On March 5, a delegation from Saline Water Conversation Corporations (SWCC) visited KAUST and WDRC. The group was led by Engr. Adnan Alqahtani, director of maintenance at Al-Shuaiba. Professor Noreddine Ghaffour, with the help of Ph.D. student Khaled Bin Bandar organized the visit, where 15 directors, heads of units, and technical officers learned more about the research at KAUST.
The visit started with an introduction to WDRC by acting director Proessor Johannes Vrouwenvelder followed by presentations from Professor Ghaffour and Dr. Muhammed Shahzad on behalf of Professor Kim Choon NG on their research areas and work. Dr. Ahmad Alsaadi and Ph.D. students Hyuk Son, Mohammed Albloushi, Mohammed Namazi, Luca Fortunato, and Abdullah Dehwah also participated in the meeting with a brief presentation on their research at the center.
A KAUST Campus tour followed, starting with the main library, Dr. Nada Mursi explained both digital and physical resources available for KAUST researchers. Moving then to KAUST's Core Labs (visualization, imagining and characterization, and analytical laboratories) where Dr. Madhu Srinivasan, Dr. Rachid Sougrat, and Mustafa Altunkaya respectively guided the visits and showcased research services of interest for the visitors and the water industry. Tours were concluded by visiting the Museum of Science and Technology in Islam with the help of Mr. Ahmed Abdulqader. The visit ended with a presentation about KAUST and its vision and mission from the Vice President for Government Affairs and Security Mr. Sulaiman Thunayan.
Both parties have emphasized the bond between the research institutes and the water industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia specifically and the region generally, aiming to strengthening the bonds even further through collaboration.
WDRC would like to express its appreciation to Engr. Abdulrahman Aloufi (Al-Shuaiba Plant Manager) and his team for visiting KAUST and the center. We also thank all the respective KAUST employees and managers for the great assistance and reception of the WDRC guests.
