King Abdullah University of Science and Technology at Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
BE
January 2011 / Muharram 1432 Issue No. 5
the
CON
Winter Enrichment Program 2011
www.kaust.edu.sa
Turn to p. 4–5
Top left: A detail the inner mesh that makes up a sponge. Main: A Red Sea Sponge.
Commencement December 16 marked the first commencement at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, attended by nearly 300 master’s degree candidates, many culminating some 16 months of dedicated study. “Today’s celebration is one of historic significance as the world’s youngest and most ambitious university graduates its first class… an occasion of bold aspiration and remarkable accomplishment. We salute the vision, generosity and unflagging support that our founder, King Abdullah, has given us in this venture,” said KAUST trustee Frank Rhodes in his commencement speech.
Red Sea Sponges قام الدكتور فراس اليف و هو أحد الباحثني يف خمترب البحر األمحر لبيولوجيا األنظمة املتكاملة يف جامعة امللك عبد اهلل للعلوم والتقنية بكتابة حبثه .العلمي الذي ناقش فيه املجتمعات امليكروبية غري العادية واملتواجدة يف اسفنج البحر األمحر
Continued on p.3
KCC Opening and Symposium The KAUST Catalysis Center (KCC) opened on December 6 with over 120 international delegates in attendance. The combination of its interdisciplinary state-of-the-art laboratories and contiguous core facilities was the envy of many of the visiting researchers. “The center is probably the best in the world… superbly equipped,” said Professor Herbert Roesky from Goettingen, “and this has been a wonderful high-level meeting.” Professor Kazunari Domen looks forward to a dynamic relationship and the exchange of postdocs working in the field between KAUST and the University of Tokyo.
Dr. Feras Lafi, a scientist in the Red Sea Laboratory of Integrative Systems Biology, has been investigating the unusual microbial communities in Red Sea sponges. This is the first time that there has been research access to these extraordinary sea creatures from the coast of Saudi Arabia, and the initial results suggest that the sponges are of significant interest to the scientific community. As part of the KAUST Global Collaborative Research (GCR) program, Dr. Lafi and his GCR partners recently published an article in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal (part of the Nature Publishing Group) regarding the sequencing of the microbial communities of several sponge species from the Red Sea. This builds on Dr. Lafi’s Ph.D. thesis on poribacteria, a sponge specific phylum, at the University of Queensland in northeastern Australia. Marine sponges are one of the oldest life forms on the planet, dating back some 600 million years and possibly much longer; in some places they may occupy most of the available surfaces on the coral reef or the seabed. These multicellular animals have a simple body plan and their tissues show little differentiation or
coordination. Fixed in one place by a stalk or by settling in various underwater objects, sponges filter seawater through their pores, extract bacteria and use them as a food source, releasing the filtered water via the osculum (the exhalent opening, see fig.1) at the rate of up to 24,000L/day per 1-kg of sponge. The Red Sea, the warm and high saline body of water abutting the KAUST campus, is a largely unexplored marine ecosystem. Its coral reefs, some 2000km in length, nourish over 200 recorded species of sponge, yet few of these have ever been studied. In the study described, the sponges, their microbial communities and the surrounding seawater were all examined using genetic sequencing techniques. W h a t m a ke s t h e s e s p o n g e microbe associations so intriguing to researchers? The soft sponges being examined cannot rely on their hard shell for protection, but rather on their chemical arsenal to survive attacks. Over millions of years of evolution, these sponges, delicate as they may appear, have developed a strong chemical defense system to protect themselves from predators. Their evident success, witnessed by
their continuing existence, may also be due to their relationship with their microbial symbionts, common ancestors for the more familiar microbes of today. Recent studies showed that a considerable percentage of these chemicals originate from the microbial community residing in the sponge tissue. It is well known that these diverse microorganisms can constitute over half of the volume of a sponge, but their association with their host remains a puzzle. We do know that different microbes can be sources of food, pathogens, parasites or mutualistic symbionts. Symbiotic microbes need to be able to compete with other microbes present in the water in order to colonize the sponge and to do so, they have evolved to produce an array of different chemicals that are able, for example, to stop the cell cycle of competing microbe species. Such compounds may achieve this by interfering with the cell cycle of the cancer cell (these chemicals may have anti-cancer properties) or by selectively killing other species (these chemicals may have anti-microbial peptides or antibiotic properties). It is the biotechnological potential of sponge-microbe associations
that fuels the research that Dr. Lafi pursues and makes their focused investigation compelling for novel drug discovery. Marine sponges are among the animal kingdom’s most prolific sources of novel pharmaceutical compounds. Natural products have long been used to treat human disease (aspirin from the willow and digitalis from the foxglove, for example) and many marine bioactive compounds have been evaluated for properties as diverse as anti-inflammatory and anthelmintic. There are different ways you can screen compounds for bioactivity. One method involves isolating a fraction of the sponge to see if it can trigger a reaction in a human cell line. Usually many compounds are screened in parallel using robotic screening devices. Sequencing the gene of these symbiotic microbes using meta-genomics or meta-transcriptomic approaches may speed up this screening process. Using computational analysis to predict those pathways (groups of proteins working together) that are responsible for the chemical production of such bioactive molecules can help to target a certain family of molecules. In the Continued on p.2
Continued on p.2
INSIDE:
News 1-2
Commencement 3
WEP 4-5
WEP Schedule Insert
Research 6-7
Community 8
2
NEWS
January 2011 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse mollis, tellus in volutpat lacinia, est diam accumsan libero, a tincidunt lectus leo bibendum sem. Vestibulum ut ipsum arcu, eu placerat lorem. Nullam eget metus lorem. Nullam
The Beacon
In Brief
egestas placerat mi nec fringilla. Sed quis urna ut urna dignissim mollis. Quisque iaculis, eros et porta ornare, ipsum odio pulvinar risus, in interdum libero erat commodo velit. Donec non dui a odio pharetra tempus vitae a augue. Nullam in metus sem, vitae molestie sem.
KAUST Schools Winter concert Students from THE KAUST
- THE BEACON Editorial
Schools showcased their musical talent through three Winter
Write to us at thebeacon@kaust.edu.sa
Concerts held December 12-19.
The Beacon, Issue 5, January 2011. Published by The Communications Department, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. Contact Salah Sindi +966 (2) 808-3221, email salah.sindi@kaust.edu.sa, or Christopher Sands +966 (2) 808-3228, email christopher.sands@kaust.edu.sa
Grades 1-5 shared inspirational songs on two separate nights with
© King Abdullah University, of Science and Technology. Printed on partially recycled paper.
