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JeddAHJeddAH

Ten New Partnerships

In an inspiring example of overcom-ing the early challenges of getting their lab up and running, scientists in the Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, working with researchers in the nanofabrication, Imaging and Characterization Lab, have made an important discov-ery. As reported in a recent issue of Macromolecules, they have devel-oped an improved and lower-cost method for producing nanoporous films which have extremely high pore density and regularity. Their work advances the capability for large-scale production of high qual-ity membranes for water purification, medical and pharmaceutical appli-cations as well as improvements to templates for the electronics industry.

Whilst awaiting the completion of their own research lab and not wish-ing to remain idle, Drs. Suzana nunes and Klaus-Viktor Peinemann chose this project knowing they had the full support of the Core Labs.

Ironically, if their “own research lab had been available when they started working at KAUST,” they told The Beacon, they “probably would not have approached this particular prob-lem.” Having worked with membranes and polymer solutions for a long time, they identified a problem which was fascinating from a scientific point of

view, relevant for membrane technol-ogy and, perhaps most importantly, could be tackled with the resources then available to them at KAUST. This is a tangible example of finding the silver lining in the cloud of our start-up challenges.

In practical use for more than fifty years, membranes have evolved over time, driven by end-user needs for improved performance. Separation techniques have cont inuously improved, making the membranes more selective and able to remove finer particles. new breakthroughs have enabled lower energy con-sumption, reduced costs, increased membrane life span and, above all, significant benefits to end-users.

As an example, patients with renal failure can spend up to eight hours daily undergoing hemodialysis in order to remove waste products from their blood. This involves diffusion of solutes across a semi-permeable mem-brane. Due to their enhanced and more precise filtration capability, high flux membranes (i.e. those with a high rate of throughput) with improved control of the pore size and distribution have the potential to substantially shorten the time a patient needs to be on a dialysis machine.

Microbial and chemical contamina-tion of water resources significantly

impac t s human health around the world and new threats, such as pharmaceu-ticals in drinking water, are constantly emerging. Commercial membranes for water purification, for the most part, still resemble those developed in the 1960s. The required increase in the effectiveness of decontamina-tion requires much higher fluxes and a membrane with uniform pore size distribution in the nano range, i.e. ultrafiltration.

While high flux is relatively easy to build into a membrane, the challenge is to ensure that the pores are evenly sized and distributed. The KAUST researchers addressed this problem by taking a unique approach to the devel-opment of nanoporous films inspired by block copolymers, metal-directed supramolecular chemistry and non-solvent induced phase separation.

Block copolymers are composed of at least two long sequences of mon-omer units which are quite different from each other but are covalently bound. By diluting with a selective solvent, one of the polymers tends to avoid solvent contact, assembling into complex morphologies or forms. This offers numerous possibilities for tai-loring nano-structures.

Suzana and K l a u s u s e d

metal-polymer complexat ion

as a method for directing self-assembly, stabilizing micelles (which are a submicroscopic aggregation of molecules) in solution and providing intermicellar cross-linking. Using a series of advanced microscopy methods and the expertise of core lab scientists, they experi-mented with a number of different solvents. This helped to determine the self-assembly in solution and its influence on the mechanism of pore formation, ultimately to find the one which formed the most orderly and even distribution of micelles.

However, micelles and vesicles that are formed in solution are dynamic, and evaporation immediately trans-forms the morphology. The challenge for the researchers was to control and stabilize the morphologies quickly to enable bottom-up nanostructure fabri-cation. Film morphology is dependent upon not only the thermodynamic interaction between copolymers, but also upon other factors such as vis-cosity and the presence of impurities which could dramatically influence the kinetics of phase separation and self-assembly.

GLoBAL Collaborative Research (GCR) has recently signed agree-ments wi th univers i t i e s in countries such as Australia, Ireland and Switzerland for the first time. Smaller in scale than those secured during the early days of the university, these col-laborations have been arranged at the faculty level. The new partners include Trinity College Dublin, Harvard, the University of Kentucky, Clemson University in South Carolina, Australia’s Un ive r s i ty o f Wol longong , École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne of Switzerland, and Széchenyi István University in Hungary.

“All early partnerships were e s t ab l i shed a t the in s t i tu -tional level,” GCR director Dr. Mustafa Al-Ali told The Beacon. The existing, larger-scale part-nerships including the Woods Hole oceanographic Institution, Stanford, Cornell, oxford, national Taiwan University and HKUST were secured before work on building the campus began. With the university in Thuwal now in its second year, a "bottom-up approach" is being encouraged by senior leadership, Dr Al-Ali explained, "...the faculty should drive future partnerships based on needs and KAUST’s stra-tegic research directions.

“So we have introduced a com-petitive program. We asked our faculty to submit proposals for activities, with their own choice of partners, that are connected and complementary so that each project includes research both inside and outside the Kingdom”.

The program attracted a strong response from faculty; ten part-nerships were awarded from the 50 proposals submitted. “The propos-als went through the peer review process and the selection panel

(Continued on p.2)(Continued on p.2)

– adversity drives innovation

BettermemBrAneSmemBrAneS

3d-reconstruction of the membrane porosity

dr. mustafa Al-Ali

www.kaust.edu.sa

Be conthe

october 2010 / Shawwal 1431 issue no. 2

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology at Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

inSide: out and About 4-5 in depth 6-7 Technology 7 community 8news 2-3

ثول ، اململكة العربية السعودية

THis second issue of The Beacon reminds us that the extraordinary blend of human talent and first-rate equipment that is KAUsT is already reaping results. Whether it’s the serendipity of a lab not being quite ready resulting in a discovery which may improve the lives of millions or research on the unusual volcanic activ-

ity which led to over 30,000 small earthquakes last year just north of us, KAUsT’s scientific community

is starting to make its mark. sharing these exciting stories with you depends on our being provided with your news, so please keep us informed. On another note, back in the day, we solicited the community for names for the paper and out of 200 submissions some 10% were a version of its current name. Watch this space for your ‘reward’! Thank you for reading. - THE BEACON Editorial

The Beacon, issue 2, October 2010. Published by The Communications Department, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, saudi Arabia. Contact salah sindi T +966 (2) 808-3221, email salah.sindi@kaust.edu.sa, or Christopher sands at T +966 (2) 808-3228, email christopher.sands@kaust.edu.sa

© King Abdullah University, of science and Technology.

