News

December 2020

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  KAUST VCCVIS researchers win IEEE Scientific Visualization (SciVis) 2020 Best Paper Award

  1 min read · Sun, Dec 6 2020

  News

  IEEE SciVis award

  Researchers from the KAUST High-Performance Visualization Group (VCCVIS) have won the IEEE Scientific Visualization (SciVis) 2020 Best Paper Award at the IEEE Visualization Conference (IEEE VIS) 2020. Held virtually from October 25-30, IEEE VIS 2020 brought together a host of researchers and practitioners from academia, government, and industry to discuss advances in theory, methods and visual analytics applications.
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  KAUST STAT students come together for second ASA chapter meeting

  1 min read · Thu, Dec 3 2020

  News

  statistics data science

  Members of the KAUST American Statistical Association (ASA) student chapter recently came together for the group’s second online meeting held on Tuesday, November 10, 2020. The meeting served as an orientation exercise for new KAUST Statistics (STAT) Program students while also highlighting the shared experience of STAT Ph.D. candidates: Jian Cao, Wanfang Chen, Yuxiao Li, and Gaurav Agarwal.
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  Professor Ghanem wins 2020 Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers

  1 min read · Wed, Dec 2 2020

  Awards Spotlight News

  machine learning big data

  Bernard Ghanem, KAUST associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science, recently received the 2020 Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers for ''Machine Learning and Big Data.''
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  KAUST Distinguished Professor Mohamed-Slim Alouini honored with IEEE accolades

  1 min read · Tue, Dec 1 2020

  News

  Wireless Communications IEEE award

  Professor Mohamed-Slim Alouini has been awarded both the 2019 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Communication Society Communication Theory Technical Committee (CCTC) Technical Achievement Award, and the 2020 IEEE Vehicular Technology Society James Evans Avant Garde Award. The CEMSE Division founding faculty member received the awards for his contributions in the modeling, design, performance evaluation, and optimization of wireless communication systems and networks.
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  Mohamed-Slim Alouini elected as 2021 OSA Fellow

  1 min read · Tue, Dec 1 2020

  Spotlight News

  ​KAUST Distinguished Professor Mohamed-Slim Alouini was recently elected as a 2021 Fellow of the Optical Society (OSA). The prestigious recognition highlights members who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics. This year's cohort comprises 118 newly elected members from 24 countries. The new Fellows will be honored at OSA conferences and meetings throughout 2021.

November 2020

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  KAUST startup aims to disrupt last-mile delivery

  1 min read · Mon, Nov 30 2020

  News

  As e-commerce continues to spike worldwide, especially with the pandemic, the number of parcels delivered each day has dramatically increased. Customer expectations for speedy fulfillment have also been rising, however, leaving companies to grapple with multiple, last-mile delivery challenges.
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  Machine Learning Arabic NLP webinar

  1 min read · Sun, Nov 22 2020

  News

  machine learning

  Join us to learn, compete, and win at the Machine Learning Webinar and learn more about participating in the Arabic NLP challenge! Register Now!
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  Deep learning in the emergency department

  1 min read · Sun, Nov 22 2020

  News

  machine learning artificial intelligence statistics human health

  Harnessing the power of deep learning leads to better predictions of patient admissions and flow in emergency departments.
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  An algorithm for success: KAUST-designed differential equation-solving algorithm included in Maple 2020

  1 min read · Tue, Nov 17 2020

  News

  algorithm nonlinear ordinary differential equations Symbolic Computation

  A KAUST-designed symbolic algorithm to solve nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) has been selected for inclusion in the current version of the computer algebra system (CAS) Maple 2020. The global symbolic and numeric computing software system—developed by the Canadian company Waterloo Maple (Maplesoft)—is widely used by scientists, engineers, and researchers to analyze, visualize, and solve mathematical problems.
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  Sensors get a laser shape up

  1 min read · Sun, Nov 15 2020

  News

  sensors material science electrical engineering

  Laser writing breathes life into high-performance sensing platforms.
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  Intelligent surfaces signal better coverage