Sponges continued from p.1 Lorem Ipsum photo case of compounds with the potential to kill cancer cells, these will be tested against a set of different cell lines developed by the National Cancer Institute. One of the most recent success stories can be found on this page, “Yellow Slimy”. With the support of the Coastal and Marine Resources Core Lab (CMRCL), the sponges were collected from four different habitats in the Red Sea together with samples of the seawater surrounding them. The KAUST team together with GCR partners Dr. On On Lee (lead author of the paper) and fellow scientists from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology led by Professor Pei-Yuan Qian used pyrosequencing to “reveal highly diverse and species-specific microbial communities in sponges from the Red Sea”. Scientists cannot simply culture these marine microorganisms as only 1% of environmental microbes can be cultured in laboratory conditions. That is why Dr. Timothy Ravasi, Associate Professor of Bioengineering, and his group at KAUST are using genomic and transcriptomic methods to better understand the relationship between bacteria and sponges. Pyrosequencing can characterize a sample quickly and accurately and is the method of choice to explore marine microbiomes. In addition to the four quite new phyla they identified using this method, Dr. Lafi and team discovered that many of the bacteria within the sponges were absent from the surrounding
the theme of “Lighting Our Way to Peace.” Sixth through twelfth graders demonstrated their talents
seawater, although these microbial communities were consistent in the same sponges taken from different places. There are two ways in which it is thought that sponges acquire bacteria. During the filter-feeding process described, sponges need to be able to recognize symbionts possibly using their innate immune system. Alternatively, parent sponges may transfer microbes to their progeny through reproduction; these same microbes have probably co-evolved over many generations and no longer have any presence in seawater. It would seem that Red Sea sponges have highly sponge-specific or even sponge-species-specific microbial communities that persist despite their absence from the surrounding environment. Much work remains to be done to explore this diversity and its implications. To more fully understand the potential for sponge research in the Red Sea, in another example of interdisciplinary collaboration, faculty in the Red Sea Research Center at KAUST have contributed their expertise to characterize the diversity and richness of local sponge communities. Dr. Michael Berumen and Dr. Lafi began this process earlier this year by spending time surveying several coral reefs in the vicinity of KAUST and literally counting different sponges according to their species. This information, the first systematic census of sponges in the
Saudi Arabian Red Sea, will be compiled not only in order to understand this unique ecosystem and to motivate conservation efforts, but also to guide the team’s future work with sponges. In particular, it will be important to ensure that species targeted for further biomedical applications are sufficiently common in the Red Sea to make the studies feasible. Such collaborations embody KAUST’s goals to create partnerships among diverse fields. Dr. Lafi and all the researchers involved in the sponge project anxiously await more exciting finds from these incredible animals found just off the shores of KAUST.
"YELLOW SLIMY"
piano, giving audiences a taste of rhythms from around the world.
Shell Joins KICP Economic Development’s KAUST Industry Collaboration Program (KICP) recently welcomed Shell as a strategic partner, optimizing mutual interests in developing further collaboration research and joining the KICP is an essential first step towards establishing a partnership that will focus on longer term emerging technolo-
One of the latest cancer drugs to gain approval from the U.S.
gies, with the potential to develop
Food and Drug Administration results from over 26 years of
future game-changing solutions
multidisciplinary research at several institutions. In response
for the energy sector.
to a request from the USA’s National Cancer Institute, a whole metric ton of soft sponges of the Lissodendoryx
Student Wins Best Paper Award at PGC
species, affectionately known as “yellow slimy”, in order to
Mohammed Zahed Khan, a Ph.D.
extract just 300mg of halichondrin B. This chemical was
student in the Photonics Lab,
sought for preliminary trials because of its exquisite anti-
won Best Student Paper Award at
cancer activity in different cell lines. The collection was
the Photonics Global Conference
supported by the New Zealand government, among oth-
(PGC), held in Singapore December
ers, which gave permission for the deepwater dredging of
14-16, 2010. The conference
1000kg of the sponge. After determination of its molecu-
successfully attracted over 300
lar structure, animal testing and latterly, successful phase
delegates from 39 countries and is
3 clinical trials using human subjects, its synthetic form,
a biennial event aimed at fostering
Eribulin, was licensed in November 2010 for the treatment
interactions among international
of late stage breast cancer.
academics, researchers, practi-
marine biologists worldwide worked together to harvest
tioners, and students across broad disciplines in photonics.
KCC Opening and Symposium continued from p.1 For over a century, catalysis has been a process of trial and error, but the focus of Center Director Professor Jean Marie Basset is on catalysis by design, embracing the four KAUST generational themes of energy, food, water, and the environment. Eminent speakers, including Nobel Prize winner Professor Robert Grubbs from CALTECH, considered the subject in challenging lectures and lively discussions.
in singing, percussion, guitar, and
Delegates attending the engaging two-day symposium that followed the inauguration were particularly interested in the talks given by representatives from industry from all over the world, evidently important thinkers in their companies, and their perspective on the future of catalysis as a promising tool for energy challenges, green chemistry, and sustainable development.
Final Angklung Performance
At the Office of the Arts’ In-House
Commencement The foundation class, robed in their KAUST graduation gowns, processed in their academic divisions to Discovery Walk where assembled guests enjoyed a view of the Red Sea. After the national anthem, graduating student Saeed Al-Noman recited a verse from the Qur’an (see the back page) before President Choon Fong Shih welcomed the students, their families, faculty, and visitors.
institutions, business, and government sectors worldwide to achieve synergies for the attainment of shared goals.
His Excellency Minister Ali Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, spoke movingly of the realization of King Abdullah’s dream for this new house of wisdom. He saw KAUST as integral to the revitalization of the local knowledge economy, providing a human bridge connecting the Kingdom with nations, universities, research
President Emeritus of Cornell University and KAUST trustee, Dr. Frank Rhodes challenged the assembled graduates to make a difference as they provide “new solutions, new energy and new insight” as they are embraced by a world eagerly awaiting their skills and commitment.
The student commencement speaker, May Alqurashi, a graduate in Biological Engineering, spoke of her experience as a member of the founding class, of her hopes and her dreams. She encouraged her fellow students to feel very proud as they graduate.
As the sun set over the Red Sea, students from some 32 different countries, united in their feelings of anticipation and accomplishment, crossed the stage. They were presented individually to President Shih, who conferred their degrees, by their appropriate deans: Professors David Keyes, Kenneth Minneman and Mohamed-Slim Alouini. Countries most strongly represented among graduates were China, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the United States. Almost a quarter of the students were female. Over a third of the graduates will continue to study at KAUST for a Ph.D. and a significant number has been offered jobs in the Kingdom.
International Concert on December 14, the Angklung Music Group gave their final performance. Led by Class of 2010 Burhannudin Sutisna, this delightful group of musicians had become a KAUST community favorite, dazzling audiences with their energetic and visually engaging performances.
President Shih’s welcome remarks Congratulating the Class of 2010, President Choon Fong Shih told students and guests, "Today we celebrate the beginning – the commencement – of a new chapter in the lives of 292 pioneering graduate students. Today we gather on the shores of the Red Sea, inspired by King Abdullah's noble vision of a university, a new House of Wisdom." President Shih continued: "Today you go forth as KAUST's founding alumni. Take the name and spirit of our University and go forth and make a difference. Take the knowledge you gained here and go forth in fruitful service to Saudi Arabia and all peoples of the world. Through your life and work, you and those who follow in your footsteps can help grow our University as King Abdullah's living gift for this and future generations."
www.thebeacon.kaust.edu.sa
Commencement
January 2011
3
in their own words . من طلبة درجة املاجستري292 ديسمرب أول حفل ختريج يف جامعة امللك عبد اهلل للعلوم والتقنية ل16 كما شهد تاريخ
Commencement continued from p.2
President Shih
His Excellency, Minister Al-Naimi
Frank Rhodes: Interview
As he prepared to confer degrees at commencement, President Choon Fong Shih
In his commencement speech, the Minister
to celebrate and I will feel delighted and
anticipated feelings of pride, joy, grati-
spoke of “King Abdullah’s dream to educate
honored to be at the commencement to see
tude, and optimism. The pride is invested in
and train the next generation of scholars
the first fruits of King Abdullah’s vision!”
