2013 July/August Beacon
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Transcript of 2013 July/August Beacon
INSIDE: News 3 Community 4Research 1-2
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology at Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
www.kaust.edu.sa
BEACONthe ة املنـار
July/August 2013 / Ramadan/Shawwal 1434 Volume 3, Issue No. 11
ASSISTANT Professor of Chemistry and Biology and Principal
Investigator of the Laboratory of DNA Replication and Recombination
Dr. Samir M. Hamdan and his team have published a groundbreaking
paper on the mechanism of flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) in the journal
Cell Reports. The other authors of the paper entitled "Sequential and
Multistep Substrate Interrogation Provides the Scaffold for Specificity
in Human Flap Endonuclease 1" are Mohamed A. Sobhy, Luay I.
Joudeh, Xiaojuan Huang, and Masateru Takahashi.
5' nucleases, the superfamily to which FEN1 belongs, represent
structure-specific nucleases essential for DNA replication, repair, and
recombination. Deficiencies in their genes have been linked to sev-
eral types of cellular stress and genomic instability. Their outstanding
puzzle is that they are highly conserved proteins, yet they recognize a
diverse range of RNA and DNA structures and cleave them primarily at
the same position relative to a 5' end of a junction.
Structural studies propose a solution for this geometrical puzzle by
capturing a DNA-bending intermediary step that positions the 5' end in
the enzyme's active pocket and unifies the 5' nuclease's cleavage site.
However, these structures remain a static image of the DNA-bending
intermediary step based on which speculation was made to address
the most important questions regarding how this intermediary step is
induced and how 5' nucleases utilize the same intermediary step to rec-
ognize a diverse range of substrates.
The team from KAUST's Division of Biological and Environmental
Sciences and Engineering employed a sophisticated single molecule
imaging technique, Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET), to cap-
ture "molecular movies" detailing the structure, dynamics, and reaction
mechanisms occurring during this process. The KAUST scientists were
able to build a timeline of up to seven intermediary steps before FEN1
commits to catalysis. Such information cannot be accessed through
conventional approaches.
These findings will influence how researchers think about the mecha-
nism of other members of 5' nucleases and provide a new concept as to
how biological macromolecules can diversify their substrate specificity
while maintaining a high degree of structural similarities.
Dr. Hamdan explained that the surprising finding is that FEN1
utilizes a highly complex mechanism that sequentially verifies all
substrate features before inducing the superfamily unifying DNA-
bending intermediary. This sequential and multistep substrate
recognition process provides a scaffold that allows different 5' nucle-
ases to recognize different substrates and restrict the induction of
DNA bending to the last common step. "We hope that our findings will
serve as a base to design inhibitors against FEN1, whose expression
is highly correlated with tumor aggressiveness," said Prof. Hamdan.
The article may be accessed at Cell Report. Volume 3, Issue 6, 1785-
1794, 06 June 2013. MEMBRANES | Continued on p2
KAUST RESEARCHERS INVESTIGATE PROPERTIES OF BLOCK COPOLYMER MEMBRANESKAUST researchers examined a type of mem-
brane with uniformly sized pores that could be
used in biomedical or water treatment appli-
cations in a paper published recently in the
journal Soft Matter (http://pubs.rsc.org/en/
Content/ArticleLanding/2013/SM/c3sm27475f).
“The membranes examined in the paper are
very specific,” says Dr. Suzana Nunes, Associate
Image reproduced by perm
ission of Suzana P Nunes and The Royal Society of Chem
istry from Soft M
atter, 2013, 9, 5557-5564, DOI: 10.1039/C3SM
27475F.Prof. Suzana N
unes and colleagues’ work w
as featured on the inside front cover of the journal Soft Matter. Im
age by KAUST Scientific Illustrator O
lga Kasimova.
Reprinted from Cell Reports, 3, M
ohamed A. Sobhy et al, Sequential and M
ultistep Substrate Interrogation Provides the Scaffold for Specificity in H
uman Flap Endonuclease 1, 1785-1794, 2013, w
ith permission from
Elsevier.
Figure 1. Dynamics of FEN1 Bending of DF-6,1 by smFRET(A) A schematic diagram of FEN1 reaction on DF-6,1.
