RIYADH — Emir of Riyadh Prince Faisal Bin Bandar presented King Saud University Award for Scientific Excellence to scientists and professors at the university. Prince Faisal was the chief guest at the auspicious ceremony at the KSU auditorium. It was attended by professors, researchers, scientists, faculty members and guests, including KSU Rector Badran Al-Omar, Vice Rector for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Ahmed Al-Aameri and Vice Rector for Academic Affairs Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Al-Othman. The Scientific Excellence award was established by KSU to honor distinguished faculty members, researchers and students within a spirit of competition in order to promote the standards of scientific research. The annual prize seeks to efficiently pave the way for a distinguished, outstanding and innovative scientific research environment. This year's winners were distinguished scientists from various disciplines. The winners included Dr. Rabih Halwani, Dr. Sultan Ayub Meo and Dr. Walid Zaher, among others. Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Meo thanked his well-wishers. "I am delighted to have this prestigious award, which is considered to be the second highest award of the Kingdom after King Faisal Award. I truly feel honored to work for KSU," he said. Dr. Meo has a brilliant record of achievements in medical sciences. He has authored more than 150 scientific publications and has written 10 medical books. The Prize's Board and Executive Committee supervise the procedures of nomination and submission according to set criteria and control the setup for each of the branches of the prize. The Executive Committee forms specialized jury sub-committees to choose the best candidates. The branches of the award are: Life-time Scientific Achievement Award, Research Quality Award, Elite Journals Publishing Award, Inventions, Innovations, and Technology Licensing Award, Excellence in Obtaining External Funding for Research Award ward, Best Authored Book Award, Best Translated Book Award, Entrepreneurship Award, and Student Research Excellence Prize. — SG
