From the President

Whether you are opening your first edition or your seventh edition of KAUST Impact welcome to the magazine that celebrates some of the latest fruits that have evolved from KAUST’s pioneering research, education and innovation to society, government and industry. am personally celebrating five years at the helm of this institution, which, as the articles in this issue demonstrate, has placed itself at the heart of Saudi Vision 2030 and the service of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

scientific and technological contributions to that end, are still coming. Other pages (17 – 18 & 23 – 33) show how KAUST has become a face to the outside world of deep tech in Saudi Arabia, while our featured section, Research for National Priorities, illustrates in the categories of water, health, agriculture, climate, and telecommunications some of the research basis for this reputation. Our innovation is also on display on pages 7 – 16, while some of the recognition that our faculty, students, and alumni have received as a result is described on pages 34 – 38.

For more on the science behind the impact, try KAUST Discovery. discovery.kaust.edu.sa

For more on the people behind the discovery, try KAUST Insight. insight.kaust.edu.sa

We are excited to have recently hosted the inaugural Global Sustainable Development Congress in cooperation with Times Higher Education, as described on pages 19 & 20. Several fellow Saudi university presidents and several ministers and deputy ministers joined nearly 1400 delegates from 267 universities and 67 countries, with many more joining virtually. The praise and expressions of gratitude for Saudi Arabia’s campaigns for a sustainable world, particularly its

Each feature article in KAUST Impact is accompanied by an external stakeholder quotation called out from the text within green angle brackets. Even if you have only ten minutes to spend with this issue, you can read the praise that 28 such stakeholders, from princes to guest researchers, have given for our efforts and accomplishments –all made possible by the dynamism of a Kingdom in pursuit of Vision 2030 and a university catalyst rapidly becoming a global destination.

Tony F. Chan, President of KAUST

KAUST in Numbers

2,862 alumni

188 faculty

2,775 total employees

1,530 current students

398 research scientists

565 postdocs

8,460 community members (from 115 countries)