King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) today announced the names of the winners of its Global Research Partnership (GRP) Investigator competition. Twelve international scientists were selected as KAUST Investigators for the 2007 round of nominations, which featured more than 60 submissions from 38 of the world's leading research universities. Through the GRP, KAUST, a new world-class, graduate-level research institution currently under development in Saudi Arabia, is providing individual research assistance to a group of highly accomplished scientists and engineers who are dedicated to a wide range of research topics of global significance with particular importance to Saudi Arabia and the region. Their research includes issues such as water desalination, renewable and sustainable next-generation energy sources, genomics of salt-tolerant plants, durable and environmentally friendly construction materials, sustainable utility of hydrocarbons, low-cost high-efficiency solar technology, and the application of computational science to human health and biotechnology. His Excellency Minister Ali Ibrahim Al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of KAUST, said, “We are pleased that these exceptionally talented individuals have chosen to partner with KAUST to bring their significant scientific and technological contributions to life. Their specific research will not only stimulate the growth of Saudi Arabia's emerging knowledge-based economy but also serve as a cornerstone of scientific advancement for the good of all people the world over.” The winners of the competition are as follows: Dr. Yi Cui – Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University in the United States Dr. Ahmed F. Ghoniem – Ronald C. Crane Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States Dr. Nicholas Paul Harberd – Professor, Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom Dr. Nobuyasu Ito – Associate Professor, Department of Applied Physics at the University of Tokyo in Japan Dr. William Koros – Professor and Roberto C. Goizueta Chair for Excellence in Chemical Engineering at the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States Dr. Bruce Logan – Professor of Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University in the United States Dr. Peter A. Markowich – Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom Dr. Paulo Monteiro – Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley in the United States Dr. Bengt Nordén – Chair Professor of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden Dr. Edward Hartley Sargent – Professor and Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology at the University of Toronto in Canada Dr. Brian Stoltz – Ethel Wilson Bowles and Robert Bowles Professor in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology in the United States Professor Anna Tramontano – Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Rome, La Sapienza in Italy. --more