  1 min read · Wed, Nov 11 2020

  News

  networks connectivity electrical engineering

  A mathematical model shows specialized reflective panels could be deployed on a large scale to enhance communication networks in urban areas.
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  Talented KAUST Ph.D. student aims to revolutionize healthcare with machine learning

  1 min read · Tue, Nov 10 2020

  News

  machine learning healthcare bioinformatics

  KAUST Ph.D. student, Yu Li, is a talented young computer scientist with an interest in developing novel computational methods and algorithms to solve and understand the principles behind the “bio-world.”
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  KAUST startup tackles COVID using AI and robotics

  1 min read · Mon, Nov 9 2020

  News

  robotics artificial intelligence COVID-19

  The COVID-19 pandemic has activated vital innovation and R&D initiatives to tackle the crippling effects, health ramifications, and overall impact of the coronavirus on global societies and economies. In recent months, the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, launched a COVID-19-themed virtual accelerator aimed at supporting talented innovators, aspiring entrepreneurs, and innovative small companies dedicated to finding solutions to mitigate the spread of the virus through protection, prevention, tracking/detection, and treatment solutions.
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  KAUST alumni receive SPE 2020 Regional Awards

  1 min read · Mon, Nov 9 2020

  News

  MEMS sensors IoT

  KAUST alumni Dr. Chinthaka Gooneratne and Dr. Bodong Li both recently received Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) 2020 Regional Awards for the Middle East and North Africa Region. Gooneratne won the Regional Drilling Engineering Award, while Li was awarded the Regional Formation Evaluation Award.
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  Keep the data coming

  1 min read · Mon, Nov 9 2020

  News

  big data extreme computing applied mathematics computational science

  A continuous data supply ensures data-intensive simulations can run at maximum speed.
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  Peering under the hood of SARS-CoV-Two

  1 min read · Sun, Nov 8 2020

  News

  visual computing Computer science COVID-19

  Microscope and protein data are incorporated into an easy-to-use-and-update tool that can model an organism’s 3D appearance.
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  Sheer protection from electromagnetic radiation

  1 min read · Sun, Nov 1 2020

  News

  electrical engineering Materials

  A printable ink that is both conductive and transparent can also block radio waves.
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  Connecting the Unconnected at the KAUST 6G Summit

  1 min read · Sun, Nov 1 2020

  News

  6G Wireless Communications communication technology

  The inaugural 6G Summit on "Connecting the Unconnected" took place on Tuesday, October 27, and featured a host of international researchers and experts in the areas of Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) and Wireless Communications System (WCS).

October 2020

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  Nazek El-Atab selected to participate in the Rising Stars 2020 workshop

  1 min read · Thu, Oct 29 2020

  News

  Nazek El-Atab, a research scientist based in the KAUST MMH Labs, has been selected to participate in the Rising Stars 2020 Academic Career Workshop for Women in EECS. Rising Stars is an intensive workshop aimed at increasing the numbers of women interested in pursuing academic careers in computer science, computer engineering, and electrical engineering (EECS). The workshop, which was launched by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012, will take place virtually from November 9-10, 2020, and will be hosted by the University of California, Berkeley.
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  Novel multiphase flow research sees KAUST graduate named ADIPEC 2020 award finalist

  1 min read · Thu, Oct 29 2020

  News

  Muhammad Karimi, KAUST graduate (Ph.D. '19) and co-founder of the KAUST-supported startup company SensoTech, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) 2020 "Young Technical Professional of the Year" category. The premier oil and gas industry event will be held virtually from November 9-12, 2020.
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  KAUST team wins NEOM AI Challenge

  1 min read · Mon, Oct 26 2020

  News

  In June this year, KAUST students were invited to Dream up ideas and Imagine new solutions for solving challenges in NEOM using AI Models. This was organized by a Saudi national competition for all universities in the Kingdom. 100+ projects were submitted to the organizing committee (https://neomchallenge.com/en).
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  Three papers presented at IEEE VIS 2020 authored by the Nanovisualization group at KAUST