the “pioneering graduate students who are
and scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs
Professor Frank Rhodes, Chairman of the
beginning a new chapter in their lives; the
to encourage global collaboration in search
KAUST Board of Trustees, has witnessed
joy at reaching this significant milestone in the journey towards
of transcendent new technologies, discoveries and solutions.” He
many graduation ceremonies in his long and prestigious career,
realizing King Abdullah’s vision for (the) University as a new
encouraged the pioneering graduates “to consider remaining in the
but commented on the difference with this occasion: “There will
‘House of Wisdom’; and gratitude for the countless individuals
Kingdom to lead the transformation of (the) economy through sci-
never be another foundation class.” It is the detail that Professor
who have worked long and hard to help (the university) reach this
ence and technology, innovation and enterprise.” Acknowledging
Rhodes has noticed on his trips to KAUST (a campus soccer game , for
day of beginnings and optimism for (the) founding alumni making
their help in shaping the dynamic and diverse community at
example) that he sees as evidence that KAUST has become a real
a difference wherever they go and, through their lives and work,
KAUST, he urged them to be “ambassadors for KAUST.” He pointed
community with a truly self-sufficient and collegial feel. He con-
contributing to (the) mission of bringing benefit to Saudi Arabia
out that KAUST is heir to “one of the greatest and longest scien-
tinues to be quite astonished “to have witnessed KAUST rise from
and the world.”
tific traditions in human history and a harbinger of a new era for
the ground and become a working university in just a little over a
economic and social development for people everywhere through
thousand days from the concept.”
“It feels glorious! There are so many things
education and research.”
Nadhmi Al-Nasr When he thought about the students col-
May Alqurashi
lecting their diplomas at commencement,
A Saudi born and raised in Jeddah, was the KAUST student commencement speaker. She will continue her studies at KAUST
Nadhmi Al-Nasr, Executive Vice-President
for a Ph.D. in biological engineering.
of Administration and Finance at KAUST, anticipated feelings of pride “like those of a father.” He insisted that it was the deci-
“Culturally, starting at KAUST was really tough. But I realize that for others coming here, it was also a challenge, and to have new experiences you have to leave your comfort zone. We have learned that stereotypes are often inaccurate. I look forward to giving back to KAUST in the future.”
sion of the students to come to KAUST - at a time when there was neither faculty, nor curriculum nor buildings - that gave the
Saeed Al-Noman
Wail Bamhair
administrative team “the joy, hope and promise for the future
A Saudi born and raised in Jeddah, is a master’s
Since the arrival of the first class in the fall of 2009, Mr. Al-Nasr
A Yemeni born and raised in Dammam, is going to continue his studies in clean combustion. He was privileged to recite verses from the Qur’an at the
has witnessed the development of the students’ “maturity, per-
KAUST commencement.
“KAUST has been a golden opportunity for me. I always hope to be in ‘the first row’ and in the future when people ask me, I will be proud to say, ‘I graduated from KAUST’.”
(they) needed so badly”.
spective, passion, and wisdom” and sees in them the potential for world-class leadership. He anticipates the development of a unique and special relationship between the founding class and their alma mater, KAUST.
“The book about the creation of KAUST is written and closed. Commencement is the beginning of a new book, a book that will never close…”
“The research culture here is amazing, and in the future I hope to return to my undergraduate university in the Eastern Province and bring many new ideas to the academic and research environment in Saudi Arabia.”
Justine Mink An American who came here to study for her master’s and will continue here to do a doctorate in Electrical Engineering.
“When I came here to KAUST I knew that by taking that step I would be bridging cultures and that was exactly what I wanted to be doing. KAUST is like a dream. “
student considering several offers for positions in industry in Saudi Arabia.
Alfonso Caraveo-Frescas A Mexican materials science student who will be studying for his doctorate in nano-functional materials.
“I have friends from so many different places, and I have had to learn more about my own culture to be able to share it with others. I am excited and proud to have achieved my academic goal.”
Jessica Ka Ying Lam
Nathan Ball
Born and raised in Hong Kong
A chemical and biological engineer who finished
has just completed a master’s
his studies here in August and is working for a
in the Applied Mathematics and
start-up company, E2E Materials, developing bio-
Computational Sciences program
degradable composites in upstate New York.
and is seeking employment in the Kingdom. Here at KAUST there is the opportunity to know each other well ... not only people from differen countries and cultures, but across different academic programs.
“The friendships I have made here will be something I keep with me as I leave.”
“I especially value the creativity, leadership and other less tangible skills that I developed because of the cultural richness of the KAUST community. One of the reasons I came to KAUST was to develop links in The Kingdom in the hopes that I can come back to work here.”
4
WEP
January 2011
The Beacon
Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) 2011 2011 الربنامج الشتوي التكميلي
ويعقد الربنامج بافتتاحية خاصة مساء، 2011 الربنامج الشتوي التكميلي للعام األكادميي2011 يناير31 إىل15 يعقد يف الفرتة من فيما ستكون الفعاليات واملحاضرات واحللقات الدراسية هلذا الربنامج متاحة جلميع منسويب جامعة امللك عبد اهلل. يناير14 اجلمعة .للعلوم و التقنية و املجتمع فضال عن امكانية، كل الفعاليات و الدورات موقع الربنامج اخلاص علي االنرتنت و الذي يوفر معلومات عن و اجلديد هلذا العام هو و حىت ال تفوتك الفرصة سارع، والذي سيكون الزاميًا و ذلك للتأكد من توفرإامكانية املشاركة يف الفعاليات،التسجيل عرب اإلنرتنت كما يرجى مالحظة أن أوقات وأماكن الفعاليات و الدورات عرضة للتغيري لذا ننصح مبتابعة املوقع للحصول على أحدث !بالتسجيل .املعلومات
The 2011 Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) will be held January 15 - 31 with a special opening night reception Friday, January 14. This expansive collection of events, lectures and seminars - which goes beyond the traditional academic curriculum, is offered to students and the entire KAUST community.
wep.kaust.edu.sa
New this year is a special WEP website with extensive details (descriptions, speaker biographies, locations, etc.) about each of the courses and events, as well as online registration. Visit http://wep.kaust.edu.sa for details. The general format for the program is as follows: skilled and technical courses in the mornings; lectures, cultural offerings and events with a broad appeal in the afternoons and evenings; and cultural and recreational events on the weekends.
Opening Night Reception "Traditions of Saudi Arabia"
Highlighted Keynote Speakers
Friday, January 14 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm at Harbor Walk
Saleh Ali Al-Turki
The opening night reception will feature an evening of Saudi Arabian traditions for all ages at the Harbor Walk. Experience a cultural celebration highlighting the heritage of Saudi Arabia through demonstrations by authentic craftsmen, folk dance performers, live music, gifts, and cuisine. You won’t want to miss this festive display as we kick off the 2011 Winter Enrichment Program!
Saturday, January 22 from 7:30 – 9:00 pm Building 20, Auditorium
“Poverty in the Nation of Social Sponsorship?”
Saleh Ali Al-Turki is the President and Chairman of the Board of several companies, including Nesma Holding Company, Nesma & Partners Contracting, and Namma Group of Companies for Trade, Industry and Maritime Services.
Abdulrahman Al-Zamil “Preconceived Ideas Regarding The Saudi Workforce”
Wednesday, January 26 from 6:30 - 8:00 pm Building 20, Auditorium Abdulrahman Al-Zamil is Chairman of Al Zamil Holding Company and also chairman of the Board of Directors of Zamil Industrial Investment Company.
