional

Materials Design, Discovery & Development (FMD3) group. His first prize-winning poster was

entitled “Liquid-Phase Epitaxy Approach for the Synthesis and Growth of MOFs Thin Films: An

Emerging Platform for Diverse Applications.”

University of Sydney Professor Archie Johnston, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and IT,

who also presented during the event, noted in his welcome remarks that the University of Sydney

finds it critical to “forge relationships with different parts of the world…We want to explore

relationships within the Kingdom, and this is a driving force of our presence at this symposium.”

He added that working with the University is an “exciting journey, as our relationship has a

purpose, and the purpose is to do real things by bringing together young, bright minds from our

institutions to address the world’s key problems.”

2014 'ARTISTS OF KAUST ' EXHIBITION SHOWCASES COMMUNITY’S ARTISTIC TALENTS

THE UNIVERSITY Library served as the inspiring setting for the 5th annual Artists of KAUST

exhibition, which ran from April 20 - May 12. Showcasing the diverse artistic talents of the KAUST

community, the exhibition featured works of art in a variety of media from community members

of all ages.

“As each year passes, [our] community grows, and this year we had over 100 works from

over 50 artists from many different countries,” said Molly Tamarkin, Library Director. “We see

[the exhibition] as an opportunity for everyone to gather and appreciate the variety of artistic

expressions from people of different cultural backgrounds.”

The opening night reception on April 20 enabled the artists to discuss their works with

interested visitors.

“I’m happy because the exhibition enables recognition for my art, and I treasure the new

friends I make in sharing my work,” said Eduard Artificio, an employee with Saudi Oger, whose

pencil and charcoal drawings “Malala Yousafzai” and “Gabriel” appeared in the show.

Adel Alrefaie, Translator in the University’s Communications Department, noted his pen-and-

ink drawing “The King’s Dream” was inspired by the University itself. “There is beauty here

everywhere; in people, buildings, and in the landscape,” he said.

Eugene Talisayon, an employee at the Library’s café, showcased photographs of his “Latte Art.”

“This is the first time I joined the art exhibition, although I never thought of my latte designs as

a form of art – I was just having fun making them,” he said. “I’m really happy people appreciate

what I’ve done, and the exhibition shows off some exciting work from other artists!”

Participants of the 2014 Artists of KAUST exhibit included Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2

students from the Harbor Elementary School visual art classes and the following individuals:

Amal Aboulhassan

Adel Alrefaie

Zaira Aquino

Eduard Artifico

Lucy Ashdown

Pas Ashwell

Andrea Bachofen-Echt

Abeer Bakhsh

Abhinay Bhoje

Cindy Bohorquez

Catherine Buttner

John Cassell

Miko Chato

Louis Courtois

Walaa Eissa

Muhammad Hakim

Yudian Huang

Amina Hussin

News2 May 2014 The Beacon

THE SPRING months have kept the University community busy, with a host of events,

symposia, and innovative scientific discoveries taking place across the University’s

academic divisions.

From the KAUST Industry Advisory Board (KIAB) meeting, to the Global Collaborative

Research (GCR) program and poster symposium, to research papers published by the groups

of Drs. Aram Amassian, Niveen Kashab, and Husam Alshareef, the academic community has

been hard at work in the lead up to the end of the academic year in May.

Additionally the wider KAUST community celebrated its commitment to the preservation of the

environment in March and April, taking part in three “green” events that brought the community

together to save water, conserve electricity, and learn how to be better “green” citizens.

The Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 8, May 2014. Published by The Communications Department, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. Contact Salah Sindi salah.sindi@kaust.edu.sa, or Michelle D'Antoni michelle.dantoni@kaust.edu.sa © King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Printed on partially recycled paper.

—THE BEACON Editorial

Babelyn April Inocencio

BarbieInocencio

Tong Jian

Hugo Jimeniz

Tamara Jones

Craig Kershaw

Nikki Ketterer

Anastasia Khrenova

Minna Lehvaslaiho

Matias Lehvaslaiho

India Lehvaslaiho

Ryan Luebke

Yada Madhava

Sherif Mahmoud

Marios Mantzourogiannis

Genevieve McCabe

Chris Newns

Catherine Owen

Michelle Ponto

Temille Porter

Evgeniya Predybaylo

Jerry Raj

Hafiz S

Dania S

Madiha S

Nada Suleimani

Eugene Talisayon

Ludivine Thomas

Chaido Tzirini

Rachel Weitzman-Yeh

Rebecca Williams

Liangfeng Yao

Students, research scientists, and postdoctoral fellows discuss their research posters during the KAUST/ Sydney Symposium

Photos: Kenana Dahlan

“IF YOU’RE going to be in the consumer space, sell the product and

then make it. Not the other way around. It may sound like a crazy

way of doing things but there are mechanisms that allow you to do

this these days,” said Sonny Vu, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur

and CEO of Misfit Wearables, at a talk on campus in March.

As part of New Ventures Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, Vu

spoke about the central role of design in our technology-driven

global economy.

Vu’s philosophy and approach to start-up product launches

mirror the training pillars of KAUST’s own Entrepreneurship

Center, which teaches emerging entrepreneurs to validate their

product ideas directly with the customers before launching a

business. Referring to the book The Lean Startup, Vu believes in

rapidly prototyping a new product idea and “being relentlessly

focused on getting user feedback and minimizing the cost of

experimentations in order to be able to learn cheaper and faster."

CROWDFUNDING AND THE WEARABLE SPACE

“The approach of 'build it and they will come' is not a very

smart way of doing things,” Vu argues. He suggests that any

new product “must be an enjoyable user experience that will

make the customer want to come back again and again.”