  1 min read · Thu, Oct 22 2020

  News

  Three papers presented at IEEE VIS 2020 authored by the Nanovisualization group at KAUST! 1. Our new 3D rapid modeling technique for creating mescoscale models, developed together with Scripps Research, Nanographics, and TU Wien, Austria: 10.1109/TVCG.2020.3030415 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9224865 2. Privacy-preserving volume rendering technique developed in collaboration with TU Wien, Austria and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences: 10.1109/TVCG.2020.3030436 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9222562/ 3. Invited TVCG paper developed in collaboration
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  The development of a new 3D visualization technique for In-Silico Design for DNA-Nanotechnology

  1 min read · Thu, Oct 22 2020

  News

  The Nanovisualization group at KAUST has collaborated with AIT and TU Wien, Austria and Imperial College London, UK on the development of a new 3D visualization technique for In-Silico Design for DNA-Nanotechnology. This work is published in NAR: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkaa593. For more information see the publication page at nanovis.org
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  Today we celebrate World Statistics Day!

  1 min read · Tue, Oct 20 2020

  News

  statistics healthcare

  Let’s discover the world of the statisticians at KAUST and be ready to be amazed by their cutting-edge research!
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  KAUST Environmental Statistics group publishes book exploring multivariate statistical analysis

  1 min read · Tue, Oct 20 2020

  News

  Deep learning statistics machine learning

  The KAUST Environmental Statistic (ES) research group has recently published a book titled "Statistical Process Monitoring Using Advanced Data-Driven and Deep Learning Approaches." The book is the outcome of the Core Research Grant (GRG) project led by KAUST Professor Ying Sun, Associate Professor of Statistics.
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  Dr. Ciril Bohak Joins the Visual Computing Center

  1 min read · Mon, Oct 12 2020

  News

  computer graphics data visualisation

  We are proudly announcing that Dr. Ciril Bohak has joined VCC as a Postdoctoral researcher of Computer Science in October, 2020. Ciril Bohak is a Postdoctoral Researcher and Teaching Assistant in the Laboratory for Computer Graphics and Multimedia, Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. His main research interests are Computer Graphics, Data Visualization, and Game Technology. His current research includes real-time medical and biological volumetric data visualization on the web, visualization of geodetic data (LiDAR and orthophoto) and high-energy
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  STOP WATER WASTE with AI-Driven Smart Tap

  1 min read · Mon, Oct 12 2020

  News

  The Information System Lab led by Professor Tareq Al-Naffouri has developed an AI-driven smart tap that runs a personalized water flow and pressure profile based on each individual's actions. HOW? Check this out: https://youtu.be/5-30Z7Omugw
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  Prof. Ivan Viola acts as Eurographics 2021 Full Papers Chair

  1 min read · Mon, Oct 12 2020

  News

  Prof. Ivan Viola will act as the Eurographics 2021 Full Papers Chair in the upcoming 42nd Annual Conference of the European Association for Computer Graphics - Eurographics 2021 - that will take place on May 3 − 7, 2021. Eurographics 2021 is a unique platform for the computer graphics community to showcase the latest techniques and educational work, and to explore new trends and ideas. The Eurographics 2021 Full Papers Program will showcase innovative research in Computer Graphics and related areas. Participants have been invited to submit new ideas and encouraged in all forms of research

September 2020

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  Wind forecasts power up for reliable energy production

  1 min read · Sun, Sep 27 2020

  News

  climate science statistics

  Prediction of wind speed and direction for up to several hours in advance improves Saudi Arabia’s wind energy potential.
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  Quieter wind beneath the wings

  1 min read · Tue, Sep 22 2020

  News

  extreme computing Acoustics applied mathematics computational science

  The ability to efficiently simulate the noise generated by wings and propellers promises to accelerate the development of quieter aircraft and turbines.
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  A fresh sense of possibility

  1 min read · Mon, Sep 21 2020

  News

  sensors electrical engineering

  A multisensory graphene-based skin can sense in extreme environments where other sensors cannot be used.
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  Meet KAUST student: Grigory Malinovsky