Lama Abdulaziz Al-Sulaiman “Women’s Role in Business: A Personal Journey”
Saturday, January 30 from 2:30 pm Building 20, Auditorium Lama Abdulaziz Al-Sulaiman is the Vice Chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and will share insights from her personal experience.
Khalid Sulaiman Al-Rajhi “Saudi Culture & Its Implications on Business” Visit http://wep.kaust.edu.sa for details on speakers and seminars. Online registration is required and limited spaces are filled on a first come-first served basis. Spaces are filling up quickly so register soon! For inquiries, please email contactwep@kaust.edu.sa. Please note that the schedule is subject to change. Check the website for the most up-to-date information and any last minute changes.
Monday, January 31 from 4:00 pm Building 20, Auditorium Khalid Sulaiman Al-Rajhi is currently the Managing Director Of Sulaiman Adulaziz Al-Rajhi & Sons Co. - Al-Watania Poultry. The Al-Watania Poultry project is the largest of its kind in the Middle East.
www.thebeacon.kaust.edu.sa
WEP
January 2011
Islam and Universal Order: The Balance Between the Constant and Evolving Sunday, January 23 from 4:30 - 5:30 pm Building 9
Dates: A Product of KSA Saturday, January 22 from 4:30 – 5:30 pm Building 9 This lecture will introduce the basic concepts regarding the origin of the date palm, the economic importance of date palm production and international trade, and date harvesting. This lecture serves as an informative session for those who are interested in knowing the basics of the date palm and its farming. SPEAKER: Raju Manchakkal Thupran is a graduate in agriculture, with a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication and internships in organic farming. He has 18 years of post qualification experience, seven of which were in GCC and has worked on world famous projects like Palm Jumeirah, Burj Khalifa and Dubai Media City.
Saudi Archaeology at a Glance Monday, January 24 from 4:30 - 5:30 pm Building 9 The territory of Saudi Arabia has experienced a long and rich history dating back to early human migrations. Due to its exceptional geographical situation, Saudi Arabia has always been a cross over for commercial exchanges and at all times caravans have travelled through the country. These population flows have enabled the development of flourishing civilizations. This seminar will provide to the audience a clear overview of the history of Saudi Arabia from the first migrations during the Paleolithic Age to the emergence of Islam. SPEAKER: Dhaifallah Altalhi joined the Department of Antiquities in 1983 as an archaeologist and has participated in different survey programs around Saudi Arabia. He has also joined several different excavation programs such as: Almabayat, Tayma, Al-Hijr (Mada'in Saleh), and Aloqair. Mr Althalhi was also a member of the Saudi French excavations in Mada'in Saleh.
Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta Wednesday, January 26 at 5:00 pm (English), 8:30 pm (Arabic), and 9:45 pm (Arabic) Thursday, January 27 at 1:00 pm (Arabic), 5:00 pm (English), 8:30 pm (Arabic), and 9:45 pm (English) Discovery Cinema Journey to Mecca is a 45 minute, award-winning dramatic documentary narrated by Ben Kingsley. It tells the amazing story of Ibn Battuta, the greatest explorer of the Old World, following his first pilgrimage between 1325 and 1326 from Tangier to Mecca. This visually stunning dramatization has been shown in IMAX theaters around the world and has received stellar reviews since its release in 2008. Ibn Battuta is a young scholar on an epic and perilous journey, traveling alone from his home in Morocco to reach Mecca, some 3,000 miles to the east. He is besieged by countless obstacles as he makes his way across the North African desert to Mecca. During his travels he is attacked by bandits, dehydrated by thirst, rescued by Bedouins, and forced to retrace his route by a war-locked Red Sea. Ibn Battuta finally joins the legendary Damascus Caravan with thousands of pilgrims bound for Mecca for the final leg of what would become his 5,000 mile, 18 month-long journey to Mecca. When he arrives in Mecca, he is a man transformed. The dramatic feature ends with a close-up look at the contemporary Hajj, including insights and footage of the pilgrimage that draws three million Muslims from around the world to the region.
Equilibrium, unity, and diversity are some of the most important characteristics of Islamic civilization. Since its beginning, this civilization has been more inclusive than exclusive, and wherever it spread, a new civilization evolved that accommodated the diversity of the local civilization and the constant: Islam. This lecture will explore the dynamic process between the variables and the constants that resulted in a prosperous culture. SPEAKER: Dr. Sami M. Angawi established the Hajj Research Center in 1975 and in 1988 founded and became Managing Director of the Amar Center for Architectural Heritage, supervising all activities in areas of architectural designs, planning, conservation, restoration, and development of traditional architectural heritage. He is a leading activist for preserving the historical sites in Makkah and Madinah.
KAUST Architecture: From Vision to Reality Monday, January 24 from 1:30 – 2:30 pm Building 9 KAUST was the single largest project for design firm Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK). HOK had experience designing other universities and research laboratories in the Kingdom and around the world but none at the pace or scale that was achieved at KAUST. You will be taken through some of the challenges faced, design feature considerations, lessons learned, and case study research that went into developing a world class university from a patch of desert on the Red Sea. SPEAKER: Ron Keller began his involvement with KAUST in April of 2007 as a Senior Project Manager for HOK. He is a registered architect in the U.S. and is a LEED accredited professional in sustainable design. He joined the Economic Development team as the Manager of Marketing and Promotions for the Research Park in August of 2010.
Volcanoes in Saudi Arabia and Iceland: Does a Sleeping Eyjafjallajökull Volcano Exist in Saudi Arabia? Wednesday, January 26 from 4:30 – 5:30 pm Building 20, Auditorium The volcanic eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) revealed how vulnerable our modern society can be to natural hazards. More than 100,000 flights were cancelled during the most active week in April 2010, causing massive travel chaos and a $1.7 billion loss to the airline industry alone. Could a similar eruption take place in Saudi Arabia with comparable consequences? There are many active volcanoes in Saudi Arabia and large areas in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula are covered by lava flows. This lecture will provide a general overview of volcanoes and recent volcanic activity in both Saudi Arabia and Iceland. The similarities and differences in the volcanic activity of these two regions will be explained as well as the potential of an Eyjafjallajökull-type eruption in Saudi Arabia. SPEAKER: Sigurjón Jónsson earned his doctoral degree in geophysics and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and holds master’s and bachelor degree in geophysics from the University of Iceland. After graduation from Stanford, Dr. Jónsson was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and before joining KAUST, was a senior researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Introduction to the Art of Islamic Calligraphy Saturday, January 29 from 4:00 - 7:00 pm Building 9 In this introductory workshop, you will be given an overview of the art of Islamic calligraphy as one of the most prominent forms of visual arts in the Islamic culture. Topics will include the history and development of Islamic calligraphy, its interactive role in the rise of Islamic civilization, and its role in the transmission and preservation of human knowledge over many centuries. The workshop will include a visual presentation illustrating the main features and elements of the various styles of calligraphy, along with many famous works spanning centuries of development. The workshop will also include a description of the special tools used by calligraphers, profiles of central figures in this art, and references to several printed and online resources that can be consulted for further learning and engagement in the art of calligraphy. SPEAKER: Dr. Ammar Al-Nahwi a long-time enthusiast and hobbyist of Islamic calligraphy, will lead this workshop. Despite his formal education and career in mechanical engineering, Dr. Al-Nahwi maintains a passion for this art and uses various opportunities to speak about and advocate the preservation of this important element of Islamic and Arabic heritage. Dr. Al-Nahwi, holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and is currently serving as KAUST’s Vice President of Research and Development Management.