Making our mark

Write to us at thebeacon@kaust.edu.sa

Klaus-Viktor, a veteran of the mem-brane technology industry, realized that “phase inversion” (abrupt phase separation by immersion in a non-solvent bath), a well-defined process in the manufacture of commercial

membranes, might be the key to the commercial viability of their findings. Using a very simple and easily scala-ble casting procedure followed by an immediate water bath quenching (for “phase inversion”), the pore size and

(Continued from p.1)evaluated them and came up with the top-ranked ones,’ added Dr. Al-Ali.

“As we expand our geographic distribution we are bringing research to KAUST that is of importance and will enrich KAUST’s research agenda. What matters is that it comes from a strong group with a good repu-

tation.”

A pAper written in part by KAUST Associate professor of Geophysics, Dr. Sigurjon Jonsson, has just been published online by Nature Geoscience. The paper describes the vulnerability to volcanoes of northwest Saudi Arabia, just 300KM north of KAUST. A swarm of 30,000 quakes shook Harrat Lunayir (harrat means lava field in Arabic) May and June 2009, which were caused by the pressure of a magma intrusion within 2km of the surface of the earth. Saudi officials evacuated over 30,000 people at the time; they were allowed to return to their homes about two months later, after the researchers had shown that an actual vol-canic eruption or larger earthquakes were no long-er likely. Jonsson told The Beacon, “We discovered a new kind of peculiar mixed-frequency earth-quake and the results have also influenced the way we think about plate bounda-ries. This was a rare and excellent example of how magma ascends towards the surface and, luckily in this case, didn’t quite make it.” The Beacon will cover Dr. Jonsson’s work more extensively in a future edition.

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Ten New Partnerships

distribution in the membrane can be stabilized and set.

With a patent application in proc-ess and a small-scale machine to manufacture small quantities of the film currently under construction, the KAUST researchers hope to form a new company to manufacture specialized membranes. Meanwhile, back in the lab, they will continue to refine the science and techniques of ultraporous films, moving toward the possibility of creating membranes with “responsive pores.”

With this discovery, Suzana and Klaus-Viktor provide an example of how challenging laboratory condi-tions can lead to the production of great research results. Although their own lab wasn’t ready, KAUST Research Scientist, Pradeep neelakanda told The Beacon “The abundance of high quality equipment at KAUST allowed us to immediately evaluate whether the membrane was good or not.” In this case, the results have the potential to bring a brighter future to millions of people worldwide.

Fig.2

Fig.1

“Without this funding it would not have been possible to do a comprehensive genetic study of the Saudi population, nor accept the official invitation to contribute Saudi data

to the world-wide 1000 human genome project”. - dr. Tim ravasi, Associate Professor of Biology

"This FIC award will provide the resources to enable Dr. Dixon at the University of Wollongong, Dr. Chaieb and me to advance the single-molecule imaging field towards studying complex biological questions"- dr. Samir Hamdan, Assistant Professor of Biology

On 8 September, 1,300 gifts were delivered from almost the same number of KAUST families to Mr. Ayesh Aljahdali, Thuwal Social Committee leader. The eid presents were then distributed to 900 girls and boys in Thuwal elementary schools, 70 in kindergar-tens and the remainder to children and babies still at home. As part of the KAUST “neighbours” campaign, the gesture showed the strengthening bonds between the campus and our local community.

Toys for Thuwal

co-AUTHorS (LeFT To rigHT): Ali reza Behzad, Bobby Hooghan, rachid Sougrat and dalaver Anjum. Absent from photo: Lan Zhao, neekalanda Pradeep, ingo Pinnau and Ulla Vainio.

ADvAnCeD COMpUTATiOnAL pLATfOrM fOr eLeCTrOn TrAnSpOrT in eLeCTrOniC DeviCeS AnD BiOLOGiCAL SenSOrS Udo Schwingenschlogl (PI), Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering COLLABOrATinG OrGAnizATiOn (C.O.): Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)

DiAMOnD nAnOCrySTALS: A nOveL SenSinG pLATfOrM fOr nAnOMeDiCine AnD BUiLD-inG BLOCKS fOr SeLf- ASSeMBLeD fUnCTiOnAL nAnOCOMpOSiTeS osman Bakr (PI), Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering C.O.: EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) & Harvard

enerGy HArveSTinG & WASTe HeAT reCOvery USinG OxiDe THerMOeLeCTriCS Husam Alshareef (PI), Assoc. Professor of Materials Science and Engineering ; Udo Schwingenschlogl (co-PI), Assistant Professor of Materials Science and EngineeringC.O.: Clemson University

expAnDinG THe GeneTiC CODe fOr DeSiGn AnD enGineerinG Of BiOCATALySTS: Jorg Eppinger (PI), Assistant Professor of Chemical Science ; Samir Hamdan (co-PI),

Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Sciences C.O.: The Scripps Research Institute & Technische Universitat Munchen

THe GeneTiC BASiS Of OBeSiTy/DiABeTeS in THe SAUDi pOpULATiOnTim Ravasi (PI), Associate Professor of Chemical and Life Sciences ; Chris Voolstra (co-PI), Assistant Professor, Red Sea Research Center; Annika Haywood (co-PI), Research Scientist International Medical Center (Saudi Arabia) C.O.: University of California, San Diego

