The 2022 PIF Saudi International golf tournament took place at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). Harold Varner III of the USA won the tournament, claiming the title and a $1,000,000 cash award. KAUST was among the official partners contributing to the event. Why it matters: This event highlights Saudi Arabia's growing role in international sports and KAUST's involvement in supporting such events.
KAUST Assistant Professor Xiaohang Li has won the 2018 Harold M. Manasevit Young Investigator Award for his work in metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of semiconductors. Li will receive the award at the 19th International Conference on Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy in Japan. The award recognizes Li's contributions to deep UV lasers, B-III-N alloys, III-oxides, and blue and green emitters. Why it matters: This award highlights KAUST's growing prominence in advanced semiconductor research and its potential impact on the optoelectronics industry.
KAUST Professor Nikos Hadjichristidis has been awarded the H.F. Mark Medal from the Austrian Research Institute for Chemistry and Technology. The award recognizes outstanding individuals in polymer science. Hadjichristidis is known for his work in synthesizing model polymers with various macromolecular architectures. Why it matters: This award highlights KAUST's growing prominence in advanced materials science and its ability to attract and retain world-leading researchers.
The provided content mentions KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) and its association with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. It also includes a copyright notice. Why it matters: This is a routine update reflecting KAUST's branding and legal information.
The content describes Hassan Alsibyani from the class of 2017 as a student commencement speaker at KAUST. It also contains boilerplate copyright information about King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Why it matters: This is a routine announcement of student activities at KAUST.
Chess grandmaster Susan Polgar visited KAUST during the 2018 Winter Enrichment Program and played a simultaneous chess exhibition with 10 KAUST Chess Club members, winning against all of them. Polgar also delivered a lecture on how AI has transformed the chess world, referencing the 1997 IBM supercomputer victory over Garry Kasparov. She expressed being impressed by KAUST's facilities and the resources available to faculty and students. Why it matters: This event highlights KAUST's engagement with AI-related topics beyond traditional research, showcasing the university as a hub for diverse intellectual discussions.
KAUST master’s degree student Samuel Horváth won a best poster award at the Data Science Summer School (DS3) in Paris for his poster entitled "Nonconvex Variance Reduced Optimization with Arbitrary Sampling". The poster is based on a paper of the same name currently under review and is joint work between Horváth and his supervisor Professor Peter Richtárik from the KAUST Visual Computing Center. Horváth's research interests are at the interface of statistical learning and big data optimization, with a focus on randomized methods for non-convex problems. Why it matters: This award recognizes the quality of KAUST's research and its students' contributions to the field of data science and optimization.
Former KAUST President Professor Choon Fong Shih was presented with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) Centennial Medal by Harvard University in May. Shih received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Harvard in 1973 and was recognized for his contributions to knowledge and society. He served as the founding president of KAUST from 2008 and previously held positions at the National University of Singapore and GE Corporate Research Lab. Why it matters: The award recognizes the impact of a key figure in KAUST's early development and highlights the university's connection to globally recognized researchers and institutions.