This philosophy was behind the success of Vu’s previous

company, AgaMatrix. The Company’s groundbreaking product,

launched in 2010, was a self-powered glucose meter, and became

the world’s first iPhone-connected hardware medical device,

which diabetic users could easily carry with them.

Following the commercial success of the product, Vu’s belief

was reinforced that the growing wearable space was the way to

go for his next company.

“The advent of mobile Internet has redefined how data sensors

are used. The big move that we’ve seen in recent years has been

in ambient sensing,” he explained. Much of the current traction

and consumer interest in the ambient sensor technology space is

in the fitness, health, and wellness areas. Those trends informed

his decision to create a wearable activity monitor, the Shine.

Unlike many of his competition’s activity monitor devices,

made out of plastic, the Shine was designed to be stylish and

simple enough to be worn by the users on their wrists or chest

to go anywhere. When you think about it, he says, “Who would

want to wear plastic?” The elegant device he created is a small

dish-shaped metal activity monitor. It does not require charging,

has no wires, and requires no syncing cables. It’s also waterproof

to 50 meters, which makes it popular with swimmers.

His new company, Misfit Wearables, did not initially go through

the traditional venture capital funding route. They instead opted

to raise their $100,000 funding goal through online crowdfunding.

Interestingly, within nine and a half hours, they had met their

fundraising goal. This was accomplished with just a YouTube

video embedded on their crowdfunding page and without a

PR firm or marketing budget. “Immediately I thought: this is a

product that people are going to want,” Vu recounts.

A CUSTOMER-FOCUSED APPROACH TO DESIGN

As was the case for the iPhone-connected glucose monitor,

the rollout of the Shine activity monitor was very much design-

oriented. And, as Vu theorizes, the best way to devise a design

strategy for any product is to observe people’s behavior.

By designing an easily portable medical device connecting to

the iPhone, Vu’s previous company responded to the observable

fact that many diabetics didn’t test enough because they left

their glucose meters at home. However, these same people

would rarely forget their iPhone. A physical connection to a

device ensures that the user has it with them all the time. “So we

saw glucose testing rates skyrocket,” Vu said, once his product

allowed diabetic users to turn their iPhone into a glucose meter.

So design, informed by customer behavior, was able to transform

an entire industry.

THE ROLE AND THE FUTURE OF DATA

We’ve come through the era of the PCs in the ‘80s, the Internet

in the ‘90s, and mobile and the social revolution in the 2000s.

The big discussion right now in Silicon Valley and elsewhere

in the world, as Vu posits, is around data. “We now have the

unprecedented opportunity to collect an enormous amount of

data about ourselves and about people in general,” he adds.

Moreover, that data is readily sharable.

So in addition to design, Vu determined that in order for his

company to stay relevant in an increasingly crowded space, he

needed to focus on “making it about having better data.” The

more an activity monitor, such as the Shine, can be viewed by

the user as “beautify and invisible,” the more he or she will

instinctively keep using it.

Once such a device is adopted long-term and is able to

collect a year’s worth of uninterrupted data for instance,

much valuable information can be gleaned. For example, a

user can determine that they don’t sleep enough on Thursday

nights. Additionally, the data can show the resulting long-term

effects if the user continues on that same path.

“Our objective has always been to make great wearable

products; things that are worn all the time by a lot of people for

a long time,” said Vu. After that information has been collected,

“it’s about making the data very useful,” he concludes.

News 3May 2014www.kaust.edu.sa

“The approach of build it and they will come, is not a very smart way of doing things”

– Sonny Vu, CEO of Misfit Wearables

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT, EVEN IN DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

KUBE has historical time reporting and visualization capabilities and integrates with batch

scheduling systems used for large HPC systems. “This allows you to see if your application or

system has been improving or degrading over time. In addition, the software allows the user to

define tolerances, so you can monitor system performance or accuracy over time and setup an

alert if it goes outside the user-defined tolerances,” Kapfer said.

Kapfer provided creative and technical direction for KUBE, along with former KAUST employee

Jorge Naranjo. “KUBE is ideal for any computational lab or computing center that is interested

in benchmarking applications, hardware, or eliminating faults in their software stack. Plus the

historical time reporting features in KUBE have not been done anywhere else,” said Kapfer.

“When the software was ready, I wasn’t sure about how to go about distributing it officially.

KUBE is a niche product with a small market, but it’s highly useful and fills a unique need.” said

Kapfer. “I met with KAUST’s Legal Department and they advised regarding types of open-source

licenses. They then referred me to Technology Transfer and Innovation (TTI) to discuss options

for licensing.”

TTI manages, protects, and commercializes KAUST’s intellectual property. The department

conducted an official evaluation of the technology to be sure it wasn’t a commercial project

and they assisted Kapfer through the process. “I first approached TTI in December 2013 and we

received the license in March. The whole process happened very quickly and that’s a credit to

everyone involved, especially Legal and TTI,” Kapfer said.

Now that KUBE has been licensed it may be used and developed by collaborators around the

world. “Until now, KUBE has been developed internally but now it is freely available. We built

it due to a perceived need and it is filling a gap in application and system benchmarking and

we will continue adding features,” he said.

KUBE is scheduled to be released later this year.

KAUST’S TTI | Continued from p1

Have you been checking The Lens?The Lens is the University’s official blog , providing a one-stop shop for news, announcements, links, and contacts. Available to ALL in the community (faculty, students, employees, and spouses) without a login,

it can be accessed by anyone through the KAUST network.

