World-class
undergraduate programs
Unsurpassed
pre-professional
opportunities
Immersive study
abroad experience
Committed advisors
A vibrant academic
community
Cultural experience
Access to KAUST’s
premier faculty and
resources
The opportunity to
contribute to KAUST’s
bold global mission
THE KGSP

Student Thesis Spotlight: Yasser Albarakat

05/31/2017

Yasser Albarakat, a senior KGSP student at the University of Colorado Boulder, recently completed his thesis and defended his dissertation on ‘Two-Photon Polymerization of Soft Matter Composites’. His thesis summarizes the results of one-and-a-half years of research under the supervision of Ivan Smalyukh, Associate Professor of Physics. Yasser joined the Smalyukh Group in Fall 2015 and received a research grant from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) at the University of Colorado Boulder during the summer of his junior year.

 
Within his thesis, Yasser explains that, "Composite materials, as common as concrete, have been widely used and extensively engineered due to their capability of combining constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties, generating new materials with novel and more desirable properties. With two-photon photo-polymerization, it is possible to design and produce composite materials with three-dimensional control and sub-micron precision, thanks to the highly localized nonlinear process of polymerization.”
 
Yasser’s thesis has been published on the University of Colorado Boulder Scholar’s website. To read more about his research findings, please visit: http://scholar.colorado.edu/honr_theses/1276/
 
Yasser received the Summa Cum Laude award, the highest honors designation, for his academic and research excellence. Yasser graduated with honors at the University of Colorado Boulder this May and will travel to KAUST later this summer to begin his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering. 

thesis-v2

Yasser presenting his research at a Poster Fair at the University of Colorado Boulder

Thesis 1

Yasser defending his honor’s thesis 

scholarship-icon
STUDENT PROFILE 

KGSP students represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s future scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and thought-leaders. As both individuals and as a community, they reflect the KAUST mission of driving scientific discovery through excellence in education and cutting-edge research, and share a commitment to fostering innovation, economic development, and social prosperity throughout the Kingdom and the world.  

Application-icon
ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

Selection to the KGSP is extremely competitive, and currently by invitation only. Successful applicants are Saudi Arabian students in their final year of high school who demonstrate impressive academic credentials within STEM fields, meaningful extra-curricular achievements, and who share the KAUST ethos of continuous discovery.  Learn more here.

about-icon
KGSP ADMINISTRATION

The KGSP is administered by the Office of Strategic National Advancement at KAUST, under the direction of Vice President & Senior Associate to the President, Dr. Najah Ashry. Strategic National Advancement directs the university's strategy to serve Saudi Arabia's transformational priorities: Through initiatives in young talent and Saudi workforce development, social responsibility, and national engagement, the Office contributes to a thriving innovation ecosystem by building knowledge capacity, creating opportunities, and strengthening impact.