KAUST Professor Marc Genton received the 2024 Don Owen Award from the San Antonio Chapter of the American Statistical Association. The award recognizes Genton's excellence in research, statistical consultation, and service to the statistical community. Genton's research focuses on large-scale spatial and temporal data, with applications to environmental problems, including wind energy potential in Saudi Arabia. Why it matters: This award highlights KAUST's contributions to statistical research and its application to important environmental challenges in the region.
The Dow SISCA awards at KAUST recognized two Ph.D. students for their sustainability-focused research. Anas Abu-Taha won first place and $10,000 for his work on nanoscale thermoelectrics for waste heat energy harvesting. David Conchouso Gonzales was the runner-up, receiving $2,500 for his poster on sustainable production of controllable emulsions using microfluidic droplet generators. Why it matters: The awards highlight KAUST's dedication to sustainability research and its ongoing partnership with Dow Chemical in fostering innovative solutions.
Dalal Alezi, a Ph.D. student in KAUST's Physical Science and Engineering Division, has received the inaugural PSE Division Student Award. Alezi is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate. The award recognizes outstanding Ph.D. candidates within the division. Why it matters: The award highlights KAUST's commitment to recognizing and supporting exceptional talent in science and engineering.
KAUST Ph.D. student Jinhui Xiong won the best paper award at the 24th International Symposium on Vision, Modeling, and Visualization in Germany for his paper "Stochastic Convolutional Sparse Coding". The paper, co-authored with KAUST Professors Peter Richtárik and Wolfgang Heidrich, introduces a novel stochastic spatial-domain solver for Convolutional Sparse Coding (CSC). The proposed algorithm outperforms state-of-the-art solutions in terms of execution time and offers an improved representation for learning dictionaries from sample images. Why it matters: This award recognizes significant research in efficient image representation and dictionary learning, contributing to advancements in visual computing and AI at KAUST.
KAUST alumnus Dr. Hesham Omran won the UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for achievements in STEM. Omran was recognized for his Analog Designer’s Toolbox (ADT) and his Mastering Microelectronics YouTube channel, which has over 1.2 million views. Omran aims to boost microelectronics innovation in the Arab world. Why it matters: The award highlights the impact of KAUST graduates on STEM fields in the region and recognizes contributions to education and innovation in microelectronics.
KAUST Ph.D. student Gaurav Agarwal won the best student paper award at the International Indian Statistical Association's 2019 Student Paper Competition for his work on the joint distribution of wind speed and direction. Agarwal's research involved developing a visualization tool for bivariate functional data, which can be used in climate and weather prediction models. He also received a scholarship based on his contributions using R. Why it matters: This award recognizes innovative work in environmental statistics at KAUST, highlighting the university's contributions to data science and statistical learning with applications to climate modeling.
KAUST's Vice President for Research, Donal Bradley, received the 2019 Jan Czochralski Award from the European Materials Research Society for his work in advanced materials science. He was presented with the award at a ceremony in Warsaw, Poland, and gave a lecture titled "Tuning Conjugated Polymer Electronic and Optical Properties via Physical Structure and Environment." Bradley is the 16th recipient of the award, joining a list including Nobel laureate Shuji Nakamura. Why it matters: This award recognizes KAUST's leadership in materials science and its commitment to attracting top researchers in this critical field.
KAUST Professor Pierre Magistretti received the 2016 Fondation IPSEN Neuronal Plasticity prize for his work in neuroenergetics. The award recognizes Magistretti's contributions to understanding the relationship between neuronal activity and brain energy consumption. He shares the award with Dr. David Attwell and Dr. Marcus Raichle, and will be honored at FENS in Copenhagen. Why it matters: This award highlights KAUST's contribution to international neuroscience research and strengthens its reputation in biological and environmental science.