GenOMiC, TrAnSCripTOMiC, AnD prOTeOMiC vieW Of A pHOTOSynTHeTiC ALGAe, CHrOMeriD, An evOLUTiOnAry “MiSSinG LinK” TO THe HUMAn MALAriA pArASiTeSArnab Pain (PI), Associate Professor of Chemical and Life Sciences ; Aswini Panigrahi (co-PI), Senior Research Scientist, Biosciences Core Lab C.O.: Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic)

KAUST-USf MeTAL-OrGAniC MATeriALS neTWOrK: SMArT MATeriALS fOr enerGy AnD envirOnMenTAL SUSTAinABiLiTyMohamed Eddaoudi (PI), Professor of Chemical

Science C.O.: University of South Florida

MOLeCULAr-SCALe DeSiGn AnD enGineerinG Of nAnOSTrUCTUreD OrGAniC SOLAr CeLLSAram Amassian (PI), Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering ; Ghassan Jabbour (co-PI), Professor of Materials Science and EngineeringMarkus Hadwiger (co-PI), Assistant Professor of Mathematical and Computer Sciences C.O.: Georgia Tech University, KFUPM (Saudi Arabia) & University of Kentucky

pOSiTive nUMeriCAL SOLUTiOn Of DifferenTiAL eqUATiOnSDavid Ketcheson (PI), Assistant Professor of Applied MathematicsC.O.: Szechenyi Istvan University (Hungary), University of Massachussetts- Dartmouth & CWI (netherlands)

SinGLe MOLeCULe vieW Of DnA repLiCATiOnSamir Hamdan (PI), Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Sciences; Sahroui Chaieb (co-PI), Assoc. Professor Mechanical Engineering and Materials ScienceC.O.: University of Wolongong (Australia)

FAcULTy iniTiATed coLLABorATionS - THe WinnerS

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BettermemBrAneSmemBrAneS(Continued from p.1)

Aerial view of a volcano Al-Ais, nW Saudi Arabia

rigHT Fig.1: conventional poly-acrilonitrile (PAn)

membranerigHT Fig.2: iso-porous membrane

surface prepared by the self-assembly

of block-copolymer micelles

mAin imAge: Klaus-Viktor Peinemann and Suzana nunes

October 2010 The BeaconneWS2

PROFEssOR Jean Fréchet, KAUsT’s Vice President for Research, was recently honored with the prestigious Erasmus Medal by the Academia Europaea. As the author of more than 800 papers throughout his distinguished career in organic chemistry at the University of Ottawa, Cornell and then Berkeley, it is not hard to see why Professor Frechet was chosen by the Academia (also known as "the Academy of Europe"). The medal is award-ed to a scholar “who has maintained, over a sustained period, the highest level of international scholarship and recognition by peers.” integral to the annual ceremony is

a lecture to a distinguished audience by the medal win-ner. Professor Frechet spoke on “Designing polymers for applications from technology to medicine.”

in discussion with The Beacon, Professor Frechet showed much more interest in talking about the issue of research integrity than the honor bestowed upon him in early september. Noting that it is a major concern within the research community worldwide, he said that it is dif-ficult to know whether incidents of fraud are increasing or whether technology is simply making the cases more readily identifiable.

He stressed that we need to build a culture at KAUsT that recognizes that nothing is so important that it justifies unethical practices. it is incumbent upon the research supervisors to implement measures to ensure continuous checking of primary data.

"it’s just like safety in the chemistry lab," Professor Frechet said, “if you don’t talk about it and remind peo-ple about safe practices, the environment will be unsafe. At KAUsT we have to talk about research integrity –– bring it out in the open and tell people what is right and

what is wrong.”

KAUST confirmed its commitment to the issue of research integrity when it was named as an official sup-porter of the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity (WCRI) held in July in Singapore. The Conference was hosted by nanyang Technological University, national University of Singapore, Singapore Management University and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). other official supporters included the US office of Research Integrity, the European Science Foundation, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Research Councils UK, national Science Foundation (nSF), China Association for Science and Technology and the International Council for Science. The first World Conference was held in Lisbon in 2007. With the success of its second conference, the World Conference on Research Integrity has established itself as a leading global forum for debating issues on research integrity.

The “father of the computer,” mathe-matician and engineer Charles Babbage described four “frauds of observers” in his 1830 book entitled “Reflections on the Decline of Science in England and on Some of its Causes.” These were: “Hoaxing” or pretending to have made a discovery; “Forging” observations that were never made; “Trimming” inconven-ient information from observations that differ from the mean; and “Cooking” or

being selective in observations to arrive at a consistent set.

Babbage’s concerns about fraudu-lent research practices resonate today. Following the 2007 oECD Consensus Report on Best Practices for Ensuring Scientific Integrity and Preventing Misconduct, we now categorize such unethical activities as: • Fabrication: making up results and recording or reporting them;• Falsification: manipulating research, materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results such that the research is not accurately repre-sented in the research record; and• Plagiarism: the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit

Research misconduct is a worldwide problem. Its consequences can be dan-gerous and expensive. Greater efforts than ever are being made to expose and prevent it. With more international col-laborative research, jurisdictional issues and differences in the attitude of research-ers from different countries add to the complexity. To support their researchers, institutions should establish clear stand-ards of expected behavior.

Integrity in research is essential to reaping public trust in science. The diverse nature of the challenge is clear from the 2nd World Conference prog-amme. Sessions included integrity issues in dual-use research and in the digital

age, standards for journal editors, chal-lenges for institutional leaderships, harmonizing research integrity struc-tures in response to the globalisation of research and conducting investiga-tions into misconduct in international research collaborations.

KAUST was represented at the 2nd World Conference by Peter Brooks, Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Economic and Technology Development, Cyndi Baily, Deputy General Counsel, Silke Blohm, Manager of the office of Research Services, and Moody Altamimi, Associate Program Coordinator in GCR. With Deborah Runkle of the AAAS, Peter co-chaired a session on Integrity in the Digital Age and has been invited to be a member of the committee organizing the 3rd World Conference on Research Integrity.