  1 min read · Mon, Sep 21 2020

  News

  machine learning optimization

  Grigory Malinovsky joined KAUST this fall as a M.S./Ph.D. candidate and member of Professor Peter Richtarik's Optimization and Machine Learning Lab. Grigory holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russia. Malinovsky first came to KAUST as a visiting student and was instantly impressed by the research facilities and working atmosphere. His outstanding internship experience was a catalyst in choosing KAUST as the next step in his academic career.
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  KAUST Ph.D. graduate wins best paper award at prestigious Euro-Par 2020

  1 min read · Sun, Sep 20 2020

  News Spotlight

  euro-par conference

  KAUST Ph.D. graduate, Dr Tariq Alturkestani, won the best paper award at the prestigious annual international conference Euro-Par 2020. The paper was selected out of 158 papers that were submitted by candidates from all over the world.
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  H2Opus: a Performance-Oriented Library for Hierarchical Matrices

  1 min read · Wed, Sep 16 2020

  News

  GPU Computing High Performance Computing numerical linear algebra

  H2Opus: a Performance-Oriented Library for Hierarchical Matrices Download at https://github.com/ecrc/h2opus. Experience our latest HPC software release that implements H 2-Matrix operations on shared-memory systems, possibly equipped with GPU hardware accelerators. The prime target applications for H2Opus are PDE-constrained optimizations. The features of H2Opus include: Generation of matrix structure from a point set and admissibility condition, Construction of a hierarchical matrix given a kernel function, Matrix-vector and matrix-multiple-vector multiplication, Basis orthogonalization
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Pratik Nag

  1 min read · Tue, Sep 15 2020

  News

  machine learning artificial intelligence

  Pratik Nag will join KAUST this fall as a Ph.D. candidate and member of the KAUST Environmental Statistics research group under the supervision of Professor Ying Sun. Pratik holds a master's degree in statistical quality control and operation research, and a bachelor's degree in statistics, from the Indian Statistical Institute and the University of Calcutta, India.
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  Professor Knio named Interim Dean of the KAUST CEMSE Division

  1 min read · Mon, Sep 14 2020

  News

  Omar Knio, KAUST professor of applied mathematics and computational science, has assumed the role of Interim Dean of the Computer, Electrical, Mathematical Science and Engineering (CEMSE) Division. Professor Knio succeeds former CEMSE Dean Professor Mootaz Elnozahy, who will now assume the role of Special Advisor to the KAUST President in the areas of open online learning and cybersecurity.
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  Professor Li inducted into the Georgia Tech Alumni 40 Under 40 class

  1 min read · Thu, Sep 10 2020

  News

  KAUST Assistant Professor Xiaohang Li was recently selected to the inaugural Georgia Tech Alumni Association 40 Under 40 class. From an initial pool of over 250 individuals, Li and 39 of his peers were successfully nominated by a committee of 26 Georgia Tech faculty, staff, and volunteer leaders. Each nominee was scored using a 25-point rubric system.
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Waleed Abu Laban

  1 min read · Thu, Sep 10 2020

  News

  Signal processing machine learning

  Waleed Abu Laban is an electrical engineering graduate who will join KAUST this fall as a M.S./Ph.D. candidate and member of the KAUST Communication and Computing Systems Lab under the supervision of Professor Ahmed Eltawil.
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Sahar Ammar

  1 min read · Wed, Sep 9 2020

  News

  machine learning Deep learning telecommunication

  Sahar Ammar will join KAUST this fall as a M.S./Ph.D. candidate and member of the Networking Research Lab and Communication Theory Lab under the co-supervision of Professor Basem Shihada and Professor Mohamed-Slim Alouini. The multidisciplinary engineering graduate will join the University from Tunisia Polytechnic School (TPS).
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  Meet KAUST student: Konstantin Burlachenko

  1 min read · Wed, Sep 9 2020

  News

  machine learning artificial intelligence

  Konstantin Burlachenko holds a master’s degree in computer science from Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU), Russia. After graduating from BMSTU, he worked in several prominent Moscow companies, such as Huawei, NVIDIA, and Yandex. He joined KAUST in August 2020 as a Ph.D. candidate and member of Professor Peter Richtarik's Optimization and Machine Learning Lab.
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Stefanos Georgiadis