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January 2011
Research
The Beacon
The SHAHEEN Supercomputer
Third Paradigm @ KAUST النموذج الثالث يف جامعة امللك عبد اهلل للعلوم والتقنية
سرع الركنين كانت النظرية و التجريب يعتربان ْ ْ ّ مث أصبحت املحاكاة اآلن ركنًا ثالثًا حيث جند أن احلوسبة العالية األداء ُت،األساسيين للعلم كما يقدم كل من شاهني «احلاسوب العمالق» وفريق خمترب احلوسبة الفائقة من باحثي احلوسبة و مديري.من عجلة االكتشاف و االبتكار .النظم للباحثني و املتعاونني الفرصة لتشغيل عمليات املحاكاة اليت مل تكن حىت يف اخليال قبل عقدين من الزمن Centuries ago scientists worked independently; they made observations, calculated, theorized and documented their observations and theories in notebooks. Over the next several hundred years very little changed. But scientific discovery has undergone profound transformation over the last four decades – from a culture of science with minimal data to science that works with increasingly large amounts of data. This data is shared and enriched by collaboration among scientists from multiple disciplines. The cross-fertilization of ideas and expertise often leads to a better understanding of complex physical phenomena scientists are attempting to analyze today. High performance computing is accelerating discovery and innovation – where theory and experimentation were once the two pillars of science – simulation is now the third. It complements, informs, and when experiments prove too dangerous, expensive, or are otherwise prohibitive, computational science and engineering research can replace experimentation. Taking it one step further, the third paradigm is the use of computers for, not only analysis and simulation, but for discovery through data mining and pattern recognition. Thanks to relatively inexpensive data storage systems, broadband networks, and sensors that are continuously monitoring the earth from high up in space to deep under the sea; a virtual avalanche of
Seismology Seismic imaging estimates the earth’s rock properties by deciphering seismic data recorded on the earth’s surface. For example, earthquake seismologists tomographically decipher traveltimes from earthquakes to understand the geologic history of our planet, helioseismologists invert sunquake measurements to understand the internal physics of the sun, and exploration seismologists use controlled source seismic data to identify oil, gas, and mineral deposits. Without such technology, there would be more than an order-of-magnitude fewer natural resources available for today’s advanced civilization. Recently, KAUST researchers in the earth science program have co-pioneered multisource seismic imaging to significantly expedite the inversion of seismic data. Instead of sequentially inverting one seismic record at a time, they encode and combine all seismic data
data, constantly growing in volume and diversity, is both a blessing and a curse. It holds the promise of significant breakthroughs in scientific discovery for years to come and yet, in order for it to be effectively tapped, it must be properly managed and efficiently manipulated. Researchers now have the power to look at correlations in existing data and consider the relationships between data in multiple domains. The big challenge is how to analyze the enormous amount of data available within a practical time frame (even with a supercomputer). Researchers in KAUST’s Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Engineering (MCSE) Division mostly create theoretical techniques or software implementations that add capabilities to the computational ecosystem – they are enablers. The computational researchers in KAUST’s other two divisions complete the ecosystem as users with software applications. They run ensembles of large simulations or process large batches of data. KAUST enablers include people like Dean of MCSE, Prof. David Keyes and Research Scientist Xiangliang Zhang. For the past two decades, Prof. Keyes’ research has responded to the growing gap between the complexity of the applications that scientists would like to run and the complexity of the architecture of highperformance computers. Application codes typically
together and invert the combined data in one step. This is analogous to listening to simultaneous conversations at a cocktail party, and quickly being able to decipher all conversations at the same time. Dr. Chaiwoot Boonyasiriwat, and Ph.D. students Wei Dai, Yunsong Huang, Xin Wang, and Ge Zhan, are leading the KAUST efforts to further develop and broaden this technology with the help of KAUST Prof. Gerard Schuster and their Academic Excellence Alliance (AEA) partner Prof. Paul Stoffa at University of Texas at Austin. In particular, the KAUST and AEA researchers have developed parallel modeling and inversion codes on Shaheen to validate and refine the multisource inversion technologies. These codes have been successfully tested for 2D and 3D synthetic data, with current efforts aimed at inverting land data and marine data from the Red Sea. These research efforts would not be possible without the computational power of Shaheen.
have requirements that can be expressed as mathematical abstractions, such as “solve a linear system with this matrix” or “find the normal modes of this system”. Scientists who make these demands on the hardware should be spared the details that their matrix needs to be spread out over tens or hundreds of thousands of individual computer memories, connected to similar numbers of processors at the ends of a complex network that routes information through the computer, and ultimately on and off of storage units and display peripherals. The Dean of MCSE, Prof. David Keyes has developed solution algorithms for the distributed-hierarchical memory message-passing supercomputers that have dominated simulation for the past two decades, during which computational capabilities have been improved by a cumulative factor of about one million, at fixed cost. Dr. Zhang’s work is motivated by data streaming applications, which are characterized by data that typically must be processed in real time, and cannot be stored in its entirety or revisited, as it is too voluminous. She employs statistical methods to look for patterns in such data, to detect events of interest. Such events could be scientific in nature, such as the analysis of observations from spectrometers, telescopes, sensors, etc., but the same tools apply to many domains outside of science, such as intrusion
detection in computer networks, or the supply of electricity in response to the timevarying demands of millions of users and hundreds of suppliers. According to Prof. Keyes, the software that he and Dr. Zhang develop allows them “to partner with a large variety of scientists and engineers – an interdisciplinary richness that we and others in the MCSE Division treasure about our work at KAUST!” Whether collaborating across divisions or across the KAUST Global Collaborative Research network, the one constant is the team of computational scientists within the KAUST Supercomputing Laboratory who provide the expertise to assist domain experts to optimize their software for Shaheen and support projects from start to finish. Their reputation is quickly spreading worldwide as the popularity of their exhibit at the SC10 Supercomputing Conference in New Orleans last November can attest. Not only were those watching demonstrations and lectures interested in possible faculty, staff, or student openings, but many were also considering collaborative projects on Shaheen.
Bioscience Biology is generating massive complex data sets and computation is increasingly important to understand and extract useful information from them. Increased size and capability of high-end computer systems make it possible for instance, to quickly compare new molecular sequences against all known DNA and protein data so far generated. The new field of metagenomics, in which genome sequence segments from an entire environmental sample are determined, has revolutionized our approach to studying ecology and population genetics. Recently, the 2010 KAUST Red Sea expedition was carried out. This generated in one experiment, in collaboration with the American University of Cairo, 12% of all current metagenomic data. The metagenomic analysis of these seven million new
sequences would have taken over a year to run on a standard computer server. When Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Heikki Lehvaslaiho, and Research Scientist, Dr. Intikhab Alam in the Computational Bioscience Research Center needed to analyze these data, they turned to the power of Shaheen. It took just weeks to complete. Dr. Lehvaslaiho and Dr. Alam were able to take advantage of work done at Virginia Tech (VT) on a special version of the well known Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) which is one of the standard tools for identifying regions of local similarity between biological sequences. The group at VT, together with others, has developed a "parallelized" version of the BLAST code called mpiBLAST that could run on BlueGene/P systems. At KAUST, they adapted this code to run efficiently on Shaheen and made a pipeline which allows mpiBLAST to automatically undertake many different tasks in the future.
