WDRC held its 6th Annual Center Industry Affiliates Program (CIAP) on November 10-12, 2015. More than 40 participants (primarily from CIAP members and observers, along with WDRC faculty members and researchers) participated in this three-day event at KAUST.
On the first day of the CIAP meeting, two keynote speeches were delivered. Mark Crowell, recently appointed VP of Innovation & Economic Development (I&ED) at KAUST, discussed the importance of forging high-value collaboration between KAUST and industry, highlighting the role of KAUST as a catalyst for innovation and economic development in Saudi Arabia and the world. Dr. Pierre Côté (president of COTE Membrane Separation Ltd.) delivered the second keynote speech entitled “Innovation in Water Treatment: How to Get from Ideas to Products.” On the second day, Prof. Pierre Magistretti, dean of the KAUST Biological, Environmental Science and Engineering Division, welcomed the participants to the 6th Annual CIAP meeting. This was followed by a keynote speech by KAUST Professor Burton Jones from the Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) entitled “Ocean Observing for Coastal Water Use Applications.”
Serry Bakarman, director, KAUST Research & Technology Park (R&TP), presented an update on the R&TP activities. WDRC is excited and is looking forward to welcoming its partners again for the next annual meeting planned for late 2016 at KAUST.