(B) Structure of FEN1 in complex with SF-0,1; Protein Data Bank (PDB) code 3Q8L (Tsutakawa et al., 2011). The conserved and unique structural features that interact with the bent DNA conformation are depicted and
labeled in the same color.
CAPTURING MOLECULAR MOVIES OF DNA REPLICATION AND REPAIR
Principal Investigator of the Laboratory of DNA Replication and Recombination Dr. Hamdan and his team have published a groundbreaking paper in the journal Cell Reports.
مرحبًا بالربوفسور جان لو- شاموWELCOME PROFESSOR JEAN-LOU CHAMEAU
PROFESSOR Jean-Lou Chameau joined KAUST as the new president on July 1. We welcome
him and his wife, Dr. Carol Carmichael, to the KAUST family.
تولى الدكتور جان – لو شامو منصب رئيس جامعة الملك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية بتاريخ األول من شهر يوليو لعام 2013. ويطيب لنا أن نرحب بانضمامه هو وزوجته الدكتورة كارول كارمايكل، إلى أسرة جامعة الملك عبداهلل.
باحثون من جامعة امللك عبداهلل يدرسون خصائص أغشية كتلة
البوليمر املشرتك
تتمه صفحة 2
قام علماء وباحثني من جامعة امللك عبداهلل بإجراء جتارب على نوع جديد وخاص من األغشية املسامية التطبيقات يف تستخدم أن ميكن واليت املتجانسة هذا وقاد املياه. وحتلية معاجلة أو احليوية الطبية الكيميائية اهلندسة يف املشارك االستاذ البحث وإعادة حتلية أحباث مركز يف وعضو والبيولوجية نونيز، سوزانا الدكتور اجلامعة يف املياه استخدام وشاركها يف هذا البحث كل من الربوفسور كالوس- فيكتور بينيمان أستاذ اهلندسة الكيميائية والبيولوجية يف املسامية واملواد املتطورة األغشية مركز يف الدكتوراه طاليب إىل إضافة عبداهلل، امللك جامعة
ديبورا سالومون ماركيز ونيكوال مورينو شابارو.
2 July/August 2013 The Beacon
THIS month we welcome our new president Jean-Lou Chameau and his wife Carol to the KAUST
community. We look forward to Prof. Chameau’s leadership and to getting to know both of them.
Although many professors, researchers, students, and staff members are away on vacation, at con-
ferences, or collaborating at other universities, exciting work continues at KAUST as is demonstrated
by the articles on the research of Prof. Samir Hamdan, Prof. Suzana Nunes and Prof. Muhammad
Mustafa Hussain. Some students are pursuing internships in industry and at universities around the
globe. Check the charts and map on page 3 for more information about them. Summer is also the
time awards are conferred. The accolades on page 4 honor Dean Yves Gnanou, two PhD students
and a postdoc. Recreation Services summer camp was a welcome respite for children and parents as
the photos on page 4 illustrate. No matter how you are spending the rest of your summer, we wish
you an enjoyable time, a Ramadan Kareem and Eid Mubarak. See you in September.
The Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 11, July/August 2013. Published by The Communications Department, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. Contact Salah Sindi [email protected], or Michelle D'Antoni [email protected] © King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Printed on partially recycled paper.
—THE BEACON Editorial
“GRAPHENE shows extraordinary properties,” says Dr. Muhammad Mustafa Hussain, Associate
Professor of Electrical Engineering. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms forming a
two-dimensional honeycombed sheet, is a material that has attracted much attention from
researchers, with the elucidation of its properties winning scientists from the UK the Nobel
Prize in Physics in 2010.
In a paper recently published in the journal ACS Nano (http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/
nn400796b), Prof. Hussain and colleagues from KAUST’s Integrated Nanotechnology Lab, including
research scientist Dr. Casey Smith and PhD student Ramy Qaisi, and researchers from Texas State
University (US) examined a graphene-based transistor which can achieve room temperature high elec-
tron mobility of >11,000 cm2/V ∙ s at a very low drive voltage of ±1 V. This means that faster data
processing speeds can be achieved with less energy, as graphene could replace III-V semiconductor
materials for high-speed communications.