Visit http://thelens.kaust.edu.sa to find:

Announcements | Upcoming events | News about KAUSTComprehensive list of University links | Useful contact information

Sonny Vu

Wearable activity monitor devices

IN 2013, Assistant Professor of Chemical

Sciences and Engineering Dr. Niveen Khashab

prepared some of her lab’s nanomaterials for a

biomedical application that turned

out to not be safe. But instead of

giving up on the research, she

thought: “Instead of throwing this

material away, why don’t we try to

use it as fillers?”

Dr. Khashab makes it sound

simple, but taking an idea designed for one

application and transforming it into something

useful in an entirely different industry isn’t

easy. And before her Controlled Release and

Delivery Lab could even consider the idea,

they had to find an industrial partner that

would be interested.

“What is really nice and what KAUST gives

us is this mingling with industry and companies

where we can see how our research could be

applied,” Dr. Khashab said. “I knew that SABIC

(Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) was doing

a lot of interesting, novel material research and

they were interested in compositing different

nanomaterials in plastic. I thought it would be

neat to try and composite our functionalized

nanomaterials,” she explained.

Dr. Khashab says she came to the idea of using

their nanotubes for something else after looking

at literature. “I learned that many people have

been using them as fillers. Of course our system

still needed to be modified,” she said.

For years, scientists have had the idea of using

nanomaterials in composites, but one of the big

problems with nanomaterials is their tendency

to aggregate. “When they aggregate, they come

together forming a clog or a clump. When you

want to put them inside a polymer matrix you

don’t want clumps of things. You want them to

be uniformly dispersed in the matrix,” she said.

“You don’t want a plastic that is a conductor on

one end and an insulator on the other.”

Throughout the last decade, researchers have

been experimenting with different physical

routes, different additives, and different

materials to try to solve this aggregation

problem. Dr. Khashab’s lab discovered a way to

do this that was superior to many of the others

on the market. Their results were published in

Applied Materials and Interfaces in January

2014. The team hopes they can commercialize it.

But while the new research is a great “win,”

Dr. Khashab says the experience and knowledge

she gained while working with SABIC on this

project was invaluable.

“When you work in academia you develop

a lot of projects you think are innovative and

interesting. But when you work with somebody

who knows the market and knows processing, it

gives you a brand new perspective that can help

you out and help your design,” she said.

She goes on to say that working with industry

is not like working with another academic. There

are some limits on how much you are allowed

to know due to company policies, but when it

comes to creativity, working with SABIC pushed

her creative boundaries. “When you work with

industry, in terms of your materials of choice

and your method of making the product, you

need to take into account scalability. You need

to think that this will be scaled-up and it needs

to be cost-effective. It gives you a different

perspective compared to what you normally

would do for the sake of pure research,” she said.

Dr. Khashab is now hoping to establish

more one-on-one projects with SABIC to keep

advancing the lab’s work with composites and

developing new types. She says these will also

be based on modified nanomaterials, but more

focused on certain applications.

“This project made me grow as a junior

faculty member. I learned more things about

composites that I didn’t know before. It was a

learning experience,” she said.

The BeaconResearch4 May 2014

KIAB was established to ensure ongoing

alignment of the University’s academic, research,

and economic development activities and goals

with industry. The advisory board’s members

represent 27 Saudi and international corporations

and five quasi-government entities. The 5th KIAB

meeting was an important event in advancing

research and collaboratively developing research

results for potential deployment in the Kingdom.

This year’s KIAB meeting featured numerous

opportunities for members of the board to

interact not only with KAUST faculty and

management, but also with each other – an

aspect KAUST President Jean-Lou Chameau

noted was important, adding that next year’s

event would provide even more opportunities

for the organizations to network and

strengthen relationships. KAUST functioning

as a connector and convener across the value

chain is critical in fostering the Kingdom’s

emerging innovation ecosystem.

Panel discussions and different talks and

presentations by KAUST faculty and corporate

representatives from industry featured

prominently in this year’s activities. Fuad

Mohammed Mosa, General Manager, Global

Corporate Programs and Research and Innovation

Centers, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation

(SABIC), emphasized myriad opportunities created

by SABIC’s tenancy at KAUST in bridging the gap

between the University’s research and industry.

The role played by students in achieving the

University’s economic development mission was

also a focal point of the event’s presentations. The

results of a Saudi Aramco project led by KAUST

graduates now employed by the company at

KAUST’s Innovation Cluster were highlighted by

Dr. Ashraf Ghazzawi, Manager of Saudi Aramco’s

Research & Development Center (R&DC). The three

KAUST graduates designed, built, and field-tested

a smart robotic device that monitors the integrity

of difficult-to-access hydrocarbon pipes and

vessels. The successful technology was designed,

developed, and deployed at an accelerated pace.

In his closing remarks, President Chameau noted

the University’s desire to strengthen long-term

partnerships with industry to further mutually

beneficial interactions. “We want our faculty and

students actively participating in collaborations

that further their intellectual curiosity and offer

them opportunities to accelerate great ideas,” he

stated. “If we can provide this environment, they

will be excited to work with our partners and

vice-versa.”

President Chameau also added that KIAB and

the University’s interaction with industry is

“helping open doors to the Kingdom for more

value-driven industry partnerships.”

