Among the many sessions that took place during WEP 2022, of particular relevance to members of WDRC are the sessions by Professor Cees Buisman (Wetsus and Wageningen University) and Professor Chris Zevenbergen (IHE-Delft and TU-Delft).

On 19th January, the AlBaik Executive Leadership comprising of the esteemed guests Eng. Ihsan AbuGhazaleh (Chairman of the Board of Directors AlBaik), Eng. Rami AbuGhazaleh (CEO of AlBaik) and Mr. Bassam Al-Seyofi (AGM Public Relation / Gov. Affairs of AlBaik) visited WDRC to interact with our researchers.

Congratulations to Ph.D. student Laura Pulido Beltran for being part of the winning team at the Wetskills Challenge!

A collaboration between KAUST's Solar Center and Water Desalination and Reuse Center resulted in developing a high-intensity pulsed light (HIPL) treatment efficient for post-treatment of contaminated water containing organic micropollutants (OMPs).

A total of eight students from the environmental science and engineering (EnSE) program were conferred their postgraduate degree at the KAUST Commencement exercise held on December 17, 2021.

Various center-led activities were prepared for the first day of the KAUST Research Open Week which is focused on water. The WDRC highlight the research areas and made a great effort to translate concepts to be easily understood by a broader audience.

The Austrian Embassy honored the winner of the Energy Globe Award Saudi Arabia 2021 at a business circle event titled “Green Tech Austria”.

Prof. Peiying Hong and alumnus Dr. Giantommaso Scarascia develop a method to remove biofilms on membranes in anaerobic reactors by using bacteriophages and UV light.

A MEWA-KAUST workshop was held on October 24-25 on campus as KAUST is poised to undertake a strategic partnership with MEWA focusing on water research.

Changzhi Wang's poster entitled “Metagenomic investigation of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factor genes in extracellular DNA across wastewater treatment processes” wins the “Best Poster Award" at the 9th IWA MEWE Specialist Conference held in the Netherlands.

Dr. Kennedy Odokonyero, a postdoctoral fellow in Prof. Himanshu Mishra's group developed a wax-based treatment for jute bags to improve water repellency and reduces loss of stored food grains.

The "Industry Meet and Greet: SWCC" event was successfully hosted and organized by the I&ED, KAUST, attended by select participants from the WDRC.

Professor Himanshu Mishra and Ph.D. student Adair Gallo Jr. discover, with the help of high-speed imaging, that liquid–particle and particle-particle interactions critically influence the evaporation behavior of liquid marbles.

VENTIBAG prototype is finally ready. Congratulations, Dr. Adnan Qamar!

Imene El Tall is the new Lab Manager of the Water Desalination and Reuse Center, effective October 1, 2021.

Professor Peng Wang and Dr. Wenbin Wang developed a simple cooling system based on solar energy and the cooling effect of saltwater evaporation that could be used for refrigeration in regions with limited access to electricity.

Nature Middle East features Professor Noreddine Ghaffour and Dr. Yong Jin's latest work! The team developed a salt-solution-infused thin-film condenser (SSTFC) system, which could contribute more than 50% energy savings compared with conventional defrosting systems.

Journal of Materials Chemistry A September Issue features Dr. Faheem Akhtar's research on adsorbents for moisture removal.

Learn more about liquid marbles. This study led by Adair Gallo, Ph.d. student and Prof. Himanshu Mishra is the September cover of Soft Matter Journal.

Akhtar joins (LUMS) in Pakistan as an assistant professor.