Alumni You Should Meet – Noha Ahmed Al-Harthi (PhD ‘19, MS '12) by Melissa Pappas (MS '17)

Noha Al-Harthi’s ability to recognize unique opportunities has allowed her to play an important role in some of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent scientific institutions. From her arrival at KAUST in 2011 to her current role as the Technology Lead at NEOM, Al-Harthi’s education – combined with her genuine curiosity, talent and passion for science – has given her a front-row seat to a period of unprecedented innovation in the Kingdom’s history.

The KAUST experience

After finishing her bachelor’s in Saudi, Al-Harthi originally planned to pursue a career as a scientific researcher in Boston, Massachusetts, but an advertisement in the Jeddah newspaper made her realize her dream job could be found closer to home.

“I visited Boston as a child and always imagined myself working and studying there, perhaps at MIT or Harvard,” says Al-Harthi. “But when I graduated, I saw KAUST being advertised in the local newspaper. This was a time when no one knew about KAUST, and I was intrigued because the university made bold statements about the groundbreaking science they were conducting. Even better, it was in a beautiful location, and I thought, ‘This is too good to be true.’ I ended up applying for the Discovery scholarship to see if I even had a chance, and I got in!”

The Discovery scholarship not only allowed Al-Harthi to explore the campus and study without financial stress – it enabled her to explore the research questions that most captured her imagination.

“I did my master’s with Professor David Keys in computer science, working to develop performance benchmarking of Fast Multipole Methods,” says Al-Harthi. “That was something that challenged me in a way I really enjoyed. I knew then that KAUST’s educational promises were genuine.”

 “I then earned my PhD with Professors David Keyes and Hakan Bagci,” Al-Harthi continued, “where I developed an efficient numerical method for analyzing and solving acoustic and electromagnetic wave scatting problems and tackled major submarine and airspace challenges.”

As a result of Al-Harthi’s innovative research, she and a fellow KAUST computer scientist received the prestigious Gauss Award for supercomputing excellence in 2020, highlighting both Al-Harthi’s dedication as a scientist and the merit of KAUST as an institution.

"This was the first time this award was given to students from a Middle Eastern university,” says Al-Harthi. “It is also a great achievement for women in computer science, which is still a male-dominated field. I hope this encourages more women to pursue research and careers in high-performance computing.”

Entering the working world

After her PhD, however, Al-Harthi was ready to enter the job market.

“I wasn’t interested in a post-doc,” she says. “I knew my academic path would end at the PhD level, and I was eager to take my research skills from KAUST and my leadership and management experience from my family business to the tech industry.”

Again, Al-Harthi found herself at a crossroads that led her to another promising opportunity.

“I remember where I was when Prince Mohammed announced the plan for NEOM back in 2017,” Al-Harthi continues. “I didn’t sleep at all. I stayed up all night reading everything I could find about NEOM – which at the time wasn’t much – but I already knew I had to be a part of building this new community from the ground up.”

NEOM’s vision as an accelerator of human progress makes it a place for dreamers and doers – an ideal place for Al-Harthi. She applied for a position at the end of her PhD and landed the role of Technology Lead, where she directs NEOM’s emerging technology initiatives.

“I lead the efforts shaping the future of robotics at NEOM, with a focus on exploring general-purpose robotics (GPR) and setting up the NEOM Robotic Development Center (RDC), which will become the world’s most advanced R&D robotics center. I also lead the Technology & Digital sector’s research collaborations with world-class institutions – both locally and internationally – focusing on the development of cutting-edge technology solutions that match the scale and scope of NEOM’s ambitions,” says Al-Harthi.

“I thought that after my PhD I wouldn’t be working late, but I quickly realized that NEOM had more than enough new projects to keep me busy. I really love what I do here and because of that I work a lot, but it’s work I enjoy every hour of the day.”

For Al-Harthi, no two days at NEOM are alike. Whether she is working with the robotics team, researching new technologies and proof of concepts, or collaborating with KAUST, she engages in work that has never been done before.

“What really gets me through the day is my supportive team,” says Al-Harthi. “I might be biased, but I think I have the best colleagues in the world. Just like my team at KAUST, my NEOM coworkers treat me like family.”

Reflecting on the journey so far

Al-Harthi credits KAUST with teaching her many of the fundamental skills that have fueled her career.

“I owe a lot of my professional success to the transferable skills that KAUST cultivates throughout the educational journey,” says Al-Harthi. “KAUST supports students in every step of their development, not just academically, but personally, too. It’s a place where you can focus on the future you, the person you want to be.”

While KAUST’s exceptional academic standing is evident in the scope, scale and quality of its students’ research, some of the more nuanced aspects of the KAUST experience only come to light through the perspective of an alumna.

“My advice for current students is to take advantage of the incredible opportunities at KAUST, such as the Entrepreneurship Center and extracurricular activities,” says Al-Harthi. “Don’t just focus on studying – make sure you’re taking in the full KAUST experience. Since you don’t have to worry about anything except your personal development, you can allow yourself to grow there.”

“I hope that my story inspires other women pursuing science to take risks and follow their dreams,” says Al-Harthi. “At commencement, I shared how being an older sister to many siblings taught me a lot about taking care of others and leading the way. At KAUST, you can be a woman and a mother and still pursue your academic goals. During my graduate career, I never felt that I couldn’t do something because I was a woman, and I hope that with support from this wonderful university, other women in science will feel that way, too.”