كما أكد معالي محافظ المؤسسة العامة لتحلية عبدالرحمن الدكتور ،)SWCC( المالحة المياه االجتماع، هذا في له حديث في إبراهيم آل جامعة مع االستراتيجية الشراكات أهمية على الملك عبداهلل وأعضاء برنامج التعاون الصناعي في الجامعة )KICP(، والذي يضم 34 عضوا في هيئات يمثلون شرف أعضاء وخمسة الصناعة حكومية رئيسية، ويعتبر حلقة وصل بين القطاع ذلك في بما للجامعة البحثي والكيان الصناعي الجامعة وشركاء البحث ومراكز التدريس هيئة الدكتور معالي وأشار األكاديمي. القطاع في مع للجامعة القوية الشراكات إلى إبراهيم آل تعتبر الشراكات هذه مثل أن وكيف الصناعة مفتاح نقل المعرفة واالبتكار. واستشهد بشراكة المياه لتحلية العامة المؤسسة مع الجامعة الجامعة به تقوم الذي الكبير والدور المالحة لتطوير الكوادر البشرية وتوطين وتحسين النظم تحلية منهج أن الدكتور معالي وأفاد الشاملة. إلى يحتاج المتجددة الطاقة باستخدام المياه الصناعة بين التخصصات، متعددة شراكات الحكومية والهيئات األكاديمية، والمؤسسات األطراف المتعددة الشراكات من النوع وهذا مظلة تحت عبداهلل الملك جامعة في متوفر

. )KICP( برنامج التعاون الصناعي بالجامعةوكان لشركاء الصناعة في جامعة الملك عبداهلل حضور الفت من خالل أغلب العروض التقديمية فؤاد محمد السيد االجتماع. حيث تحدث في العالمية الشركات لبرامج العام المدير موسى، ومراكز األبحاث واالبتكار، في الشركة السعودية

للصناعات األساسية )سابك(، عن الفرص الكثيرة التي نشأت من خالل التعاون بين سابك وجامعة الملك عبداهلل والتي كان لها دور كبير في سد

الفجوة بين األبحاث والصناعة.وكان الدور الذي لعبه طلبة جامعة الملك عبداهلل للجامعة االقتصادية التنمية مهمة تحقيق في حاضرًا في االجتماع وشكل نقطة محورية للنقاش والعروض التقديمية. حيث عرض الدكتور أشرف لألبحاث السعودية أرامكو مركز مدير الغزاوي، والتطوير، أبرز نتائج مشروع شركة أرامكو والذي الملك عبداهلل ثالثة من خريجي جامعة يقوده هم من موظفي أرامكو اآلن ويعملون في مجمع االبتكار بالجامعة . حيث قاموا خالل فترة قصيرة تفحص يستطيع ذكي روبوت وبناء بتصميم يصعب التي األماكن في النفط أنابيب سالمة

الوصول إليها. كما تحدث رئيس جامعة الملك عبداهلل، الدكتور شامو عن رغبة الجامعة في إنشاء شراكات طويلة من لكل الفائدة يحقق بما الصناعة مع األمد شركاء الصناعة وجامعة الملك عبداهلل. وأضاف: "نود أن يكون ألعضاء هيئة تدريسنا وطلبتنا دور فاعل في هذه الشراكات، لما لها من فائدة كبيرة في تحفيزهم فكريًا. وهم متحمسون جدًا للعمل العمل في شركائنا حماسة بقدر شركائنا مع مثل أن كما عبداهلل. الملك جامعة في معهم المجلس التي يدعمها الصناعية الشراكات هذه االستشاري الصناعي للجامعة ستفتح آفاقًا كبيرة شركات إرساء نحو السعودية العربية للمملكة

." صناعية قيمة ومثمرة

TRIPLE HELIX | Continued from p1 تتمة الصفحة األولى:

REPURPOSING RESEARCH THROUGH INDUSTRY COLLABORATION

“When you work in academia you develop a lot of projects you think are innovative and interesting. But when you work with somebody who knows the market and knows processing,

it gives you a brand new perspective that can help you out -- and help your design.” – Dr. Niveen Kashab, Assistant Professor of Chemical Sciences and Engineering

KAUST’s Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC) is pioneering

the way KAUST works with industry. They were the first center in the

University to set up industry partnerships under the Center Industry

Affiliates Program (CIAP), the first to set up pilot plants, and the first

center to utilize the role of the Center Liaison Officer (CLO), which

is one of the many duties of Research Engineer Shahnawaz Sinha.

“We begin by looking at what the industry needs and what is

it that KAUST can offer. Matching the projects together is very

important, and once we understand their issues and challenges,

we then expand them into a proposal,” Sinha said.

KAUST is unique as the University has set up the KAUST

Industry Collaboration Program (KICP): In this program, any

industry that wants to join and work with KAUST can do this

and be a part of the bigger umbrella of KICP. But Sinha says

when a company wants to specifically work with a center, they

join the Center Industry Affiliates Program (CIAP). “Each center

has its own CIAP center, but not every center has done it. We

have created this model and we have been running it,” he said.

ALIGNING RESEARCH AND INDUSTRY

Currently the WDRC has five areas of interest. The first one is

desalination. “If an industry comes to us and says they have some

desalination issues, then right away they are aligning with our

research strategy,” Sinha said.

Wastewater and water reuse is also important to KAUST

and is another area of research. The third area has to do with

new materials like a new type of membrane or new types of

nanomaterials. The fourth area relates to hydrologic systems in

regards to monitoring, sensing, and modeling. And finally, the

fifth area is more industry specific and focuses on sustainable

water technologies, and agriculture and aquaculture issues. “If

something falls into an area that we are not focused on right now,

we won’t be interested. We are looking for research that provides

mutual benefits between the industry and us,” Sinha said.

