Six engineering students from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) have been selected to conduct research work in gas, nanotechnology and renewable energy at a research center to be established by the American company Honeywell at the Dhahran Techno Valley, which has been established by KFUPM to attract local and international companies to undertake their research and development (R&D) programs. The six are the first batch of KFUPM students who will do research work at the Honeywell R&D center, which will be opened in the fourth quarter of 2010. Honeywell is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. The six students were selected based on their academic performance and grade point average (GPA), according to Dr. Halim Hamid Redhwi, assistant general supervisor of Dhahran Techno Valley. “The university will select six students every semester to do research work at the Honeywell R&D Center,” Redhwi said. KFUPM and Honeywell signed on Oct. 25 an agreement to establish a new integrated R&D facility at Dhahran Techno Valley. The agreement was signed by Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, rector of the university, and Norm Gilsdorf, president of Honeywell Process Solutions. The Honeywell R&D center will house three business cores: Honeywell Building Solutions, Honeywell's UOP, and Honeywell Process Solutions. The new facility will help Honeywell better manage and strengthen existing relationships and R&D partnerships with KFUPM, while keeping proximity to its important clients in the energy industry in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia.
