15th Annual Convocation

Events

Aug 2024

15th Annual Convocation

The academic convocation is an annual event to celebrate the beginning of the new academic year. The new students will be welcomed by KAUST Vice provost, faculty, student, and alumni speakers.

General News

29 August, 2024

KAUST Convocation 2024

KAUST held its 15th annual Convocation on Tuesday, August 27, 2024 welcoming a new cohort of students to the university. The event provided an opportunity for incoming students to connect with KAUST’s leadership, alumni, and current students.

11 August, 2024

Dr Umair bin Waheed awarded as an Outstanding Educator

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) has announced its 2024 Honors and Awards recipients.

Kaust alumni Umair bin Waheed (PhD '15), Associate Professor at KFUPM, is awarded in the category for Outstanding Educator.

28 May, 2024

Celebrating Success: KAUST Spring Graduation lunch

KAUST Alumni Affairs team hosted a memorable Spring Graduation lunch at Al Marsa Restaurant on May 16, honoring the newly graduated students.

Alumni in the News

Orchestrated efficiency: A new technique to increase model efficiency during training

KAUST Alumni Samuel Horvath ( MS '18, PhD '22), currently working as Assistant Professor of Machine Learning at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, identifies a paradox that challenges scientists’ efforts to advance machine learning.

MBZUAI

Saudi AI model to advance radiology diagnosis

Three KAUST alumni - Rawan Al Yahya (MS '20), Jun Chen (MS '19, PhD '23) and Deyao Zhu (PhD '23) together with the KAUST professor Mohamed Elhoseiny, in collaboration with SDAIA prepared a new Saudi AI model to advance rediology diagnosis.

Middle East AI News

KAUST alumni's startup is using AI to boost the efficiency and uptake of solar energy

KAUST alumni Abdulelah Habib (MS '11), the owner and CEO of startup company OptimalPV explains for Arab News how is he using AI in solar energy sector.

Arab News

Alumna unveils new insights through ancient DNA

Hanin Ahmed's (PhD '22, MS '18) current research project focuses on sequencing the whole genomes of over 1000 horse samples, comprising both modern and ancient horses from diverse regions across four continents. Through this project, she aims to investigate the genomic structure of horse populations, shedding light on the source and timing of admixture within these populations. As part of her project, she plans to collect samples in the Kingdom as well.

KAUST website

Meet Kiran Narayanan, first KAUST alumni chef

What does it take to give up a thriving technology business in Saudi Arabia to come to Bengaluru to open a vegetarian restaurant? That’s exactly what husband and wife duo, Ankita Shree, Managing Director, and Dr. Kiran Narayanan (PhD '18, MS '18), Executive Chef, did. They returned to Bengaluru to start Moglu, a restaurant that celebrates vegetarian gastronomy. Their vision is to bring fresh, high-quality ingredients to create a borderless, plant-forward dining experience that seamlessly combines regional and international flavours, influences and techniques.

Global Indian

KAUST Alumna changes how autonomous systems work

Dr. Amani Alonazi (PhD '19, MS '14) is at the forefront of developing AI and machine learning solutions that enable autonomous systems to enhance safety measures for passengers. Her algorithms allow these systems to understand their surroundings and provide crucial insights. Amani emphasizes that each successful launch signifies a step towards a future where technology smoothly merges with everyday life, ensuring safety, efficiency, and convenience.

Boeing

Three KAUST scientists named MIT Innovators under 35

KAUST is delighted to announce that three of its scientists, Hamed Albalawi (MS '20, PhD student), Hend Mohamed and Walaa Khushaim (PhD '23), have been named MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 MENA. They are among 15 people named this year. The honor is given to innovators whose inventions and research in their respective scientific fields are shaping the future.

KAUST website

A simple solution for frequency sharing

KAUST Alumnus Aniq Ur Rahman (MS '22 Electrical & Computer Engineering), a Ph.D. student at the University of Oxford, is on the international team led by Mohamed-Slim Alouini that is working to improve terrestrial network performance when satellite networks interfere with the data rates.

KAUST Discovery Magazine

KAUST Alum Tackling Climate Change

Luis Francisco Villalobos (MS' 12, PhD '17 Chemical Engineering) joins USC Viterbi, bringing expertise in separation technology for energy transition and water filtration. His interest lies in how this process can be harnessed at an atomic scale using advanced membranes made from energy-efficient materials. These cutting-edge membranes can secure our drinkable water supply, capture valuable elements from waste products, and aid the transition to clean energy.

USC

KAUST Alumna Works with New Space Crop Technology.

Aubrie O’Rourke (PhD '15, Marine Science) is helping grow space crops – technology that will one day provide fresh food for astronauts on long duration space missions. O’Rourke is a project scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where she performs both fundamental and application-based science.

NASA

Saudi-Based Foodtech Startup Uvera Is Here To Take Away Your Food Spoilage Woes

Uvera's main product, Aurora, is a next-generation artificial intelligence of things device that can increase the shelf-life of fresh food up to 97% on average, within only 30 seconds and without using any chemicals.

Entrepreneur Middle East

KAUST Alumni leads 3 research projects for Silicon Valley companies

KAUST alumni, Computer Science Assistant Professor Faisal Nawab at the University of California, Irvine, leads a research team to develop projects for technology companies in Silicon Valley, topped by Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly named Facebook, Inc.

Saudi Gazette