www.thebeacon.kaust.edu.sa
Research
January 2011
LAB GEAR SHAHEEN Supercomputer
PLASMA Physics Magnetic reconnection (MR), the continuous breaking and rearrangement of magnetic field lines in a plasma (footnote: plasma is the fourth state of matter and in fact 99% of the visible universe is in the plasma state), is a fundamental process in physics and computer simulations play a key role in new discoveries in this field. MR is somewhat ubiquitous in nature: it occurs, for example, during solar flares (or coronal mass ejections), in the earth's magnetotail, and in stellar jets. Classical theories predict reconnection rates slower than those observed in nature by as much as a few orders of magnitude. Dr. Ravi Samtaney and colleagues from Lisbon, Colorado, and Oxford are collaborating on the study of a recently discovered instability, which causes the formation of "plasmoids", i.e., clumping of the reconnection layer. Plasmoids are being invoked as one mechanism that increases the reconnection
CHIP
rate. The reconnection process, even in two dimensions, requires immense computational resources because of stringent resolution requirements (one has to be able to resolve thin layers which may be a thousand to ten-thousand times smaller than the length of the physical domain). Here is where Shaheen is proving to be an invaluable resource. Dr. Samtaney developed a parallel simulation code on Shaheen to solve the partial differential equations modeling the reconnection process. To date, he and his colleagues have consumed more than 10 million core hours, at times utilizing the entire machine running on more than 64 thousand cores. Without readily available supercomputing resources on campus, such work would not have been possible. Results from this work generated some excitement at the recent US-Japan Workshop on magnetic reconnection. Dr. Samtaney is looking to extending the model to three dimensions and including more realistic physics, simulations of which will stress even future exascale supercomputers.
4 Cores @ 850 MHz 13.6 GF/s
COMPUTE CARD 1 Chip + 20 DRAMS 4GB DDR2
NODE CARD 32 Compute Cards 0-1 IO Cards 435 GF/s 128GB
CHRIS KEND
ALL
RACK
32 Node Cards 13.9 TF/s 4TB
Simulating Desert Environments Atmospheric physics and environmental modeling combine advanced numerical tools with station, satellite and reanalysis data to develop simulations. These help to predict the factors affecting the interactions between the oceans, land and the atmosphere to evaluate and project human and natural impacts on climate and environmental systems. Dr. Georgiy Stenchikov, Professor of Environmental Science and Applied Mathematics and Computational Science, has been studying the effects of atmospheric-oceanic interaction for 30 years. At KAUST, he has focused on the climate of Saudi Arabia and Red Sea, which are uniquely governed by the interaction of local and global processes. For this reason, although his work relates to the processes in a relatively small region, Dr. Stenchikov and collaborators at the U.S. Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory conduct unique calculations of atmospheric circulation using a 25km grid over the entire Earth resolving both global and regional processes. Validation and analysis of the enormous data flow generated by these simulations are based on station data available from Saudi Arabia’s Presidency of Meteorology and the Environment, and satellite and reanalysis products available from the world’s best scientific centers. This work
KAUST is currently working with the Computational Modeling Technology Team at Saudi Aramco’s EXPEC Advanced Research Center to run their award winning reservoir modeling software, GigaPOWERS, which simulates the Kingdoms giant reservoirs in high resolution using billions of cells on Shaheen. The outcome of these highfidelity simulations will provide a more accurate prediction of the reservoir life and enhance management of reservoir operations.
SHAHEEN requires an enormous amount of computer time and disc space to analyze. Another project, in collaboration with the GCR partner, Prof. Zong-Liang Yang from the University of Texas at Austin, is related to sand storms in Saudi Arabia. Using a 1km resolution grid necessitates even more computational power to run simulations. One of the many outcomes of this research is an enhanced understanding of the effects of dust storms in Saudi Arabia on human health, circulation patterns and climate in Middle East, North Africa and Mediterranean, as well as better quantification of atmospheric and radiative forcing that drives the Red Sea circulation. Dr. Stenchikov and his collaborators work with the most advanced climate models, validate them using station, satellite and reanalysis data and then push the limits of all 64,000 processors of Shaheen.
16 Racks 222 TF/s 64TB
Shaheen, aptly named after the Arabic word for a Peregrine falcon <Arabic>, is a 16-rack IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer, consisting of 65,536 independent processing cores which has a peak performance of 222 Teraflops or 222 x 10^12 floating-point operations per second. It is the largest and most powerful supercomputer in the Middle East. When it was installed in June 2009, it was the 14th most powerful supercomputer in the world. Hardware is only one component of the KAUST Supercomputing Laboratory (KSL) that hosts Shaheen. Manager, Dr. Dinesh Kaushik, and his team consisting of a business manager, seven computational scientists, and five system administrators have an impressive combined record of experience in high performance computing prior to coming to KAUST. Some of the computational scientists were given about six months training on the BlueGene/P system in residence at IBM before moving to campus. The computational scientists provide one-on-one assistance to faculty to ensure that they use the most effective algorithms to exploit the full capabilities of Shaheen. The system administrators manage the system on a day-to-day basis to ensure its high availability and dependability.
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COMMUNITY
January 2011
The Beacon Photo by: Aryuna Mikhaylova
photo of the month
Every month The Beacon team has the good fortune to glimpse some of nature’s most interesting subjects that are often hidden to all but the eagle eyes of KAUST’s roving photographers. Aryuna Mikhaylova, a community member from Russia, found this hive of traumatized wasps that had fallen from a palm tree during a late December storm. The inset photo gives you an idea of the location and scale of her
find. “KAUST is like a resort for many birds, insects, geckos” she told The Beacon and she implored the gardeners at KAUST to leave “more beautiful shady places” for these natural inhabitants. We enjoy receiving each and every one of your photographs (and wish we could publish them all). Please keep them coming! Email your photos to thebeacon@kaust.edu.sa
My university Iman Roquan Dr. Iman Roquan is a physicist in the Materials Science Program in the Physical Science and Engineering Division at KAUST. She studied the optical properties of gallium nitride (used for semiconductors) for her Ph.D. in Scotland, following her undergraduate degree in Makkah. Gallium nitride is important for lasers, LEDs and display lighting and has a far-reaching role in areas including medicine and education. After several months working at Imperial College in London as part of Global Collaborative
Research, she joined the Electrical Engineering and Materials Science program at KAUST. “Saudi Arabia is my country,” she explains, “and I want to do something for my country.” Already her classes are popular, but she would like to attract more female graduates to her subject; even in Europe she was one of very few women in the field. She is excited about the Women in Science and Engineering seminar that is part of the Winter Enrichment Program.
Tariq Malas Born in Damascus, Syria, and raised in Al Khobar, Tariq was an undergraduate in Information Systems at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals when he first heard of the King’s dream for KAUST. He is proud to be amongst the first 100 students to be accepted and, although it was difficult waiting until the fall of 2010 to enter (he monitored construction on the website weekly), he says, “when you dream of something for three years, you grow with it”.
He feels privileged to be at KAUST and welcomes the opportunity to be a pioneer. “If you go to Harvard”, he suggests, “everything’s been done and here students can help build the university”. Tariq has plans to do just that. He is determined to help improve student life and accessibility on campus and would like to see greater integration between KAUST and other universities in the Kingdom. Like most of his colleagues, he’s willing to ‘roll up his sleeves’ and help make it happen.
ryan Justiniano In his home country, the Philippines, Ryan worked as a baker. He left home for the first time to come to KAUST where he uses the skills he learned taking his hotel and management qualification to keep the fourth level of Building 16 immaculate. “I enjoy my job a lot’, he says, and enjoys preparing for the many VIPs hosted by KAUST, taking special care when he knows someone very important is coming. He was particularly taken with the graciousness of
His Excellency Minister Ali Ibrahim Al-Naimi when he visited. Ryan speaks to his family a couple of times each month, and will see them when he returns at the end of his two-year contract. His work here enables him to help support his eight siblings back home and he is looking forward to being a baker there one day in the future.