WORKING WITH INDUSTRY ON DESALINATION CHALLENGES

One of their industry projects has to do with desalination. Saudi

Arabia is one of the largest desalinators in the world, but Sinha

says they are mostly using a thermal based desalination process.

“We believe this is an energy intensive desalination process and

that eventually they won’t be able to continue it under the current

practices, as it’s not sustainable,” Sinha said.

He says that eventually membrane based desalination will

play a greater role within Saudi Arabia. Currently one particular

company holds the majority share of membrane desalination in

the Kingdom. “They approached KAUST and wanted to work with

us in a research project. We thought this project would be a good

fit for us in the sense that we would have a better understanding

of how membrane desalination is done in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

The advantage of this project was that the KAUST team had the

opportunity to visit the desalination plants in Saudi Arabia – and

this gave them the opportunity to interact with the people on the

ground like the managers and operators. “This interaction was very

rewarding for us. We collected samples within the plant and were

able to understand the types of issues and challenges the plant

faced and see them operating with these challenges,” Sinha said.

They brought these challenges back to KAUST, and then designed

a small pilot plant to simulate the issues in order to come up with

possible solutions. “I think this type of interaction with the industry,

where we know what is out there and have the opportunity to bring

some of the actual issues and challenges back to the center is good

for the course of the project. It becomes a win-win situation for

both of us,” he said.

WDRC, INDUSTRY, AND THE FUTURE

At of the end of 2013, the WDRC had 13 industry partners

including DOW, SABIC, and Saudi Aramco. They had also created

eight industry-funded projects, and this past December, they

celebrated their 4th annual CIAP meeting.

“We are very lucky to have Gary Amy as the director of the

center. He always knew the value of the industry and how the

academic world and industry could work together,” Sinha said.

Currently the center is working with individual companies

that include consulting, service providers, manufacturers, and

government entities. They are working with each of them

separately, but eventually hope to do a multi-partner project where

the research can benefit many companies together.

5Researchwww.kaust.edu.sa May 2014

The symposium featured a few of the key accomplishments

resulting from these global partnerships. One of the highlights of the

GCR Symposium was the poster session. Dr. Moody Altamimi and

her team received 162 posters from KAUST's students, postdoctoral

researchers, and research scientists. The posters spanned all three

divisions and 68 faculty were represented, making this one of the

largest poster competitions in KAUST’s history.

Members of the faculty and seven distinguished visiting scientists

judged the posters.

THE WINNERS OF THE GCR POSTER COMPETITION:

BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING (BESE)

1. Poster 122: “The co-transcriptome of uropathogenic E.

coli-infected mouse macrophages reveals new insights into

host-pathogen interactions”

Authors: Harris Mavromatis, Carlo Cannistraci, Taewoo Ryu,

Timothy Ravasi

2. Poster 105: “Microbial Electrodeionization Cell (MEDIC)

for sustainable desalination, wastewater treatment and low

energy recovery”

Authors: Noura Shehab, Gary Amy, Pascal Saikaly

3. Poster 112: “Mapping the conformational dynamics of

E-selectin upon interaction with its ligands”

Authors: Fajr Aleisa, Kosuke Sakashita, Satoshi Habuchi,

Samir Hamdan, Jasmeen Merzaban

COMPUTER, ELECTRICAL, AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING (CEMSE)

1. Poster 296: “Predicting new molecular targets for existing

drugs using a stochastic pocket ensemble”

Authors: Hammad Naveed, Xin Gao

2. Poster 255: “Outlier and change detection in data streams"

Authors: Abdulhakim Qahtan, Xiangliang Zhang

3. Poster 284: “Inkjet printed multi-layered tracking system”

Authors: Rana Muhammad Bilal, Fahad Farooqui, Hammad

Cheema, Atif Shamim

PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING (PSE)

1. Poster 225: “Energy storage on flexible carbon fabric”

Authors: Rakhi Raghavan Baby, Husam Alshareef

2. Poster: 232: “Enhanced performance of oxide

thermoelectrics by magnetic doping”

Authors: Mousumi Upadhyay-Kahaly, Husam Niman

Alshareef, Udo Schwingenschlögl

3. Poster 241: “Quantitative determination of metal impurities

in graphene and carbon nanotube samples by inductively

coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy”

Authors: Shashikant Patole, Bashir Warsama, Tahir Yapici,

Pedro Costa

WINNER BY PUBLIC VOTE

Poster 105: “Microbial Electrodeionization Cell (MEDIC) for sustainable

desalination, wastewater treatment and low energy recovery”

Authors: Noura Shehab, Gary Amy, Pascal Saikaly

HOW THE WDRC HELPS SOLVE INDUSTRY WATER PROBLEMS

GCR SYMPOSIUM | Continued from p1

Shahnawaz Sinha

Dr. Moody Altamimi and PhD student Noura Shehab

IN A PAPER recently published in Advanced Functional Materials

(DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201303508), Wei Chen, a recent PhD graduate

from the group of Dr. Husam Alshareef, Professor of Materials

Science and Engineering, collaborated with KAUST’s Imaging

and Characterization Lab scientists to explain the mechanism

underpinning the charge storage process in a common supercapacitor

material and its behavior during charge/discharge cycling.

Supercapacitors are energy storage devices that fill the gap

between batteries and electrostatic capacitors. They have a high

power density and yet enough energy density to allow them to be

used to power portable devices or to compliment batteries in electric

and hybrid electric vehicles. The market size for supercapacitors is

growing extremely fast, and they are already appearing in many

applications, including portable power tools, cranes, intercity trains,

and street lamps.