Other researchers’ work with back-gated field effect transistors (FET) with graphene has utilized
high dielectric constant materials such as silicon nitride (Si3N4) or aluminum oxide (Al2O3) to help
in the optical detection of the graphene channel. However, these materials still necessitate high
switching voltage due to the high dielectric thickness needed for optical detection, and thus have
not been ideal. In addition, work has been hampered by showing high mobility at cryogenic tem-
perature (-273˚C).
Prof. Hussain and his collaborators state they overcame “important barriers” in their work with gra-
phene, fabricating back-gated FET on silicon wafers. They employed a technique called atomic layer
deposition (ALD) to deposit Al2O3 onto the wafers before transferring high-quality graphene that had
been synthesized in a process called atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD). The large
(6 cm x 6 cm) graphene sheets cover most of the wafer’s surface, enabling the researchers to “circumvent
the need for optical detection during subsequent lithography steps.” The graphene was also patterned
into “fins” in the channel region, “transforming the graphene transistor architecture,” notes Prof. Hussain.
The researchers discovered that the switching ratio (ION/IOFF), a measure of the relative difference
in the source-drain current at two fixed gate voltages, could be enhanced more than 25x by the use
of lithographic techniques. These techniques would enable patterning graphene into stripes through
a manufacturing process that “maintains superior line edge roughness to mitigate the edge disorder
mobility impact,” Prof. Hussain explains. Reducing contact resistance could also result in higher
drive current, and other physical techniques could be used to enhance the graphene transistors.
Changing a device’s architecture, as the researchers showed in their work, “is much more appealing,”
notes Prof. Hussain, than changing its material and processes, as it remains more generic and can
comply with the various materials and processes already in use. And, by carrying out the experiments
at room temperature and with low operation voltage, Prof. Hussain hopes that his group’s work will
“encourage the scientific community to direct their discoveries towards more practical applications.”
“We have shown for the first time a pragmatic approach to fabricate graphene-based energy-
efficient devices while maintaining graphene’s extraordinary high-speed mobility,” says Prof.
Hussain. He believes that the work with his collaborators may “inspire others to continue with
their exploration of 2D materials such as graphene, which may result in the development of
energy-efficient, high-performance mobile devices to access information anytime and anywhere;”
this is Prof. Hussain’s key research vision.
Research
KAUST RESEARCHERS FIND ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ TRANSISTOR DESIGN MAY PAVE WAY FOR GRAPHENE-BASED ENERGY-EFFICIENT DEVICES
Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in the Water Desalination and Reuse Research Center
and the corresponding author of the paper. “There are no other commercial membranes similar to these.
They are really unique.”
Prof. Nunes and her collaborators, including Dr. Klaus-Viktor Peinemann, Professor of Chemical and
Biological Engineering in the Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, and KAUST PhD
students Debora Salomon Marques and Nicolas Moreno Chaparro, examined membranes derived from
block copolymers. Copolymers are polymers that are formed from two types of monomers clustered
together into “blocks” of repeated units.
The process of forming block copolymer membranes can be very complex and ranges from
“simple preparation…by complete solvent evaporation…to multi-step procedures involving etch-
ing, dissolution, and block cleavage,” as the researchers note. However, to ensure block copolymer
membranes are economical to develop, it is necessary to use “methods compatible with large-scale
technical production and manufacture.”
With a simpler procedure called phase inversion, asymmetric porous polystyrene-block-4-vi-
nylpyridine (PS-b-P4VP) membranes have been created. In this procedure, a solution of copolymers
is placed onto a glass plate or non-woven substrate, and the solvent is then partially evaporated
while the plate or substrate is immersed in water. The structural order in the solution is then “repro-
duced in the pore morphology,” the researchers state.
Through the use of small-angle X-ray scattering, the researchers further examined the outcome
of membrane morphology based on order in solutions. This order is influenced by polymer-solvent
thermodynamic interactions and can result in membranes with many pores that have a more uni-
form size. “We wanted to learn in much more detail the process of forming the pores and how you
really get the final structure,” explains Prof. Nunes.
