KAUST student Zain Ahmad won a best poster award at the 45th International Conference on Micro & Nano Engineering in Rhodes, Greece. Ahmad's poster, titled "Hydrophobic Desalination Membranes from Common Hydrophilic Materials," presented research co-authored by Ratul Das, Sankara Arunachalam, Ulrich Buttner, and Himanshu Mishra. The poster presented the first-ever membranes for water desalination using membrane distillation processes derived from water-loving materials, addressing the limitations of traditional water-repellent materials. Why it matters: This award highlights KAUST's contribution to innovative desalination technologies, crucial for water security in arid regions.
Jhonathan Prieto Rojas completed his master's (2010) and Ph.D. (2014) in electrical engineering at KAUST under Professor Muhammad Mustafa Hussain. After six years at KAUST, he joined King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) as an assistant professor in electrical engineering. His research at KAUST focused on micro and nanofabrication techniques, including micro-sized microbial fuel cells and flexible electronics. Why it matters: This highlights KAUST's role in developing talent and contributing to Saudi Arabia's STEM capabilities through its alumni network in other institutions.
KAUST Professor Boon Ooi, Nobel laureate Shuji Nakamura, and colleagues are collaborating on laser-based solid state lighting (SSL) and visible light communications (VLC). The team is using gallium nitride (GaN) to develop high-performance semiconductor laser devices, leveraging nanofabrication techniques at KAUST. They demonstrated that their laser-based VLC system is over 20 times faster than LED-based Li-Fi systems. Why it matters: This research could enable faster, more energy-efficient data transmission using visible light, with potential applications in both terrestrial and underwater communication.
In November 2017, students from KFUPM's Electrical Engineering department visited KAUST's Nanofabrication Core Lab (NCL). The students toured the campus and the KAUST Core Labs facilities and were shown processing equipment in the NCL cleanroom. Demonstrations on micro and nanofabrication techniques were also conducted. Why it matters: While dated, the article highlights the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing between Saudi universities in developing future researchers in nanotechnology.