There are two common types of supercapacitors. The first type, the

double-layer capacitor, relies primarily on carbon-based electrodes,

which store charge much like a conventional electrostatic capacitor

found in electronic circuits. The second type, called an ultracapacitor

or pseudocapacitor, utilizes the so-called pseudocapacitive materials,

which include transition metal oxides such as MnO2, to achieve even

higher capacitance.

These pseudocapacitive materials undergo Faradic reactions and

provide an additional charge storage mechanism. This means that

pseudocapacitive electrodes can produce supercapacitors with a

much higher energy density. However, a problem with

pseudocapacitive materials is their cycling stability:

they typically show a drop in capacitance as they are

cycled between charge/discharge processes.

In the paper, which was chosen for the inside

front cover of Advanced Functional Materials, Prof.

Alshareef’s group, including Chen and postdoctoral

fellow Dr. Rakhi Raghavan Baby, collaborated

with KAUST Core Labs scientists Qingxiao Wang

and Nejib Hedhili, using electron tomography and

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to show how the

morphology and crystal phase of manganese oxide

electrodes affect their energy storage density and,

more importantly, their unique behavior during

charge/discharge cycling.

By using 3D tomography, the team established

how the morphological evolution of the electrode

increases its surface area, leading to enhanced energy densities.

Furthermore, through the use of a combination of tomography and

spectroscopy, the team showed that the electrolyte actually etches

nanoscale openings in the manganese oxide sheet electrodes, which

surprisingly enhanced the electrolyte permeability and increased the

energy density of the device during cycling.

“This work improves our understanding of manganese oxide, one

of the most promising pseudocapacitive materials for energy storage

applications, and acts as a guide for future experiments,” stated

Prof. Alshareef.

Prof. Alshareef’s group has been active in the area of energy storage,

focusing on electrode material development for supercapacitors,

Li-ion batteries, and more recently, Na-ion batteries.

“I believe this research area is strategic for KAUST and the

Kingdom, and I am happy that we have built a recognized program

in this field,” he said.

Research6 The Beacon

KAUST TEAM USES ELECTRON TOMOGRAPHY TO EXPLAIN ENERGY STORAGE MECHANISM IN SUPERCAPACITOR ELECTRODES

KAUST RESEARCH ON LI ION BATTERY SELECTED AS VIP PAPER BY SMALLTHE RESEARCH work of Nulati Yesibolati, a recent KAUST master’s degree graduate from the group of Husam

Alshareef, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, has been selected as a VIP paper and was recently

published online in the Wiley journal Small (DOI: 10.1002/smll.201303898).

In his research, Yesibolati worked on producing a promising Li ion battery anode using tin oxide (SnO2),

which has much higher theoretical storage capacity compared to the current commercial Li ion battery anodes,

which are made of graphite.

However, tin oxide also has one serious problem: it undergoes severe volume changes as it interacts with

the battery’s electrolyte during the charging and discharging cycle of the battery.

To combat this issue, Yesibolati used atomic layer deposition to coat the surface of the SnO2 anode with a

few atomic layers of another electrochemically inactive oxide (HfO2) to reduce the reaction of SnO2 and the

battery electrolyte.

The atomic layer coating of HfO2 significantly reduced the volume change of the SnO2 anode, but at the

same time still allowed Li ion diffusion through the thin layer of HfO2 to reach the SnO2 anode and charge

the battery. Yesibolati’s technique resulted in an almost 56% improvement in the storage capacity of the SnO2

anode, and also improved its cycling stability in a significant way.

Although the use of other atomic layer deposition coatings has been reported previously, what is unique

about Yesibolati’s approach is that it appears to be quite insensitive to HfO2 thickness. “Amazingly, HfO2 layers

as thick as 20 nm were used, and we could still see the improvement in battery performance,” noted Prof.

Alshareef. The authors attribute this phenomenon to the amorphous structure of the HfO2 layer, and possibly

the catalytic effect of hafnium (Hf), which allow easier diffusion of the Li ions toward the SnO2 anode. The

work was done as part of a KAUST-IBM collaboration grant, and has resulted in additional publications

besides Yesibolati’s Small paper.

May 2014

GALINA Printsypar, a postdoctoral fellow in

the Center for Numerical Porous Media, has

been awarded the prestigious 2014 InterPore-

Fraunhofer Award for Young Researchers.

This award is granted annually by The International Society

for Porous Media, InterPore, on behalf of the Fraunhofer

Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITWM) to a young

researcher working in the areas of porous and composite

materials modeling and computer simulation. Dr. Printsypar

received the 2014 award for her professional achievements

for providing common solutions for diverse applications,

helping to bridge academic research and industry.

Dr. Printsypar has contributed to modeling, analysis,

and computer simulation of processes in technical (paper,

nonwoven textiles, sponge, and tubular membranes, etc.)

and in natural (rocks, soil, etc.) porous media. Currently,

Dr. Printsypar works closely with industrial companies to

address their needs in modeling and simulations of porous

media problems.

Dr. Printsypar will receive her award at the 2014 Interpore

Conference and Annual Meeting in the US at the end of

May. As winner, she will also spend approximately three

months working on joint research at Fraunhofer ITWM and

receive 5,000€.