The researchers discovered that solutions with a particular concentration of block copolymer will
have maximum regularity in the pores. However, below this concentration, ordered pores will not
form, and above it the pores elongate into a lamellar form, where they resemble thin, flat plates.
Block copolymers can also assemble into micelles, or aggregates of copolymers, which will assem-
ble themselves into specific forms depending on the copolymer concentration, packing more closely
together at a higher concentration. Micelles commonly occur in a form of a core of PS blocks
encased by a P4VP shell and will form hard or soft spheres depending on their interactions with the
solvent. They can then take on a secondary form of strands of micelles resembling beads on a string.
“The special thing in this paper is that we cover a series of concentrations or compositions of solu-
tion to see what gives a good structure, what doesn’t give a good structure, and, for example, what
happens if we let evaporate part of the solvent after spreading the polymer solution,” Prof. Nunes
says. “The paper is a comprehensive explanation of how the membrane is formed, and integrates
the experimental, modeling, and characterization aspects for the membrane.”
Prof. Nunes and her collaborators were assisted for the research by IBM Almaden Research
Center (US), where some of the modeling work for the paper was conducted, and with HASYLAB at
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY; Germany), where small-angle X-ray scattering experi-
ments were carried out. “The bulk of the work, however,” notes Prof. Nunes, “was done at KAUST.”
Prof. Nunes believes there are a variety of possible and important applications for the membranes
the paper examines. “The great advantage of membranes with very regular pores is using them to
separate molecules which are very similar in size,” she says. “They could be used in biomedical
applications, such as in protein separation, or in water treatment for pre-treatment before desali-
nation takes place.” In the future, she and her research team hope to upscale production of the
membranes to make them available for a wider variety of uses.
MEMBRANES | Continued from p1
Reprinted (adapted) with permission from Casey Smith et al. ACS Nano. 2013, DOI: 10.1021/nm/400796b. Copyright 2013 American Chemical Society.
Prof. Hussain and colleagues’ transistor device is shown in (a), with graphene fins in the channel region visible. In (b), a scanning electron microgram (SEM) shows a different view of the device, with the inset again showing the graphene fins.
وتقوم هذه الدراسة اليت نشرتها جملة Soft Matter العلمية الرائدة على أغشية كتلة البوليمر املشرتك، وهي عبارة عن مركب بوليمر مكون من وحدات متكررة وخمتلفة تتشكل على امتداد السلسلة اجلزيئية بصورة كتل بعملية معقدة للغاية ترتاوح ما بني التبخر الكامل للمذيب اىل إجراءات تتضمن خطوات حمددة ومتعددة. وختتلف أغشية البوليمر املشرتك كثريًا عن االغشية التجارية احلالية، ويهدف الباحثون إىل ضمان انتاجها بطرق
اقتصادية واسعة النطاق ومتوافقة مع اإلنتاج التقين والصناعي.ومتكن الباحثون عرب استخدام خاصية تشتت الزاوية الصغرية لألشعة السينية من دراسة نتائج تشكل الغشاء باالعتماد على الرتتيب يف املحلول الذي يتأثر بالتفاعالت احلرارية بني البوليمر واملذيبات، وميكن أن يؤدي ذلك اىل ظهور العديد من املسامات املتجانسة يف الغشاء. وتوضح الربوفسور نونيز أهمية ذلك بقوهلا " أردنا أن نعرف تفاصيل أكثر عن عملية تشكل املسام وكيفية الوصول اىل اهليكل النهائي. وقمنا بتغطية سلسلة من السوائل واملحاليل املركزة ملعرفة أي منها يعطينا هيكل جيد. فعلى سبيل املثال، ماذا حيدث إذا تركنا
اجلزء املتبخر من املذيب بعد نشر حملول البوليمر. كما تقدم الورقة شرح شامل لكيفية تشكل الغشاء، ودمج اجلوانب التجريبية ، والنمذجة، والتوصيف."