KAUST celebrates Inaugural Commencement Ceremony
WEP Schedule
January 2011
The Beacon
Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) 2011 The 2011 Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) will be held January 15 - 31 with a special opening night reception Friday, January 14. WEP is designed with the aim to have our intellectual horizons enlarged and our imaginations stretched. This expansive collection of events, lectures and seminars - which goes beyond the traditional academic curriculum, is offered to students and the KAUST community.
New this year is a special WEP website with extensive details (descriptions, speaker biographies, locations, etc.) about each of the courses and events, as well as online registration. Visit http://wep.kaust.edu.sa for details.
This year’s program focuses on four areas: • Business and Entrepreneurship • Technology and Innovation • Personal and Professional Development • Culture and Art of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East
WEEK 1
Sat 15
Sun 16
wep.kaust.edu.sa
Mon 17 3 Hour Courses
Tue 18 09:00-12:00
Wed 19
Thurs 20
Fri 21
Cornell University Entrepreneurship Certificate - daily from 9:00 - 16:30
09:30 - 10:00
Opening (Calvin/Rockwood)
Improv Theatre A (Rowland) - daily from 9:00-12:00
10:00 - 11:30
Welcome Lecture (Norden)
Advanced Improv Theatre (Orr) - daily from 9:00-12:00 Scientific Type Setting with LATEX (Saragiotis) 1/3
11:00 - 13:00
Scientific Type Setting with LATEX (Saragiotis) 2/3
Scientific Type Setting with LATEX (Saragiotis) 3/3
Intro to Physical Problem Solving (Newman) 1/3
Intro to Physical Problem Solving (Newman) 2/3 Biomedical Signals & Sensors (Kaniusas) 1/3 Solar Energy Conversion via Water Splitting with Photocatalysts (Domen)
Intro to Physical Problem Solving (Newman) 3/3 Biomedical Signals & Sensors (Kaniusas) 2/3 Sustainable Chemistry, Principles, Methods & Technologies (Lemaire)
Electron Density Models Using Computational Chemistry Biomedical Signals & Sensors (Kaniusas) 3/3
Biological Economics and Decision Making (Chew/Ebstein) 1/2 Marine Life for Non Majors (Berumen/Furby) 1/3
Biological Economics and Decision Making (Chew/Ebstein) 2/2 Marine Life for Non Majors (Berumen/Furby) 2/3
Concept & Application of Modern Multi-Pulse Multi-Dimensional NMR (Emsley) 1/2 Marine Life for Non Majors (Berumen/Furby) 3/3
Concept & Application of Modern Multi-Pulse Multi-Dimensional NMR (Emsley) 2/2
WEP Family 5K RUN 9:00 - 12:00
Piano Class 11:00-12:00 (Malone)
Visualization Laboratory Open House
12:30 - 13:00
KAUST Museum Tour
13:30 - 14:30
The Craft of Scientific Writing and Publishing: How to Get Published in Nature and Other Top-Ranked International Journals (Campbell/Csontos) 13:30 - 16:00
15:00 - 16:00
Life In Extreme Environments Seminar (Stingl/DasSarma/Antunes/McGenity) 1/2 13:30 - 16:30
Public Speaking in Graduate School Settings (Jolly) 1/3 (90 mins)
KAUST Museum Tour
KAUST Museum Tour
International Year of Chemistry Celebration: Lecture Series (Basset/Domen/Kadri/Lemaire) 13:30 - 17:00
Women in Science & Engineering (Roqan/Merzaban/Zuber/Kadri/ Al-Kuraya/Al-Suhaibani/Caps/Aissa/ Kashab) 13:30 - 17:30
Life In Extreme Environments Seminar (DasSarma/McGenity) 2/2 15:00-17:00
Monitoring the Diversity & Role of Marine Microorganisms (Lebaron) 1/2
Monitoring the Diversity & Role of Marine Microorganisms (Lebaron) 2/2
Birds of the Middle East (Smith) 1/2 (2 hrs ) Public Speaking in Graduate School Settings (Jolly) 2/3 (90 mins)
Birds of the Middle East (Smith) 2/2 (2 hrs) Public Speaking in Graduate School Settings (Jolly) 3/3 (90 mins )
Master Class of Cuisine 12:00 - 14:00
Tour of Jeddah (small fee) 15:00 - 23:00
Violin Class (Kuang) - daily from 15:00-16:00 Improv Theatre B (Al-Naffouri) - daily from 15:00-18:00 Improv Singing (Brody) - daily from 15:00-17:30
16:30 - 17:30
IsoIation & Characterization of Marine Natural Products (Crews) 1/3
IsoIation & Characterization of Marine IsoIation & Characterization of Natural Products (Crews) 2/3 Marine Natural Products (Crews) 3/3 Intro to MATLAB (Kouider) 1/2
Sunset Boat Cruise (small fee)
Beyond Left & Right: Harnessing the Power of the Whole Brain to Enhance Learning (Murray) Intro to MATLAB (Kouider) 2/2
Sunset Boat Cruise (small fee)
Refresh Your English Grammar with Communicative Tasks (Sherris) Numbers, Codes & Logic (Kouider) Sunset Boat Cruise (small fee applies)
Staff Improv (Saisi)
17:00-19:00
International Year of Chemistry Celebration: Experiments Piano From the Starting Line (Malone)
19:30 - 21:00
Still Finding Science in Finding Nemo (Berumen)
Bringing “Avatar’s” Faces to Life (Mark Sagar)
Piano from the Starting Line (Malone)
Music & the Elements (Swann)
Size Matters (Jay Shafer)
A Fact Based World View (Hans Rosling) Present-Day Mars: From Moonscape to Desert to Tundra (Maria Zuber)
Beach Day: 9:00 - 16: 00 boat race, kayak races, barbecue, volleyball tournament, beach soccer
Piano From the Starting Line (Malone) Basel & Friends Performance
WEP Schedule
January 2011 WEEK 2
Sat 22
Sun 23
Mon 24 3 Hour Courses 09:00-12:00
The Beacon Tue 25
Wed 26
Thurs 27
Fri 28
Cornell University Entrepreneurship Certificate: daily from 09:00 - 16:30 Symposium The Impact of Applied and Computational Mathematics in the 21st Century (Hinch/Oliver/Hall/Goriely/Huppert/ Ockendon) 9:30 - 18:00
OCCAM Study Group in Mathematics for Industry from 9:00 - 17:30 Ground To The Sky: Multiscale Challenges In Materials & Structures (Lubineau/Bourchak/Rey/ Khan/Prudhomme) 1/2 9:00 - 16:00
Multiscale Hybrid High Performance Application with Visualization (Douglas/Efendiev/Hansen) 1/3
Intro to Value Engineering (Asha) 1/2 Multiscale Hybrid High Performance Application with Visualization (Douglas/Efendiev/Hansen) 2/3
Ground To The Sky: Multiscale Challenges In Materials & Structures (Lubineau/Bourchak/Rey/ Khan/Prudhomme) 2/2 9:00 - 16:00 Intro to Value Engineering (Asha) 2/2
