King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Receives 41 Proposals for KAUST Research Centers Worldwide
Global Research Partnership of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) forms Technical Advisory Committee of leading scientists and engineers.
Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PRWEB) November 9, 2007 -- Forty-one of the world's leading scientific and engineering research universities have submitted proposals for new or expanded research centers to the Global Research Partnership (GRP) of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). This global competition is the first major step in establishing KAUST Centers - university-based, multi-investigator research programs focused on KAUST mission areas - around the globe.
The KAUST Global Research Partnership is a 10-year, peer-reviewed, merit-based program to fund research in the areas of science and technology that are important to Saudi Arabia, the region, and the world, while simultaneously linking KAUST to the existing global research enterprise. KAUST, an international, graduate-level science and technology research university now under development in Saudi Arabia, launched the GRP in August 2007 as a part of its strategy to build the University's research capacity.
By the October 31 deadline, the KAUST GRP program received 34 preliminary proposals for Centers and seven for Centers-in-Development, with roughly equal distribution from North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. More than a third of the proposals call for considerable inter-institutional and global collaboration, and about 10 percent of the proposals include named, substantial collaborators from private industry. KAUST Center grants are for five years of support at up to US$5 million per year; Center-in-Development grants are for up to US$1.5 million per year for three years.
"The quality and focus of the proposals confirms what we had hoped when we designed the GRP Center program," said KAUST Interim Vice President for Research, Mohamed Samaha, Ph.D. "Many of the world's most accomplished and capable research universities have invested significant effort and resources in preparing competitive proposals for work of importance to KAUST and the region. That is a gratifying validation of the global university-based research community's support for KAUST and its mission of contribution to Saudi Arabia and the world."
The Global Research Partnership, a unit of KAUST, is managing the peer review process.
Seven researchers and research leaders from around the world have agreed to serve on the GRP Technical Advisory Committee. They include:
-Omar Abdul-Hamid, Ph.D., Manager, Saudi Aramco Research and Development Center
-Roland Chin, Ph.D., Professor of Computer Science and Vice President of Academic Affairs,
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
-Ahmed Ghoniem, Ph.D., Ronald C. Crane (1972) Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
-Steve Koonin, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, British Petroleum
-Michael Thomashow, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor and Director, MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University
-David Tirrell, Ph.D., Division Chair, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology
-Fawwaz Ulaby, Ph.D., Williams Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan
Dr. Frank Press, Ph.D., of the Washington Advisory Group and President Emeritus of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, is serving as a senior advisor to the KAUST GRP.
"The breadth and quality of the work proposed virtually guarantees that KAUST will make significant contributions to advancing knowledge and practice at the frontiers of global challenges in the KAUST mission areas," according to Dr. Press.
"The benefits of this approach to ramping up the new university are obvious even from this first set of proposals we have received. This is clearly a rapid and effective way for KAUST to contribute to economic transformation in Saudi Arabia and to join the community of research universities worldwide," said Ammar Al-Nahwi, Ph.D., the Associate Managing Director of the GRP.
The GRP is funded through KAUST's endowment, which will provide reliable support to all aspects of the University's operation in perpetuity and will be managed by an independent Board of Trustees.
About KAUST
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is being built in Saudi Arabia as an international, graduate-level research university dedicated to inspiring a new age of scientific achievement in the Kingdom, across the region and around the globe. As an independent, merit-based institution, KAUST will enable top researchers from around the globe and across all cultures to work together to solve challenging scientific and technological problems. The KAUST global research and education network will support diverse talents both on its campus and at other premier universities and research institutions through collaborative research agreements, grants, and student scholarship programs. The core campus, located on more than 36 million square meters on the Red Sea at Thuwal, is set to open in September 2009. For more information about KAUST, visit http://www.kaust.edu.sa/.
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