2021 Fall Conferences

1/6/2022

KGSP students have attended many conferences this Fall, including the 2021 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Student Conference, Society of Women Engineers WE21 Annual Conference, Global Oceans 2021, the Geological Society of America Connects 2021, and the SC21: The International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis. Conferences are treasured enrichment opportunities in which students expand their knowledge of their academic discipline, meet and network with leading scientists and industry experts, and learn about current research studies and new scientific breakthroughs. The KGSP provides a bi-annual list of conferences options in the US for students to consider attending.

Abdulaziz Farasani, a junior majoring in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, attended the 2021 AIChE Annual Student Conference in Boston, Massachusetts where he earned 3^rd Place in the Undergraduate Student Poster Competition for Materials Engineering and Sciences VII. He presented on “First principles modeling of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites,” a research project that he conducted with Professor Udo Schwingenschlögl during his 2021 summer internship at KAUST. “As I presented my work, I often found myself engaging in very exciting discussions and forgetting about the pressure of an intense research competition,” Abdulaziz explained.  “It was quite refreshing to have those conversations, as they reminded me of why I love chemical engineering.”

His KGSP peer, Qusai Almalki, a sophomore majoring in Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University (NSCU), also attended and flourished from this year’s AIChE conference. “I've networked with many professors and students from different universities across the US. Some of them gave me great advice like keeping my mind open for new research fields, and some of them connected me with professors at different universities including Rice and Northeastern University to do research in the summer there.” After speaking with an NSCU professor at the conference, he was able to secure a research position at the Dickey Group, one of the research labs at his home university, for Spring 2022.

His KGSP advisor, Theodore Helms applauds him for his drive to excel and search for rewarding learning opportunities, revealing that “Qusai is a hardworking student who has done remarkably well since he arrived at NC State University.  Last summer, he researched at University of California, Irvine and continues to work with his professor throughout the academic year virtually.” 

                                                        
KGSP student Mustafa Almutawa speaking to Dr. David Keyes, Director of KAUST's Extreme Computing Research Center

Three KGSP students who attended SC21: The International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis in St. Louis, Missouri in November had the opportunity to collaborate with KAUST faculty at the KAUST exhibition booth as they represented the University and highlighted its supercomputing developments.

As the year progresses, there will be many more opportunities for KGSP students to attend conferences and expand their knowledge, share ideas, and network with their peers and distinguished faculty and researchers.

               
                                                             KAUST SC21 Delegation with KGSP students