Excyton, a startup based at KAUST, has developed a novel display technology called “TurboLED” that reduces power consumption by 50% and increases the color range rendered on displays to 76%. The technology utilizes a six sub-pixel format (light and deep RGB) compared to the standard three, saving energy by using lighter colors most of the time. Excyton received $2 million in funding from KAUST Innovation Ventures and collaborated with KAUST to develop the technology. Why it matters: This innovation could significantly improve the battery life of mobile devices while also enhancing display quality, providing a competitive advantage for devices manufactured in the region.
KAUST researchers led by Mark Tester are developing new irrigation technology to enable crop production using semi-saline water, aiming to reduce freshwater reliance to 10% in greenhouse systems. The technology is eco-friendly and intends to cut agricultural costs by utilizing seawater, targeting a cost of 10 U.S. cents per cubic meter. A new company named Red Sea Farms is being developed to grow salt-tolerant tomatoes in diluted seawater in a greenhouse cooled with undiluted seawater. Why it matters: This research could significantly reduce pressure on freshwater resources in arid regions and offers a sustainable approach to increase food production using available seawater.
KAUST Vice President for Research Dr. Donal Bradley was inaugurated as a Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors (NAI) at a ceremony in Florida. Bradley holds 16 granted U.S. patents, including a fundamental patent on conjugated polymer electroluminescence (U.S. 5,247,190) that led to the development of OLED displays. His work led to the founding of Cambridge Display Technology and collaborations with Dow Chemical and Sumitomo Chemical. Why it matters: This recognition highlights KAUST's impact on global innovation in materials science and engineering, particularly in the development of advanced display technologies.
KAUST Discovery highlighted Prof. Karl Leo's insights on translating science into business from an Entrepreneurship Center speaker series. Prof. Leo, with 440 publications and 8 co-founded companies, emphasized the importance of curiosity-driven basic research. He envisions organic semiconductors dominating electronics in 20-30 years, noting the success of Novaled, his OLED company in Dresden. Why it matters: This underscores KAUST's focus on fostering entrepreneurship and translating research into practical applications within the Kingdom.
Professor Christian Roos from the University of Innsbruck will present a seminar on investigating many-body physics using trapped ions dressed by laser light. The talk will cover encoding, manipulating, and entangling quantum information using laser-cooled trapped ions. Recent experiments demonstrating entangling interactions and single-qubit control in strings of up to 50 ions will be discussed. Why it matters: This seminar contributes to advancements in quantum computing and simulation, fields of increasing interest in the Middle East as the region invests in advanced technologies.