The timing of the 2nd World Conference could not have been better, as Peter and his colleagues have just finished drafting the KAUST “Code of Practice for Responsible Conduct of Research”. Currently under consideration by senior management, the draft benefited considerably from the Singapore discussions.

To underline the importance of this issue – a series of sessions on research integrity, presented by invited experts, is being planned for the 2011 Winter

Enrichment Program.

by Peter BrooksEconomic and Technology Development

inTegriTyin reSeArCH

eriC pOeHLMAn A researcher in human obesity at the University of Vermont, Dr. Poehlman has the distinction of being the first American academic to get a prison sentence for falsifying data in a grant applica-tion. A former research lab technician exposed his misconduct and, in 2005, the National inst i tutes of Health charged him with bas-ing 17 grant applications on false data and found ten research papers to be fictitious.

AnDreW frieDMAn According to the National institutes of Health, this surgeon and researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical school was found to have “committed scientific misconduct by falsifying and fabricating data in reproductive system research supported in part by a Public Health service grant”. in 1995, Friedman admitted to altering and fabricating patient records, confess-ing that up to eighty percent of some reported data was false. He admitted at a state hearing that he just couldn’t handle the pressure of 80-90 hour weeks see-ing patients, doing surgery, supervising students and doing research to maintain his reputation. “it was almost as though you’re on a treadmill that starts out slow-ly and gradually increases in speed. And it happens so gradually you don’t real-ize that eventually you’re just hoping you don’t fall off.” Perhaps surprisingly, he is now a senior director of clinical research at a pharmaceutical company.

WiLLiAM SUMMerLin To prove the success of a new skin graft technique, Wil l iam summerlin used a novel if simple approach to falsify data: he made dark patches on the fur of white mice with a black marker. His deception was revealed when lab assistants noticed that the mark-ings could be removed by alcohol. This fraud case by the Memorial sloan-Kettering Cancer institute researcher resulted in the Us Congress passing a law in 1985 requiring insti-tutions that receive federal research money to set up a system to monitor and report those who break the rules. summerlin is now practicing medi-cine in rural Louisiana.

Professor Lars Walloe, University of oslo, (right) presenting award to Prof. Jean Fréchet

JAn HenDriK SCHönA researcher in condensed matter

physics and nanotechnology at Bell

Labs (Lucent Technologies), schön

won numerous prizes, reportedly

averaging one research paper every

eight days. in 2001 he reported in

a paper in Nature that he had pro-

duced a transistor on the molecular

scale (with the potential to drasti-

cally reduce the cost of electronic

components). A year later, an inves-

tigation, triggered by allegations

from fellow physicists that his data

contained anomalies, found evi-

dence of scientific misconduct in

16 instances and he admitted that

he had falsified data. in 2004 the

University of Konstanz revoked his

doctoral degree due to “dishonour-

able conduct” stating that his was

the “biggest fraud in physics in the

last fifty years” and that the “cred-

ibility of science had been brought

into disrepute.”

TUSKeGee SypHiLiS STUDyin 1932, 399 African Americans with syphilis were recruited

for this forty year clinical study to investigate the natural pro-

gression of the untreated disease. Although intended to help

justify treatment programs for blacks, the researchers delib-

erately withheld treatment even after penicillin was found to

be an effective cure. Public outcry led to termination of the

project and major changes in Us law that ensured full disclo-

sure of the methodology, diagnosis and test results.

erasmus Medal Winner on research integrity

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Peter Brooks and deborah runkle of AAAS, co-chair a session at Wcri

October 2010 3The Beacon

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HiSTOry & CULTUreDespite its modern façade, history and culture does exist in Jeddah if you take the time to look for it.

nassief House , prominently situated in Al Balad, was built in 1881 for sheik Omar Effendi Nassief, then Governor of Jeddah. The Nassief family gave this symbol of Jeddah’s past to the City as a museum and cultural centre in 1975. Khuzam Palace was the new residence of King Abdul Aziz in Jeddah when it was completed in 1932. since 1995 it has housed the Regional Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography, open to the public from 8am-noon and 5-7pm (Fax: 02-636-4371).

The unique home of architect, Dr. sami M. Angawi, the Al-makkiyah cultural center is open for tours to groups of ten or more. The design combines old-world traditions and materials with new, environmentally sen-sitive construction techniques. The location for regular cultural forums, it also houses a small shop, Zekrayat Traditional Heritage gallery, which features local and regional handicrafts. Call or email for appointments and tours: 02-606-4715 (amira.mashat@yahoo.com).

Art lovers will find hidden treasures in Jeddah. For contemporary art by saudi and Arab artists, a must-see is the ATHr gallery on the 5th floor of the Business centre, serafi Mega Mall. it is open saturday to Thursday 9am to 6pm (http://www.athrart.com/). Another special place is the gallery and studio of Jeddah born artist, safeya Binzagr, whose work reflects saudi history and culture. darat Safeya Binzagr includes the gallery, studio, class-rooms and small shop. Open to the public Wednesday from 5:30-8:30pm and Thursday from 10:30am-1:30pm. Call 02 657 1030 (www.daratsb.com)

SHOppinG shopping centers seem to be on every corner but where do you get the best deals? The Beacon was told that, for camera equipment and electronics, the Jeddah international market tops the list and for computer parts, the city centre mall and eXtra in the Sultan mall are the best. Jarir Bookstore stocks a wide variety of English books, electronics and arts and crafts sup-plies (find a store locator at http://www.jarirbookstore.com/).