وقد ساعد باحثون من مركز احباث IBM Almaden يف الواليات املتحدة الربوفسور نونيز وشركائها يف بعض أعمال النمذجة، ومركز احباث HASYLAB يف املانيا يف جتارب تشتت الزاوية الصغرية لألشعة السينية ولكن
اجلزء األكرب من العمل مت يف جامعة امللك عبداهلل للعلوم والتقنية. التطبيقات املمكنة واهلامة لألغشية اليت تبحثها وتعتقد الربوفسور نونيز أن هناك جمموعة متنوعة من الورقة. إذ تستخدم األغشية ذات املسامات املتجانسة لفصل اجلزيئات املتشابهة جدًا يف احلجم. هذه كما ميكن استخدامها يف التطبيقات الطبية احليوية، كما هو احلال يف فصل الربوتني، أو يف معاجلة املياه من عدد لتغطي مستقباًل األغشية هذه إنتاج زيادة يف نونيز الربوفسور فريق ويأمل التحلية. عملية قبل
.االستخدامات املتنوعة
تابع ص1
News
MAKKAH Window, a new start-up company
incubated at the Entrepreneurship Center at
KAUST as a new venture, is on its way. Using
funding it received as a winner of the Fall 2012
Seed Fund Competition, the founders have
turned their idea for the project into a technolog-
ical company. The result: The company released
its first app for android devices, which provides
interactive media and information on the history
of the Holy city of Makkah. The MAC iOS version
of the app will be available in early August and
will be launched with a media event in Makkah
attended by national and international press.
Founder and CEO of the new company
Engr. Abdul-Wahid Al-Zaydi said that Makkah
Window’s app includes an introduction to historic
Makkah sites through the use of interactive maps
as well as panoramic photos. Audio recordings
will also be available in subsequent releases. The
application will be provided in five languages tar-
geting Hajj and Umrah pilgrims: Arabic, English,
Urdu, Turkish and Alandnosé. At present the app
is available in Arabic and English.
Co-founder and CTO Dr. Peter Rautek stated
that a number of smart phone technologies
are included in the app. Augmented Reality,
which allows the user to view 3D models of
ancient sites in Makkah, will be available in
following releases. This is being accomplished
through a collaboration with the KAUST
Geometric Modeling
a n d S c i e n t i fi c
Visualization Center.
Co- founder and
Operations Director
Eng r. Mohammed
Al-Zaydi be l ieves
Makkah Window will
be a useful tool for the
12 million pilgrims
who come to Makkah
each year. Pilgrims
will have a handy aid
at their fingertips, and
by using the app they
will easily learn about the sites and be helped in
finding their way to them.
Makkah Window will present one of its features
in December at Ibtikar, an important exhibition
that specializes in inventions and innovations in
the Middle East. Makkah Window was one of 100
out of 1600 applicants chosen to exhibit.
Budding entrepreneurs may be interested to
know that the fall round of the Seed Fund will
begin August 28. Check the Seed Fund website
for information: seedfund.kaust.edu.sa.
To obtain Makkah Window android version,
download on Google Play by searching for
“Makkah Window” or use the QR at right.
July/August 2013www.kaust.edu.sa 3
MAKKAH WINDOW
The Computational and Experimental Mechanics of Advanced Materials (CEMAM) workshop was
hosted by Dr. Gilles Lubineau, KAUST Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering from the
Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, on the University campus from July 1 – 3.
The workshop focused on the mechanics of solids and structures, with applications to compos-
ite materials. Its main themes included: multiscale experimental and computational approaches for
design; inverse problems for non-destructive control and health monitoring of composite structures;
and durability of materials and structures.
Prof. Lubineau’s co-organizers for the workshop were Dr. Glaucio Paulino from the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (US) and Dr. Marco Alfano from the University of Calabria (Italy).
The professors joined other distinguished faculty members from universities around the world, pre-
senting their research work and participating in panel discussions during the three-day workshop.
Top undergraduate Saudi students from across the Kingdom also attended the event as a “positive
initiative for future student recruitment,” stated Prof. Lubineau.
Prof. Lubineau cited the importance of the “interactive and critical” panel discussions for the
workshop’s participants, noting the discussions “initiated many promising collaborations both
within and outside of the Kingdom for advancing composite application in critical fields such as
energy, composites for civil engineering, and multifunctional materials.”