ACCOLADE

DR. PRINTSYPAR WINS 2014 INTERPORE-FRAUNHOFER YOUNG RESEARCHERS AWARD

Schematic illustrating shape and phase design of nanostructured MnO2 electrodes used in supercapacitor devices.Design by Olga Kasimova

Schematic illustrating Li-ion battery structure using HfO2-coated SnO2 anodes.Design by Olga Kasimova

Research 7www.kaust.edu.sa

A NEW hybrid desalination pilot plant is in

the process of being built at KAUST on top

of the current adsorption desalination (AD)

plant at LFO27. “The new desalination pilot

is a hybrid between the adsorption cycle and

the multi-effect distillation (MED) cycles,”

said Dr. Kim Choon Ng, Visiting Professor

of Environmental Science and Engineering.

More environmentally friendly than

traditional methods, adsorption desalination

(AD) is an emerging, low cost solution for

potable water production that can be used

as a solution for agriculture, homes, and

industries. Dr. Ng says one of the reasons

for integrating the two cycles is that it will

improve water production yields. “The

integration is estimated to produce up to

three times more water production for

almost the same heat resource. We call

this thermodynamic synergy between the

thermally-driven cycles,” he said.

Recently the desalination team completed

the testing with the solar-powered

adsorption pilot plant and trained several

KAUST master’s students in the desalination

process. This new hybrid group will continue

their desalination research based on the

performances of the adsorption and multi-

effect distillation plant. “We have completed

the cycle simulations and published much of

it,” Dr. Ng said.

The estimated timeline for completing the

new plant is October or November 2014.

“Understanding how these remarkable crystals

are formed can open up entire new fields of

application which go well beyond electronics.

In fact, the dissolution rate and bioactivity of

pharmaceuticals or the flavor of certain foods

depends on the type of form of crystal, or the

polymorph,” Prof. Amassian explained.

To record the process of crystallization, the

KAUST team combined a tiny, bright X-ray beam

produced by Cornell University’s High Energy

Synchrotron Source (CHESS) with high-speed

X-ray cameras to shoot a movie showing how

organic molecules form different types of crystals.

The Nature Communications paper explains

why the process can produce an ideal lattice:

quick evaporation of the solution coupled with

the nanoscale thinness of the liquid at the moment

crystals grow plays a large role. Once the liquid film

becomes thin enough to confine the crystallization

process, the polymorph to be produced can be

selected with unprecedented control.

Prof. Amassian and the KAUST team faced

a number of challenges while working on the

research, which took two years to complete. One

was the production of the miniature, remotely

operated “squeegee blade” used to drag the

thinning liquid and produce crystals in the safety

of an X-ray room.

“We had to get the design right and test it

on-site at CHESS on a very tight schedule,” noted

KAUST postdoctoral fellow Dr. Ruipeng Li, who

co-authored the paper.

The main technical challenge the researchers

encountered was focusing the X-ray beam onto

a small spot at the edge of the moving squeegee

blade, and then firing the beam at intervals a few

milliseconds apart as the squeegee quickly dragged

the thinning liquid and crystallization began.

The high-speed X-ray camera took snapshots

of the crystal polymorphs as they were being

produced, and the researchers then reassembled the

snapshots to create an animated movie showing

the process of crystallization. The researchers

also sought out high speed microscopy expertise

from Sigurdur Thoroddsen’s group in Mechanical

Engineering (at KAUST) to observe the crystal

formation process.

While watching the X-ray movie, the

researchers were surprised to find the crystals

forming in a highly unusual sequence. The most

common and stable polymorph of a crystal

usually forms last in a sequence of polymorph

crystallization. But this did not happen with the

crystals formed by the “squeegee effect.”

“We were stumped when the stable form

appeared first, followed by the strained

polymorphs,” explained Prof. Amassian.

“This pointed to an unusual effect – possibly

confinement [thinning or thickening the liquid

near the onset of crystallization] – similar to what

is used in the pharmaceutical industry to control

the formation of certain drug polymorphs.”

The scientists confirmed their hypothesis by

tuning the confinement conditions to produce

different polymorphs, discovering that solvents

with different molecular sizes also affected the

formation of the polymorphs.

“We were pleased to demonstrate our initial

hypothesis of confinement, but things got even

more exciting when we showed the ease with

which the crystal formation can be selected

within the confinement window,” Prof.

Amassian said.

The so lu t i on- shea r ing me thod can

produce continuous films of strained organic

semiconductors over large areas, making it

compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing.

Detailed knowledge of how to pack crystals with

precise characteristics over large area substrates

will help make strained organic semiconductors

more practical for use in new types of flexible

electronic devices.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, drug

activity depends upon precise control of

compounds’ crystal structures. Currently,

pharmaceutically active compounds are

produced by 3D confinement of molecules in a

mesoporous polymer or glass medium to produce

isolated nanocrystals which are not electrically

connected. The new method allows formation

of polymorphs over large areas in a roll-to-roll

manner and with very well controlled topography

and crystal orientation, which has the potential

to benefit the production of pharmaceuticals.

May 2014

HYBRID DESALINATION PILOT PLANT COMING SOON

“SQUEEGEE” METHOD | Continued from p1

A polarized optical image snapped during the squeegee process, showing the ribbon-like crystals forming as the squeegee blade drags the liquid meniscus. Polarized optical images in different confinement regimes in A. The trailing meniscus becomes longer as concentration is decreased and consequently thinner before crystallization occurs, resulting in increasing confinement. As the confinement increases, X-ray diffraction measurements in B show the lattice becoming distorted away from the equilibrium polymorph, a clear indication that the polymorphism changes.

Aram Amassian and Ruipeng Li

Community8 The Beacon

MERFAT K. JANNAH“I LOVE to cook” says Merfat Jannah about her passion for

preparing Saudi, savory favorites. More specifically, she has

always dreamed of opening a restaurant, although until recently,

it wasn’t a dream she took seriously.

