Inside Kaust SAUDI ARABIA made international news this past week with the inauguration of Kaust - King Abdullah University for Sciences and Technology. A longtime dream of King Abullah's, Kaust's glitzy inaugural celebration was held on September 23rd – coinciding with Saudi National Day – in an academically star-studded ceremony attended by various dignitaries, such as heads of state, Nobel prize winners, and world business icons. The unique university is located 50 miles north of Jeddah in the small fishing community called Thuwal on the Red Sea. Erected out of the desert sands from scratch in an astonishingly short time frame, Kaust went from dream to reality in less than three years. The top notch facility has attracted the world's cream of the crop in every capacity from students to administrative and teaching positions. Students from fifty different countries have enrolled in Kaust, and from what I understand, all of the students are on full scholarships or fellowships. With the goal of research and advancing science, Kaust specialized fields include math and computers, science and engineering, bioscience and bioengineering, and resources, energy and the environment. Developing solar energy is one of the specific aims of Kaust, in hopes that solar power will, in the near future, handle much of the Kingdom's energy requirements, plus become an important export for Saudi Arabia, along the scale of oil itself. The expansive Kaust grounds include a coral reef ecosystem which will be preserved as a marine sanctuary by the university, as well as housing for all administration, faculty and students, shopping, recreation, health services, dozens of parks, plus schooling for employees' children. Kaust also provides nifty transportation services including shuttles into Thuwal and Jeddah, golf carts and electric cars for sharing, and bike paths. – susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com A Kaust-ian WE, the “Kaust-ians,” were exhausted after the big inauguration event which kept us out until well after midnight, but the Kaust Inauguration Symposium scheduled for the following day was too good to miss. The symposium was a huge deal just by itself. Twelve leading academics were invited and the discussions revolved around two broad topics: the role of science and technology in sustainability and food and water in a changing climate. Of course the lighting and effects were immaculate and the food was good (and plenty of it) too. Nadmi Al-Nasr summed up my own thoughts well when he said in his closing remarks that it was “crazy” to host two events like the inauguration and the symposium in two consecutive days. Though perhaps overshadowed by the festivities on the previous day, the symposium was both enlightening and enjoyable. I am glad we had the opportunity to attend.