Multiscale Hybrid High Performance Application with Visualization (Douglas/Efendiev/Hansen) 3/3
Hands-on Tutorials on FEM with COMSOL Advanced Geometrics in Pattern Multiphysics (Cotterau/Prudhomme) Formation (Zappulla) 1/2
Advanced Geometrics in Pattern Formation (Zappulla) 2/2
Intro to HPC I (Marchand) Intro to HPC 2 (Marchand) Intro to HPC 3 (Marchand) Intro to HPC 4 (Marchand) Mathematical Modeling of Mathematical Modeling of Mathematical Modeling of Metamaterials Electromagnetics (Li) 1/3 Metamaterials Electromagnetics (Li) 2/3 Metamaterials Electromagnetics (Li) 3/3 Vis. 1: Scientific Data Visualization Using AVIZO (Knox/Srinivasan/ Acevedo-Feliz)
Vis. 2: Scientific Data Visualization Using VISIT (Childs)
Excel-ling in Analyzing Your Data & Statistics (Kouider)
Steps to Successful Roommate Relationships (Moredock)
12:30 - 13:00
KAUST Museum Tour
Music Workshop (samite) (60 min)
13:30 - 14:30
How to Write About Science For a General Audience (Sherris)
Beyond Left & Right: Harnessing the History of KAUST Architecture (Keller) Power of the Whole Brain Enhance Learning (Murray)
09:00 - 10:00 11:00 - 13:00
Vis. 4: Perception, Illusion & Simulation: Vis. 5: Distributed Scientific Advanced Audio Systems for Immersive Visualization Using SAGE & Media Experience (Otto/Seldess) cgIX (Knox) Practicing Writing About Science Refresh Your English Grammar with For A General Audience (Sherris) (90 min) Communicative Tasks (Sherris)
Visualization Laboratory Open House
Musical Marathon 11:30 KAUST Museum Tour
KAUST Museum Tour
Intro to MATLAB (Kouider) 1/2
Intro to MATLAB (Kouider) 2/2
Plant Spirals Beauty: Do Plants Know Math? (Atela)
Dynamic Systems & Geometry in Phyllotaxis (Atela) Violin Class (Kuang)
Physics - The Birth of Quantum Mechanics (Manchon) 1/2
Physics - The Birth of Quantum Mechanics (Manchon) 2/2
Ultrafast Spectroscopy Photoelectron Imaging (Sobhy)
Dates: A Product of KSA (Thupran)
Islam & Universal Order (Angawi)
15:00 - 16:00 16:00 - 17:00 16:30 - 17:30
Vis. 3: Supporting Scientific & Collaborative Technology With Data Networking Technologies (Wickham)
Drug Design and Discovery: Therory and Experiments with Computational Protein-Protein Docking (Bajaj) 13:30 - 17:30 Science & Technology of Ultranano crystalline Diamond Films for Application to Multifunctional System (Auciello) 1/2 New Insight of Resistive Switching in MIS Nano-scale Devices (Pey)
Music Workshop (Swann)
Sunset Boat Cruise (small fee)
Entrepreneurship Program: Roundtable (Jamal/Attar/Nassief/Bahjatt/Jamal/ Saudi Archaelogy at a Glance (Al Talhi) Binzagr/Koshak/Sine) 16:30-18:30
Volcanoes In Saudi Arabia & Iceland: Does a Sleeping “Eyjafjallajökull Volcano” Exist in Saudi Arabia? (Jónsson)
Journey to Mecca Film
17:30 - 19:00
WEP Research Poster Session
19:30 - 21:00
Poverty in the Nation of Social Sponsorship (Saleh Al Turki)
Viva La Robolution (Bruno Bonnell)
Journey to the Soul of Africa Concert (Samite)
Golf Tournament 9:00 - 12:00
Women’s Badminton Tournament and Disk Golf Men’s Single 16:00 - 18:00 Tournament 18:30 - 20:00
Behind the Scenes at Pixar (Rob Cook)
Journey to Mecca Film
21:45 - 22:45
Sun 30 3 Hour Courses 09:00-12:00
Journey to Mecca Film
Preconceived Ideas Regarding Saudi Soccer Work Force Tournament (Abdulrahman Al Zamil) 18:30 Bowling Tournament
Journey to Mecca Film
20:30 - 21:30
Sat 29
Jeddah Museum Tour 10:00 - 22:00 (small fee) Journey to Mecca Film 13:00
Sunset Boat Cruise (small fee applies
17:00 - 18:30
WEEK 3
Drug Design and Discovery: Therory and Experiments with Computational Protein-Protein Docking (Bajaj) 13:30 - 17:30 Science & Technology of Ultranano crystalline Diamond Films for Application to Multifunctional System (Auciello) 2/2 Evolution of Integrated Circuits & Future of Semiconductors (Pey)
Ultimate Ultimate Frisbee: Clinic Tournament 10:00 - 13:00 8:00 - 15:00
Journey to Mecca Film 20:30 and 21:45
Mon 31
The Anthropogenic Water Cycle:
Harnessing Adaptive Traits from
Solutions to Minimize Environmental
Extrem ophiles to Increase Food
Impacts & Promote Reuse Options
Security (Cheeseman) 9:00 - 14:30
(Croue/Keller/Leckie /Jekel/Reckhow/ Amy) 9:00 - 17:30
Cloud Computing: Concepts & Technologies (Sahu) 9:00 - 16:30 The Art of Being a Scientist (Snieder/ Larner) 1/3
The Art of Being a Scietntist (Snieder/ Larner) 2/3 Seismic Inversion for Reservoir Characterization (Sen) 1/2
The Geopolitics of Energy Efficiency (Bettiol) 1/2
Seismic Inversion for Reservoir Characterization (Sen)
2/2
The Geopolitics of Energy Efficiency (Bettiol) 2/2 Musical Marathon
11:30-13:00 12:30 - 13:00
The Art of Being a Scientist (Snieder/ Larner) 3/3
KAUST Museum Tour
KAUST Museum Tour Steps to Successful Roommate Relationships (Moredock/Baker)
13:30 - 14:30
Women’s Role in Business (Lama Abdulaziz Alsuliman)
15:00 - 16:00
Open Access: Accelerating Scientific
Saudi Culture & its Implications on
Progress (Jerram)
How to Write About Science for a General Audience (Sherris)
Surviving the Ph.D. Dissertation
Surviving the Ph.D. Dissertation
Surviving the Ph.D. Dissertation
(Moredock) 1/3
(Moredock) 2/3
(Moredock) 3/3
Refresh Your English Grammar with
Sunset Boat Cruise (small fee)
Communicative Tasks (Sherris)
Fine-Tune Your Resume (Jolly)
Poetry Reading (Nye/Ruurs/Kadoura)
WEP Closing Ceremony
16:00 - 19:00
Introduction to the Art of Islamic
16:30 - 17:30
Sunset Boat Cruise (small fee)
19:30 - 21:00
Research Poster Session Awards
Business (Khalid Sulaiman Alrajhi)
Calligraphy (Nahwi)
Visit http://wep.kaust.edu.sa for details and biographies on additional speakers and seminars. Online registration is required and limited spaces are filled on a first come-first served basis. Spaces are filling up quickly so register soon! For inquiries, please email contactwep@kaust.edu.sa. Please note that the schedule is subject to change. Check the website for the most up-to-date information and any last minute changes: http://wep.kaust.edu.sa