“I tend to be a shy person. I just keep to myself. But working at

KAUST has changed that. It has developed my personality and opened me to new people

and new situations. I’m even willing to see myself differently—even as a restaurant owner

some day,” she says.

Merfat works in security at KAUST, a position that requires her to engage with the public

and stay alert for important details. She studied in Jubail and Yanbu before moving to

Jeddah in 2004, so she feels at home in an environment like KAUST.

She began work on campus near the end of 2009, and is looking forward to completing

her fifth year of service at KAUST—something she takes great pride in.

Merfat has big dreams, but she also enjoys a good horror movie now and then. She

wouldn’t name specific titles, but she clearly enjoys kicking back for a good scare after a

long day of making sure everyone on campus is safe and sound.

OLAWOLE KUTIAFTER graduating from the Federal University of Technology in

his home country of Nigeria, KAUST postdoctoral fellow Olawole

Kuti’s life took a very international turn: he received the Japanese

government’s prestigious Monbukagakusho scholarship to pursue

a PhD in Mechanical System Engineering at the University of

Hiroshima.

Describing his experience in Japan as “very interesting,” Olawole completed his PhD

studies there in 2011. He and his wife, Funmi, and their two young sons then decided to

continue their international adventures, with Olawole accepting a postdoctoral position

at KAUST’s Clean Combustion Research Center (CCRC) in 2013.

“I was amazed to see the kind of research people are engaged in here,” he notes. “I

couldn’t believe a place like the University existed. The CCRC’s state-of-the-art research

on combustion and its caliber of scholars also attracted me to come to here.”

During his time at KAUST, Olawole has gained much valuable research experience.

“It has been a real blessing working with the CCRC’s researchers like Profs. Suk Ho

Chung, William Roberts, and Mani Sarathy,” he says. “KAUST’s facilities are superb,

and working here has enabled me to meet other excellent researchers from all over the

world.”

In their free time, Olawole and his family enjoy exploring their new home and

experiencing the Saudis’ famous hospitality. “We love to go to the beach and enjoy the

cool breeze and beautiful scenery of the Red Sea,” he says. “It is a privilege for us to live

and work in a peaceful and unique place like KAUST.”

MY UNIVERSITY

FACILITIES & Community introduced KAUST’s Earth Series

2014 through three community events promoting environmental

stewardship and sustainability at work and at home. With the support

of The KAUST School, the Graduate Student Council, and KAUST’s

faculty, students, and staff, the Earth Series brought the community

World Water Day, Earth Hour, and Earth Day. Each of these successful

and exciting events highlighted how the entire community can get

involved in securing a sustainable future.

On March 22, World Water Day provided an opportunity for the

University’s Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC) team to

showcase the current trends in water desalination in the Kingdom

and globally.

Members of the KAUST community had the opportunity to listen

to WDRC researchers give two lectures, entitled “Recent Trends

& Innovation: Seawater Desalination,” and “Sustainable Water

Solutions for Costal Cities: Forward Osmosis (FO).”

Community visitors also toured the Seawater Reverse Osmosis

Plant, learning about KAUST’s high quality water purification process

and the lengths taken to ensure that household water is safe to drink.

Earth Hour, which took place on March 29, is a global event in

which communities are encouraged to turn off their non-essential

lights for one hour (from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. local time). At KAUST,

the event also symbolized many different branches of the University

coming together to support an important cause.

KAUST’s Earth Hour activities took place at the Harbor Walk,

where over 300 attendees took part in many interactive and

exciting activities. Children were introduced to Dr. Seuss’s tale of

environmental conservation, The Lorax, and parents were informed of

the usefulness and efficiency of solar lamps. The student-led Amateur

Astronomy Association was on hand with a telescope provided by the

Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) team to show off our night sky

both before and during the event’s one hour lights-out.

The one-hour lights-out saw the Beacon, the King Abdullah

Mosque’s minarets, street lights, and other campus and

community lighting switched off or reduced, resulting in

significant energy savings.

Earth Day celebrations on April 23 and 24 marked the culmination

of KAUST’s Earth Series, with a community event at the Harbor

Recreation Center field showcasing KAUST’s waste minimization

efforts with themed activities for the community to enjoy. The week

ended with a tree planting at Safaa Gardens Secondary School.

Look out for the latest Earth Series competition, the Green Office

Certification Program, by visiting the “Environment” page on the

Facilities & Community intranet.

THE BEACON is just a silhouette against the night sky in this photo taken by Bahir Skinner, Project

Coordinator in the Procurement Services Department, during Earth Hour 2014 at KAUST. Celebrated

around the world on March 29 this year, Earth Hour sees communities worldwide dimming or turning

off their lights for one hour to conserve energy and demonstrate commitment to protecting the

environment. The KAUST community did its part, shutting off lighting around campus – including

the Beacon – and celebrating this important occasion to protect our home, planet Earth.

Email your photos to thebeacon@kaust.edu.sa.

PHOTO

OF THE

MONTH

May 2014

PHOTO

CREDIT: Bahir Skinner

KAUST’S EARTH SERIES FULL OF GREEN EVENTS FOR ENTIRE COMMUNITY

PHOTO

CREDIT: Sean TangonanSKIN

NER

PHOTO

CREDIT: Caitlin ClarkSKIN

NER

Community members tour the seawater reverse osmosis plant for world water day

Visitors enjoy Earth Day events at the Harbor Sports Club Field