KAUST’s Composite and Heterogeneous Material Analysis and Simulation Laboratory (COHMAS)
was also spotlighted during the workshop. Created at the University by Prof. Lubineau in 2010,
the COHMAS lab is an integrated environment designed to tackle composite materials-related
challenges. Its multidisciplinary team has experimental, modeling, and computational expertise.
Presenting COHMAS to the visiting scientists was a mechanism to “highlight the quality of our stu-
dents and their training through and for research,” Prof. Lubineau explained.
In summing up the workshop, Prof. Lubineau stated: “Our international forum fostered discussion and
collaboration in the field of advanced materials. This was a very high-quality and high-level event.”
Smar
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نافذة مكة
حاجا ومعتمرا. كما سيقدم هلم طريقة سهلة ملعرفة املعلومات القيمة عن املواقع وكيفية الوصول اليها.
وسوف يتم عرض خصائص تطبيق )نافذة مكة( يف شهر ابتكار ديسمرب املقبل وذلك ضمن فعاليات معرض الذي يعد من أهم املعارض املتخصصة يف االخرتاعات مت حيث األوسط الشرق مستوى على واالبتكارات إختيار هذا التطبيق ضمن 100 مشاركة من أصل 1600. وميكن حتميل تطبيق )نافذة مكة( على أجهزة اهلاتف Google Play بالدخول على متجر )ANDROID( بنظامأو استخدام تطبيق قارئ البحث عن )نافذة مكة( مث
.الباركود للرمز املربع
تبدأ شركة جديدة ناشئة أحتضنها مركز ريادة األعمال يف جامعة امللك عبداهلل كمشروع ناشئ يف أعماهلا قريبًا بعد أن قام مؤسسوها باستخدام التمويل الذي فازوا به يف مسابقة صندوق التمويل التأسيسي خلريف عام 2012 أن النتيجة وكانت تقنية. شركة إىل فكرتهم لتحويل اصدرت الشركة اوىل تطبيقاتها ألجهزة اهلواتف الذكية الوسائط التطبيق هذا ويوفر . )ANDROID( بنظام التفاعلية للحصول على معلومات عن تاريخ مدينة مكة للآليفون )IOS( نظام نسخة تدشني وسيتم املكرمة، واآليباد يف حدث إعالمي مبدينة مكة املكرمة يف أوائل شهر أغسطس القادم حبضور الصحافة املحلية والعاملية. وقال مؤسس الشركة اجلديدة ورئيسها التنفيذي املهندس نبذة يعطي مكة( )نافذة تطبيق أن الزيدي عبدالواحد عن املواقع التارخيية يف املدينة املنورة ومكة املكرمة البانورامية. الصور وكذلك التفاعلية اخلرائط باستخدام التسجيالت خاصية القادم اإلصدار يف سيتوفر كما الصوتية ودعم مخس لغات موجهة للحجاج واملعتمرين وهي العربية، واإلجنليزية، واألوردو، والرتكية، واالندونيسية.
من جانبه أوضح الرئيس التنفيذي للتقنية واملؤسس املشارك الدكتور بيرت روتيك أنه مت تضمني عدد من التطبيق هذا يف الذكية للهواتف احلديثة التقنيات للمستخدم تتيح اليت املدجمة احلقيقة تقنية مثل استعراض مناذج ثالثية األبعاد للمواقع األثرية يف مكة املكرمة. وقد كان ملركز النمذجة اهلندسية والتصوير العلمي يف جامعة امللك عبداهلل دور كبري يف اجناز
هذه اخلاصية اليت ستكون متوفرة يف اإلصدار القادم.العمليات عام ومدير املشارك املؤسس يرى بدوره مكة( )نافذة تطبيق أن الزيدي حممد املهندس سيكون أداة مفيدة للحجاج واملعتمرين الذين يفدون إىل مكة املكرمة وتتجاوز أعداداهم سنويا 12 مليون
CEMAM WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE IN ADVANCED MATERIALS
SCHOOL’S out! School’s out! This happy chant of children has been the start of a dilemma for par-
ents for generations. What kinds of activities can they find for their children during the summer
months that are fun, stimulating, and a learning experience? Recreation Services helped solve the
problem with its Journey Around the World Summer Camp for children 4-12 years old.