Long-time residents recommend the Khayat center for high-end brand goods from Chanel to Christian Dior on Tahliyah street. Even if you can’t afford a sR27,000 dress, it’s a great place to window shop. And, for the opposite end of the spectrum, mahmoud Saeed is a local bazaar style market has everything from furniture, elec-tronic goods, kitchenware, toys and clothes to spices and it’s open till midnight.

fOODChoices abound for a night out or even a quick snack. Here we bring you an eclectic selection of recom-mendations from the KAUsT community. For maps and information on many restaurants, check out: http://www.jeddahfood.com/

Top of the list from locals in the know is Al nakheel restaurant (02-606-6644) . Here you can sit back and enjoy classic Arabic cuisine and music in a beau-tiful traditional setting. Bubbles (02-669-7655) and neighbouring Byblos (02-669-7655), which are jointly owned, are favourites for atmosphere and excellent food. Promenade café (02-668-8712) is recommended for

HiSTory & cULTUre1. Al Makkiya2. ATHR Art Gallery3. Darat safeya Bin Zagr Gallery4. Nassief House5. Khuzam Palace

SHoPPing1. Jarir Mall (Jarir Bookstore) 2. City Center Mall

3. sultan Mall (eXtra Electronics)4. Mahmoud saeed5. Jeddah international Markets6. Khayat Center7. iKEA8. sACO

reSTAUrAnTS1. Thai Thai Restaurant2. Ginza i Chome

(Rosewood Hotel)3. Al Nakheel Restaurant4. Tenidor Restaurant5. Toki Restaurant6. Promenade Café 7. Goodies8. Munch Bakery9. Bubbles Restaurant10. Abazeer Organic Foods

cHiLdren1. Roshan Mall (Childcare)2. Oceanica Theme Park (Red sea Mall)3. Atallah Theme Park 4. sultan Mall (Childcare)5. ice Land ice skating6. Al-shallal Theme Park

its fresh continental menu –– a great place to relax after a shopping spree on Tahliyah street.

For Chinese food, Toki (02-664-2819) is reported to be the best, while ginza i chome (02-257-8888) in the Rosewood Hotel rated top for sushi and sashimi and Thai Thai restaurant on Prince sultan (02-691-3808) will bring back memories of Bangkok.

For home cooks goodies has a great selection of inter-national products, and for organic fresh produce check out Abazeer (02-661-2285), an organic grocery store, for fresh produce.

fOr THe KiDS Our own campus offers a multitude of recreational activi-ties, however we don’t yet have roller coasters or an ice rink. Atallah Happy Land (02-669-1157) and Al-Shallal (02-606-3993), both on the Corniche, have fun-fair rides for the whole family. The latter also has ice skating and roller skating rinks. Another popular rink is ice Land (02-662-6666) on Prince sultan street. All have special family and female-only times –– best to call ahead.

Most malls have playgrounds for kids and, to enjoy hassle-free shopping, parents can take advantage of childcare at Sultan and roshan malls for just sR25/hour per child.

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OLD JeDDAH Known by many as a shopper’s paradise, the vari-ous souks of Al Balad (“the town” in Arabic) offer the adventurer everything from gold to frankincense and electronics to abayas. starting at Nassief House, look beyond the shops and meander through the narrow alleyways lined with three- to five-story buildings hark-ing back to the days when Jeddah was a walled city and just four gates allowing restricted access. Constructed of coral and clay, the height of the centuries-old build-ings provided the residents daytime shade on the ground and rooftop breezes in the evenings. Unique wooden shades on the balconies provided ventilation and privacy while still affording those inside a good view of the street.

Whether one has been at KAUST for a month or a year, there are always new and exciting places to discover in Jeddah. We present here an eclectic mix of places that are perhaps obvious to some but a revelation to others. if you have suggestions for a subse-quent update to this map, please send them on to: thebeacon@kaust.edu.sa

SAUdi oger rATeS Phone Nos.: 808-017, 808-5624 or 808-5625 Email: kausttaxi@kaust.edu.sa

Taxi within KAUST Full size sedan sR20 per trip (max 30 mins)

Taxi within 150 kms

Full size sedan sR125 per trip (max 1 hour)Additional sR50 per hour in excess of the first hour plus sR1.00 per km in excess of 150 kms

sUV sR250 per trip (max 1 hour)Additional sR75 per hour in excess of the first hour plus sR1.50 per km in excess of 150 kms

Jeddah Airport Pickup/drop

Full size sedan sR 180 (each way) sR 270 (roundtrip with 1 hour wait for airport)

sUV sR 250 (each way) sR 450 (roundtrip with 1 hour wait for airport)

30 Passenger Bus sR 300 (each way) sR 500 (roundtrip with 1 hour wait for airport)

HAnco rATeS Phone Nos.: 808-5647 or 050-234-5114 Email: transportation@kaust.edu.sa

Jeddah Airport or city drop

Full size sedan sR 180 (each way) sR 270 (roundtrip with 1 hour wait for airport)

sUV (standard size) sR 250 (each way) sR 450 (roundtrip with 1 hour wait for airport)

sUV (Large size) sR 300 (each way) sR 500 (roundtrip with 1 hour wait for airport)

TAxiS TO JeDDAH

TAxiS in JeDDAH (Recommended by KAUsT residents) JeDDAH By BUS1. Alla @ 050-367-92872. Anthony @ 059-612-83423. Ali @ 050-163-9700

Check the most recent schedule at http://logistics.kaust.edu.sa, then click on "Transportation"

October 2010The Beacon oUT And ABoUT 5

GRoWInG up in Saudi Arabia, Dina Garatly, Content Modeler and Producer in the Visualization Lab, never expected to get to know a small part of her coun-try as intimately as she now knows Mada’in Saleh (Al-Hajir). This UnESCo World Heritage site, near Al-Ula about 700km north northwest of KAUST, was the second largest city of the first century nabataean Kingdom (the first being Petra). In order to model one of the 131 nabataean tombs in the former Hegra, she not only painstakingly examined the sandstone rock formations but also had to simulate the carving technique of the master craftsmen. “Getting the texture right was the hardest part,” she said.