  1 min read · Tue, Sep 8 2020

  News

  Partial Differential Equations Mathematical modeling

  Stefanos Georgiadis is an applied mathematics graduate who will join KAUST from the School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Athens, Greece. Stefanos will join KAUST this fall as a Ph.D. candidate and member of the Applied Partial Differential Equations (AppliedPDE) research group under the supervision of Professor Athanasios Tzavaras.
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Feng Liang

  1 min read · Mon, Sep 7 2020

  News

  artificial intelligence computer graphics

  Feng Liang is a computer science and engineering graduate who will join KAUST from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China. Feng will join the University this fall as a M.S. candidate and member of the KAUST Nanovisualization Research Group under the supervision of Professor Ivan Viola.
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  Turning your desktop to a Supercomputer with ExaGeoStatR

  1 min read · Mon, Sep 7 2020

  News

  Maximum Likelihood HPC Environmental Statistics

  Turning your desktop to a Supercomputer with ExaGeoStatR Download at https://github.com/ecrc/exageostatR. Remember the old times where you had to leave your R simulations running for the whole night on your desktop due to a large climate/weather dataset? ExaGeoStatR combines the user productivity of R with high performance computing linear algebra software libraries to deliver supercomputing-style environment right below your desk. ExaGeoStatR enables computing the maximum likelihood using large environmental datasets on R, while extracting performance from the underlying hardware resources
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Yiming Yang

  1 min read · Sun, Sep 6 2020

  News

  Antennas Microwave circuits

  Yiming Yang is an electronic science and technology graduate who will join KAUST from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC). Yiming will join KAUST as a M.S./Ph.D. candidate and member of the KAUST Integrated Microwaves Packaging Antennas and Circuits Technology Research Group under the supervision of Professor Atif Shamim. After completing his studies, Yiming aspires to be a productive researcher in antenna and microwave circuit design.
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Kilichbek Haydarov

  1 min read · Sun, Sep 6 2020

  News

  Computer Vision

  Kilichbek Haydarov is a graduate student who will join KAUST from Uzbekistan. He will join KAUST as a M.S./Ph.D. candidate and member of the KAUST Computer Vision, Content AI research group under the supervision of Professor Mohamed Elhoseiny. Kilichbek obtained his bachelor's degree in computer science and engineering from Sejong University, South Korea.
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Dhanu Chettri

  1 min read · Thu, Sep 3 2020

  News

  semiconductors nanofabrication

  Dhanu Chettri holds a master’s degree in electronic and communication engineering from Manipur University, India. Before joining KAUST, he worked as a senior project fellow at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CEERI). Dhanu will join KAUST this fall as a Ph.D. candidate and member of the Advanced Semiconductor Laboratory under the supervision of Professor Xiaohang Li.
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Xiaotian Jin

  1 min read · Thu, Sep 3 2020

  News

  Statistical Modeling spatio-temporal statistics

  Xiaotian Jin is a graduate of Wenzhou-Kean University in China (a campus of Kean University in the USA). Xiaotian will join KAUST this fall as a M.S./Ph.D. candidate in the KAUST Stochastic Processes and Applied Statistics research group under the supervision of Professor David Bolin.
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  Standing the test of time with a perfect partner

  1 min read · Tue, Sep 1 2020

  News

  energy electrical engineering

  Identifying the ideal co-catalyst can significantly extend the working lifetime of solar fuel–generating photocatalysts.

August 2020

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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Reem Alghamdi

  1 min read · Mon, Aug 31 2020

  News

  machine learning

  Reem Alghamdi is a computer science graduate from Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Saudi Arabia. Reem will join KAUST this fall as a M.S. candidate under the supervision of Professor Peter Richtarik.
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  Meet KAUST prospective student: Miguel Ángel Álvarez Ballesteros

  1 min read · Mon, Aug 31 2020

  News

  monte carlo algorithms

  Miguel Ángel Álvarez Ballesteros is a physics graduate from the Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia. Miguel will join KAUST this fall as a M.S./Ph.D. candidate and member of the KAUST Computational Probability research group under the supervision of Professor Ajay Jasra.