The camp is divided into two sections, 4 to 7–year-olds and 8 to 12-year-olds, and is held week
days from June 8 until August 21. Each week the activities revolve around a different part of the
world. Activities include arts and crafts, games, sports, and the language and culture of the high-
lighted area. For example, while focusing on East Asia, children learned elementary Tai Chi, kite
flying, Sakura Tree making, and origami. When North America was highlighted, they learned Hip
Hop Dance, Native American crafts, and Texas Horseshoes. One week they went to the Fakieh
Aquarium in Jeddah and saw a dolphin and seal show.
Older children have had the opportunity to be part of a Youth Development Program as a Harbor
Master’s Assistant or an Assistant Director of Golf for a week. As a Harbor Master’s Assistant, par-
ticipants learn about navigation and get an introduction to marine charts, learn how to prepare
a boat for sea, and are introduced to control room operations and weather forecasting. As a Golf
Director’s Assistant, they learn about landscaping, greens maintenance, and the irrigation system.
They also learn about academy teaching, the life of a golf pro, golf operations, and the retail shop.
The fact that the programs were successful is evident from the interest and smiles on the chil-
dren’s faces.
July/August 2013 Community4 The Beacon
Dr. Belkacem Said-Houari, a postdoctoral fellow in the Computer,
Electrical, and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE)
Division, is the recipient of the Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for
Young Arab Researchers in Mathematics. The prestigious award, named
for the founder of the Arab Bank, was bestowed for Dr. Said-Houari’s
“extensive and distinguished scientific work published in renowned international scien-
tific magazines (20 papers since his arrival at KAUST in January 2011) and in view to the
difficulty of his field of specialty.” Dr. Said-Houari was also cited for “his leadership and
independent merits and his use of comprehensive methodologies and tools used in his
research.”
The official award ceremony will take place in October 2013 in Amman, Jordan.
Amal Aboulhasan, a Computer Science PhD student from Egypt, and Sawsan Alhalawani, a
PhD student from Jordan in the Geometric Modeling and Scientific Visualization Center, have
won the highly competitive Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship Award. Aboulhasan’s
research is in visualization under the supervision of Prof. Markus Hadwiger. She is proposing
a visual paradigm for analyzing the molecular and nanoscale data of organic photovoltaic
solar cells. Alhalawani is working with Prof. Niloy Mitra and is interested in image process-
ing and geometric modeling. Her current research focuses on analyzing and understanding
urban data to facilitate smart manipulation and design possibilities.
The award supports women in technology, encouraging them to excel in computing and technol-
ogy to become active role models and leaders in the field. Scholarship recipients will each receive
a financial award for the academic year and will be invited to attend a retreat at Google. KAUST
was honored to be one of only five universities to have two award recipients. There was only one
university with more than two.
DR. BELKACEM SAID- HOUARI AWARDED ABDUL HAMEED SHOMAN AWARD FOR YOUNG ARAB RESEARCHERS
AMAL ABOULHASAN AND SAWSAN ALHALAWANI NAMED ANITA BORG MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD WINNERS
Dr. Belkacem Said-Houari
Professor Yves Gnanou receives the Chevalier medal of the French national Legion d’honneur.
PROFESSOR Yves Gnanou (Dean, PSE) was awarded the medal of the French Ordre national de
la Légion d’honneur at the rank of Chevalier at a ceremony on June 27, 2013. This prestigious
award honors exceptional individuals who have made major contributions to France and French
culture. The order, created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, is the highest distinction awarded
in France and is composed of five classes: Chevalier, Officier, Commandeur, Grand Officier, and
Grand Croix. Prof. Gnanou was recognized for his 29 years of service as an outstanding uni-
versity professor, including serving with distinction as Vice President of Academic Affairs and
Research at École Polytechnique in Paris.
PROF. YVES GNANOU AWARDED RANK OF CHEVALIER DE LA LEGION D’HONNEUR
FUN AND GAMES, LEARNING AND GROWING WITH SUMMER RECREATION ACTIVITIES
The four to seven-year-old group demonstrated their martial arts.
Learning to use chopsticks One more push!