King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Hosts Global Research Partnership (GRP) Technical Symposium

Global Research Partnership (GRP) Technical Symposium marks the aboriginal acquisition of KAUST GRP accolade recipients from about the world.

Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia -- On May 28, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) assured its first Global Research Partnership (GRP) Technical Symposium, "Frontiers and Opportunities in Science and Engineering: The Contribution of the Global Research Partnership to KAUST, Saudi Arabia, and the World."

The accident accustomed to Saudi Arabia 19 world-renowned advisers and advisers afresh awarded grants through the GRP, a all-around analysis abutment affairs advised to authorize able links amid the University and the absolute all-around analysis enterprise.

His Excellency Minister Ali Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the KAUST Board of Trustees said, "KAUST has boarded on a different journey, aggressive by the adventurous eyes to authorize a new abode of acumen and actualize a modern, all-around analysis university. This is the alpha of a new era of all-around bookish and analysis collaborations that are basic to authoritative King Abdullah's eyes a reality."

The two-day accident included a appointment to the KAUST campus site, an accolade celebration featuring a keynote by Mark Yudof, president-designate, University of California, and a abounding day of presentations focused on KAUST's primary analysis areas: resources, activity and environment; abstracts science and engineering; bioscience and bioengineering; and activated mathematics and computational science.

GRP Investigators, Centers, and Centers-in-Development admission awardees presented their angle and latest analysis of all-around acceptation with accurate accent to Saudi Arabia and the region, including baptize desalination, renewable and acceptable next-generation activity sources, genomics of salt-tolerant plants, abiding and environmentally affable architecture materials, acceptable account of hydrocarbons, bargain high-efficiency solar technology, and the appliance of computational science to animal bloom and biotechnology.

In his aperture remarks, Professor Choon Fong Shih, president-designate of KAUST, said, "the Global Research Partnership is one of KAUST's key initiatives to body avant-garde all-around alliances at assorted levels, from the alone to the institutional. This cross-disciplinary access transcends communities, cultures and continents, bringing the best aptitude calm to appoint in absolutely groundbreaking science."

"By acknowledging cutting-edge analysis at top universities through the GRP," he added, "KAUST is authoritative a bright account of its ambition to be a above actor in the all-around barter of knowledge. The GRP Centers and Centers-in-Development, as able-bodied as KAUST Investigators and Fellows, will abode the admirable challenges of our times, for the advancement of the animal condition."

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, KAUST's acting president, added that "today's accident marks addition cogent anniversary in KAUST's development. The GRP will advice abode KAUST on the apple map of analysis in a different way to become a above contributor in specific analysis areas."

About the Global Research Partnership (GRP) and KAUST

The Global Research Partnership (GRP) pursues KAUST's amount mission of carefully affiliated alum apprenticeship and analysis in all-around issues of accurate accent to Saudi Arabia and the region. Especially during KAUST's startup, this analysis affairs is a primary apparatus by which analysis and alum apprenticeship of the accomplished above is abutting to - and affianced to abutment - KAUST's development as a world-class alum analysis university. The Global Research Partnership is a antecedent investment by KAUST as it moves rapidly to become the aboriginal anew accustomed 21st aeon university.

The GRP began in August 2007 with a ample address of analysis proposals in areas of accent to KAUST. The alternative action relied on a world-standard aggressive associate analysis action to accept the accomplished above proposals of absolute appliance to KAUST's mission. The grants will abutment analysis agitated out at the called institutions in three above programs: KAUST Centers and Centers-in-Development, KAUST Investigators, and KAUST Research Fellows (i.e., post-doctoral researchers).

In selecting the Centers, Investigators, and Fellows to be funded, above of the proposed research, appliance to KAUST missions, and the clue almanac and abeyant of the proposed alone or aggregation were the arch belief in associate evaluation.

Another analytical agency in associate appraisal was the role that the called analysis activities can play in the development of the analysis and apprenticeship programs at KAUST. This addition of GRP analysis to KAUST's on-campus development may crop abounding forms. GRP-supported faculty, alum students, post-doctoral researchers, and abstruse agents may participate in or lead:

 

A commutual analysis centermost at KAUST to actualize a commutual or accumulated analysis program; Development of a different analysis ability at KAUST to accredit new analysis or to serve as a "user center" for analysis in the region; Private-sector assurance a allotment of the GRP institution, KAUST, and alone companies or consortia of companies with aggregate analysis and/or alum educational needs; or Educational activities or exchanges to the advantage of acceptance at both KAUST and the GRP academy (for example, GRP institutions will alternation a accumulation of abstruse agents or accept their alum acceptance do a circling in a KAUST lab in Saudi Arabia as allotment of their doctoral training).
The GRP is aswell advised to plan in a accommodating appearance with added KAUST collaborative programs, including the Academic Excellence Alliance and appropriate bookish and automated partnerships, to facilitate KAUST's barrage as a 21st century, globally affiliated institution.

About KAUST
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is accepting complete in Saudi Arabia as an international, graduate-level analysis university committed to alarming a new age of accurate accomplishment in the Kingdom, in the arena and about the globe. As an independent, merit-based institution, KAUST will apply abounding of the best practices from arch analysis universities and accredit top advisers from about the apple and above all cultures to plan calm to break arduous accurate and abstruse issues. The KAUST all-around analysis and apprenticeship arrangement will abutment assorted talents, both on its campus and at added premiere universities and analysis institutions, through collaborative analysis agreements, grants, and apprentice scholarship programs. KAUST will be merit-based, accessible to men and women from all cultures about the world, and absolute by an independent, amaranthine Board of Trustees. The amount campus, amid on added than 36 actor aboveboard meters on the Red Sea at Thuwal, is set to accessible in September 2009. For added advice about KAUST, appointment www.kaust.edu.sa.