The initial idea for the model came through discussion with Dr. Alyn Rockwood, KAUST Professor of Applied Mathematics and a member of the Geometric Modeling and Visualization Research Center. It took shape quickly when they discovered that KAUST resident Laurence Hapiot was an archaeologist and physical anthropologist just finishing her Ph.D., which focuses on nutri-tional and sanitary environments in ancient Greece. Laurence then located other French archaeologists, Drs. Laïla nehmé and François Villeneuve, who were working on a project at Mada’in Saleh. They connected her to their Saudi col-laborator and leading Arab archaeologist, Dr. Dalfallah Al-Talhi, former Director General, Research & Survey Center, Ministry of Antiquities & Museums and now at the University of Ha’il.

For the first few months, Dina worked only with drawings and photographs supplied by the archaeological team, but the rendering took on a new dimen-sion after she and Laurence visited Al-Ula and neighbouring Mada’in Saleh in May. As they neared the Qasr al-Bint Group at the site, Dina immediately rec-ognized “her tomb.”

The resulting 3D model is an amazing representation of the chosen nabataean burial place. Virtually, one can look down on the sandstone mountain in which it is carved, “fly” down and into the tomb itself, walk around the interior and

look up to the smaller room above the main tomb. Dina and Laurence hope to see this project

expanded through collaboration with a laser scanning com-pany. This would provide more accurate data and increase the resolution and extent of the model.

This project and its possible future expansion are not only significant to archaeology and tourism, but have much broader implications at KAUST.

Archaeologists would benefit from the opportunity to use such technology to preserve the history of the site before they dig deeper to uncover artifacts from earlier times. As Laurence says: “We have to pass through a layer to reach the one under-neath in order to learn and preserve.” Archaeologist Tom Levy from University of California, San Diego, showed guests and KAUST's inauguration last year a graphic representation of an archaeological excavation site at Petra. Presented in KAUST’s Advanced Computation and Visualisation Facility, CoRnEA, one travels virtually down to the bottom of the site, examining layers of artifacts from successive periods in history along the way.

Dr. Al-Talhi told The Beacon that "I am sure that these efforts by the KAUST team will shed more light on the archaeology of Saudi Arabia and it is wonderful that the technology is being developed in this country." The greatest benefit to KAUST, however, are the lessons learned by Dina while working on this particular project. The steps she has taken, the under-standing that she has gained will enable future projects using visualization equipment to proceed more smoothly. She will be sharing her experience with students and working collaboratively with faculty to use what she has

learned in a wide variety of applications.

viSUALizinG A nABATAeAn TomB

WHEn Christopher Columbus returned to Spain from his voyages of discovery, his sponsors could not have grasped the extent of his explo-ration without a crudely drawn map. no matter how inaccurate his representation of the new World, Columbus’ basic pictorial representation of his travels would have had more impact than a thousand of his words.

over the centuries, hand drawings of maps, diagrams and graphs gave way to copper plate (manually coloured), lithography, photo-etching and, most recently, interactive computer soft-ware. Advances in statistical computation as well as graphic displays now provide tools for visuali-zation of data and information that would have been considered science fiction just fifty years ago.

Strolling along Discovery Walk outside the Visualization Lab Showcase in KAUST's Al Khawarzimi Building, you can’t help but stop and check out the latest images on the giant dis-play screens. Whether they are showing a model of a kneeling Terracotta Warrior, the structure of a protein, a gas plume or a sectioned rat’s brain, the images draw you in, stimulating your curiosity.

Just as Columbus’ audience better under-stood his travels by a visualization of his route, so too scientists across multiple disciplines can

understand each other’s complex analyses and problems by representing them graphically. These images enable a scientist to share the results of research with others who, viewing it from a dif-ferent perspective could extend or enhance such work. According to Steve Cutchin “visualization tools give us new ways to look at old data.”

KAUST’s world class visualization facilities, coupled with the power of Shaheen, give scien-tists a powerful way to interact with data in real time. They observe not just a picture, but rather a three dimensional “live” object they can walk around, get underneath or inside, and manipu-late with new data. And teams of scientists can do this together, collaborating around the world, just as KAUST’s Visualization Lab Showcase itself was built.

Before Steve Cutchin came to KAUST he was working in the VirtuLab at the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) at UC San Diego. The Showcase was designed by pioneer computer graphics researcher, Tom DeFanti and was proto-typed at Calit2. The summer before inauguration, Steve and his KAUST team moved to Thuwal and assembled the Showcase piece by piece on site with remote help from both Calit2 and the Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

When KAUST opened its doors to the world last year, Showcase (comprising the nexCAVE, REV-CAVE and other state-of-the-art tiled dis-play walls) was just one of the features of the Visualization Core Lab. Media interest was

especially focused on CoRnEA (from the Arabic word, Al-Qarniya) which was the most advanced virtual reality research space in the world. Built for KAUST by Mechdyne in collaboration with Calit2, it is an advanced form of CAVE (CAVE auto-

matic virtual environment), the first of which was developed and trademarked by the University of Chicago in 1992. CoRnEA is a fully-immersive cubic 3D virtual reality environment which com-bines an image resolution of one hundred million pixels with a spatial surround sound audio sys-tem. The visual and acoustic experiences combine eerily to mimic reality.

Adjacent to CoRnEA, the multipurpose room (MPR) offers a stereoscopic environment with 32 million pixels for 3D resolution and 20.4 Digital Surround Sound for impressive audio clarity and manipulative ability. The aptly-named MPR provides a reconfigurable dynamic collabora-tive display environment for interdisciplinary research and can also be linked to CoRnEA to enable collaboration by researchers in both spaces as well as via high bandwidth video-links around the world.

The Visualization Lab holds an open house to display the capabilities of its facilities every Sunday from 11am to 1pm. Check them out

–– you’ll be impressed!

JUDY LOVE-EAsTHAM

geTTing THere:independent travel by car from KAUsT to Al-Ula takes approximately eight hours. Many sections of the inland route north of Medina offer impres-sive mountain scenery and the roads are, for the most part, excellent. A first stop if you're consider-ing the trip would be to the GAsC service desk in the Administration Building to get the most recent travel advisories for the region.

