King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is celebrating its team-up with top-notch international research universities in the presence of the University Board Chair Eng. Ali Al-Naimi, Saudi oil minister, on Tuesday and Wednesday in Jeddah. “Around 200 presidents of leading international universities, academics, and researchers will attend the celebration,” said Choon Fong Shih, founding president of KAUST. “More than 200 renowned Saudi academics, businessmen, and officials will attend the celebration, too,” he added. Researchers who will be honored during the two-day celebration will present their proposals on economic development. Supported by a multi-billion dollar endowment, KUST will fund similar research studies that would help economic development in the Kingdom and the world. In addition to funding economic research, KAUST focuses on resources, energy and environment; biosciences and bioengineering; materials science and engineering; and applied mathematics and computational science. As a graduate-research university, KAUST's fundamental organizing unit will be the interdisciplinary research institutes and not the schools or departments. The university is set to open in September 2009. KAUST's main campus is located on more than 36 million square meters on the Red Sea at Thuwal, which is approximately 80 kilometers north of Jeddah.