Most local tour companies provide private and group tours. Currently, tours usually include a flight from Jeddah to Medina with a transfer from Medina to Al-Ula by road. However, the Al-Ula airport is due to open by the end of 2010, offering a direct and faster route from Jeddah.

SiTe PermiT:Entry to the World Heritage site requires a visi-tor permit. Either of the two hotels in Al-Ula can provide this service when you book your room.

HoTeLS:Mada’in Saleh Hotel: http://www.mshotel.com.sa/Al-Ula Arac resort: http://www.arac-hotels.com

SeeinG iS BeLievinGmAin PicTUre:

Archaeological excava-tion at Petra graphically represented in corneA

inSeT: dr. Steve cutchin

mAin PicTUre: Archaeological excava-

tion at Petra graphically represented in corneA

inSeT: dr. Steve cutchin

in dePTH6 October 2010 The Beacon

CHRis KENDALL

nexCAve inTerACTive viSUALizATiOn SySTeM

THE KAUsT/UCsD special Partnership in Visualization developed a 21-panel virtual reality system called NexCAVE. The NexCAVE is a scalable, interactive 3-D visualization environment made of HDTV micro-polarized JVC LCD flat-screens forming an arch-shaped sec-tion of a sphere.

The NexCAVE advances VR in two ways over projector based CAVEs. Projectors are inherently hard to align and keep aligned. The NexCAVE panels’ left- and right-eye images are perfectly aligned, thus the eye fatigue from imperfect alignment in a classic CAVE is significantly reduced. Researchers would like to do a study to compare both methods.

second, the active display technology of LCDs allows the NexCAVE to be installed in normally lit rooms. Traditional CAVE systems require darkened surroundings to maintain quality interac-tion environments. The NexCAVE has excellent contrast, brightness, and low ghosting, even with fluorescent lights. This allows the NexCAVE to be installed in more settings.

Each column of JVC displays is a separate module with the system expanded by adding columns. The control computers are connected via standard 10-gigabit networking. Across the top of the system are infrared cameras tracking the users' positions and movements. Users wear passive stereo glasses that let each eye see a different image from the same screen, creating a virtual three dimensional environment.

Combining real-time graphics and PC audio, the NexCAVE includes a 5.1 Meyer sound system. The NexCAVE is connected to the KAUsT internet allowing KAUsT researchers to collaborate with colleagues worldwide.

The NexCAVE’s necessary display tilting is physically achieved by slightly overlapping the screens (see diagram). This works better than one might expect and, in spite of borders, is not disruptive to viewing 3D scenes. if an image is blocked by a border, the viewer moves to look around the border, as one would through a window with mul-lions.

A fu l l floor and ce i l ing NexCAVE has not been attempt-ed, but in the future it could be built to create a spherical environment.

The NexCAVE system is well suited for faculty and students to review and manipulate 3D data of all kinds. KAUsT students and faculty are using the NexCAVE for develop-ment.

THE intricately carved tombs of the nabataean Kingdom of Mada’in Saleh or Al-Hijr (Arabic for “rocky place”) are, undoubtedly the most spectacular reason to venture north to the Al-Ula region of Saudi Arabia. But this isn’t the only remarkable site in an area well traveled by traders and pilgrims alike for centuries.

Lying 350 km north of Medina and 20 km south of Mada’in Saleh, the ancient oasis town of Al-Ula (previously Dedan) was the capital of the Lihyanites (or Dedanites) from 552 to 100 BC. A key stop along the ancient caravan trade route from incense and spice-producing areas of southern Arabia (Yemen) to the Mediterranean basin, it was a thriving Islamic settlement by the 13th Century.

The town was built at the narrowest point in a valley sur-rounded by high plateaus. To afford maximum protection from both flash floods and invading tribes, the houses, built from the stones of nearby Lihyanite ruins, formed the city walls. narrow, covered lanes wound between them. A large open market area, once heaving with life on a daily basis, is now used only for an annual celebration.

In the 20th century, a new town centre was built to the south but the old town of Al-Ula remained a living commu-nity until the last family moved out in 1983. The site is now being preserved with some 800 homes still in evidence, a few carefully restored. Winding along narrow streets, peer-ing through open doors and climbing ancient stone steps, one can almost hear the echoes of voices from the past.

Underlying both Al-Ula and Mada’in Saleh is the Al-Ula basin, a vast reservoir of fresh groundwater trapped in the sedimentary layers formed millions of years ago. Al-Ula farmers tap this reservoir to nurture the numerous date palms that are renowned in the area.

To the north, within the UnESCo World Heritage Site at Mada’in Saleh, is the Mada’in Saleh Hejaz Railway station.

It was one of fifty similar structures built along the route for pilgrims traveling from Damascus to Medina. Conceived in 1897, work began on the railroad in 1900 after subscrip-tions totalling £8 million were raised throughout the Islamic world.

opened in 1908, the route not only cut the journey for pilgrims to the holy city from two months by camel cara-van to four days, but also offered the ottoman government a means to transport troops and ammunition to its military outpost in Medina. In its short ten year lifespan the total number of passengers carried was over 1.3 million, 25 per-cent of whom were military personnel.

Suffering declining revenues, Bedouin camel train opera-tors often stopped and raided the trains, forcing the Turks to provide armed guards along the route. Ultimately, the use of the Hejaz railway for troop movement served as its undoing. T.E. Lawrence famously crippled the line in sev-eral places during the Arab Revolt of 1916 and it never recovered.

one of the most popular rest stops for pilgrims, the sta-tion and rest area at Mada’in Saleh has been well preserved. It consists of a number of stone buildings, including an engine maintenance facility which houses one of the origi-nal steam engines, and a few open cars which hint at the lack of comfort endured by passengers.

Back in town, the Al-Ula Museum of Archaeology & Ethnography is well worth a visit. It is a treasure trove of information on the history and natural environment of the region.

All in all –– spectacular rock formations, remarkable sandstone-carved nabataean tombs, an infamous railway and the remains of an ancient town make a trip to Mada’in Saleh and Al-Ula a “must” for a long weekend’s travel agenda.

This month we peer into KAUsT's Visualization Lab showcase, and get a run-down on the NexCAVE 3D virtual environment.

JOUrney BACK in TiMe

LAB GEAR

From LeFT To rigHT: old Town of Al-Ula nestled between jagged mountains, Hejaz railway steam engine, railway maintenance shed, mada’in Saleh station

dina garatly worked with archaeologist’s

drawings to ‘carve’ the model of the tomb

iLLUsTRATiON: CH

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PHOTOs BY BAH

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infrared tracking sensors

in dePTH / TecHnoLogy 7October 2010The Beacon

October 2010 The BeaconcommUniTy8

BooK rEVIEws

diScoVery TeAm ViSiTS KAUST Professor Choon Fong Shih, President of KAUST, w e l c o m e d a s t r o n a u t HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman (along with five of his colleagues from the 1985 Discovery space mission) to KAUST on Wednesday, September 29th. Celebrat ing the 25th anniversary of the voyage on which Prince Sultan served as a Payload Specialist, the delegation is touring the Kingdom. A fighter pilot, Prince Sultan is also President and Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities. Quoted in Aramco World, Prince Sultan said “The Arab world is at a turning point. We have gone through the phases of oil, money and early technological develop-ment. The new generation is looking forward to joining the rest of the world by obtaining the most important things in that turnaround: opportunity and education. Together they are the keys that open the door for our future. My space flight is just a crack in that door.”

EVERY month The Beacon showcases the work of one of the many talented photographers on campus. Can you do better than this month's selection? submit original photos that are relevant to the university

–– and not just shots of campus buildings! send in your unique, imaginative take on whatever strikes you, and if your photo is chosen you’ll have the thrill of seeing your work in print!

my UniVerSiTyBorn in Dammam and a B.s. (Honors) graduate of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Wail was one of the first students to be recruited for KAUsT and expects to graduate in December 2010.

The opportunities provided to him and his fellow students through the global collaboration program have exceeded his expectations. He feels fortunate that he and his fellow stu-dents had internships in places like MiT, Berkeley, stanford and iBM, hearing lectures and undertaking research with top professors from these and other eminent institutions.

Pursuing an M.sc. in Computer science, Wail has spent the past two summers in the United Kingdom working on medical imaging projects at Oxford. This work has stimu-lated his interest in bioinformatics and he hopes in the future to build systems which enhance biologists’ ability to manipulate and interpret data.

inspired by a course on entrepreneurship in last year’s Winter Enrichment Program, Wail hopes to eventually com-bine academia with business and have his own company while teaching as a college professor.

WAiL BA ALAWi

Born and raised in Jeddah, Mohammed has been working with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Company for four years, almost a year of that at KAUsT. As Lead Barista at their outlet in the Administration building, Mohammed feels as if a whole new world has opened up to him.

Naturally inquisitive and friendly, he enjoys chatting with his customers as he serves them, sharing experiences and dis-cussing the various cultures represented on campus as well as the news of the day. But his thirst for knowledge doesn’t end

when his day is done at KAUsT. He’s a voracious reader and, intent on furthering his education, will soon start evening classes at Arab Open University working toward a degree in accounting. Eventually, Mohammed hopes to use his expe-rience in the food industry and knowledge gained through business studies to start up his own business. Commenting on the friendliness of KAUsT people, Mohammed said, “You feel like you are working with your family and, when you work with your family, you do your best work.”

moHAmmed SULemAin BALoSHi

Email your photos to thebeacon@kaust.edu.sa

Originally from Changchun in northeast China and a graduate of Jilin University, Lan Zhao came to KAUsT from singapore where she worked for three years in the institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.

While the state-of-the-art instrumentation in the Core Labs was the major incentive for Lan to come to KAUsT, she and her husband (Assistant Professor Yu Han) were also interested in the opportunity to live and work in saudi Arabia.

Reflecting on her years as an inorganic scientist, work-ing primarily as an independent researcher, Lan says that her job as a research scientist in the imaging and Characterization Core facility is the most fulfilling to date. "Helping people makes me happy," she said, and this posi-tion gives her the opportunity to work with a wide variety of people in many disciplines and, while helping them, she is continually learning. Lan told The Beacon, “KAUsT turned out to be even better than i expected.”

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mAdA’in SALeHby Mohammed BabelliDesert Publisher, Riyadh (01-476-6106)isBN: 978-603-00-2777-4

This beautiful coffee table book includes engaging informa-tion as well as striking photographs of the Al-Ula region. Saudi engineer and photog-rapher, Mohammed Babelli, has included a chapter on each of the three key sites – the ancient nabataean tombs, the old city of Dedan and the stations and sites along the Hejaz Railway. His vivid images of landscapes, sandstone-carved crypts and 12th century buildings are an excellent keepsake for those who have visited and a motivation for those who have yet to do so.

THe nABATAeAn TomB inScriPTionS oF mAdA’in SALiHby John f. HealeyOxford University Press, 1993Call No. 492.29 NAB This scholarly book provides the firs t detailed study of the tomb inscriptions of the ancient nabotaean city of Mada’in Saleh in northwest Saudi Arabia. The archaeo-logical complex of Mada’in Saleh, also known as the historic village of Al-Hajir, is one of the best-preserved ancient sites in the Kingdom and the tomb inscriptions provide important evidence about the customs and language of the nabataean people. Along with fifty photographs and detailed descriptions of these inscrip-tions, the book offers a background on nabataean history and language and its connection to Arabic. Whether you are a specialist in nabataean epigraphy, someone wanting to learn more about the ancient history of our region or someone planning a trip to this important archaeological site, this book is worth checking out. The book is available at the Harbor Library under its call number.