Share this

​"Extrapolating future climate trends from historical data is more challenging for enclosed seas than it is for open oceans and should be done with extreme caution," according to KAUST ocean modeling expert Ibrahim Hoteit. The finding follows detailed data reanalyses and computer simulations on wind and wave conditions over the Red Sea.

Hoteit and a team of researchers in Saudi Arabia, Italy and Ecuador examined high-resolution global datasets to identify and simulate wind and wave trends over the Red Sea since 1979. They then conducted advanced statistical analyses on lower-resolution data extending back to the beginning of the 20th century to investigate the influence of various global trends on the ones identified in the Red Sea.

“This allowed us to identify potential links with established climate patterns and quantify their influence on the trends identified from the high-resolution data,” explains KAUST research scientist Sabique Langodan.

The team found that the northern part of the Red Sea was demonstrating a clear reduction in the number and intensity of wind and wave events entering it from the Mediterranean since 1979. Further analyses found that this reduction is likely linked to a 70-year cycle in the North Atlantic, known as the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO). This cycle is expected to shift in the next 30 years, which could suggest that, rather than a continuing decreasing trend, northern Red Sea events will witness a shift, by slowing down or beginning to increase in the coming decades.

Wind and wave conditions in the southern part of the Red Sea are influenced by the winter monsoons from the Arabian Sea. These monsoons, however, are not yet predictable over the long term like the North Atlantic system. Based on their analyses, Hoteit and his colleagues expect that wind and wave conditions in this part of the Red Sea will vary randomly, with their intensity depending on the characteristics of the monsoons.

“It is reasonable to expect that our approach for analyzing trends over the Red Sea could be applied to other enclosed basins as long as it is possible to decompose the various dominant components of climate variability affecting them,” says Langodan.

The team next aims to further understand how large-scale climate variability influences physical and biological interactions within the Red Sea and what are their implications for the basin’s unique marine ecosystem. They also hope that a better understanding of the northern Red Sea climate will help in the design of wind energy farms for the Kingdom’s megacity, NEOM, which is being developed in the area.  

-KAUST Discovery

Share this

​A metal organic framework (MOF)-based water splitting photocatalyst, developed at KAUST, has brought researchers a step closer to generating clean hydrogen fuel using sunlight.

"Using solar energy to efficiently make green fuels is the ultimate goal for many catalysis researchers," says Jorge Gascon, director of the KAUST Catalysis Center, who led the research. However, it remains challenging to find efficient, long-lived, low-cost water-splitting photocatalysts.

In Gascon’s team, the aim is to use MOFs to find sustainable photocatalytic water splitting materials. “We work with MOFs because they are like a LEGO construction toy—you have different parts with which you can play and vary to get desired properties,” says Nikita Kolobov, a member of Gascon’s team.

MOFs consist of metal ions connected by carbon-based organic linkers in a highly regular and repeating two- or three-dimensional array. By varying the metal and the organic component, a diverse family of materials can be made. "This modularity makes MOFs an excellent platform for developing a fundamental understanding of photocatalytic processes," Gascon says. “We can evaluate new concepts in photocatalysis that may be difficult or impossible to develop and evaluate using other classes of materials.”

For their latest work, Gascon, Kolobov, Amandine Cadiau and their colleagues created a MOF that used titanium metal ions with H4TBAPy, an organic linker known to absorb energy from a broad spectrum of sunlight. By combining H4TBAPy with titanium, the team aimed to create a material that could efficiently put that energy to use.

The titanium in the light-activated MOF had the ideal energy levels for the hydrogen production part of photocatalytic water splitting, the team showed. “The organic part of the MOF acted as an antenna that collected light and transmitted that energy to the metal node, which activated it to perform catalytic transformations,” Kolobov says.

"Although the new MOF’s hydrogen evolution reaction activity was modest compared to some inorganic semiconductors, its performance is already among the best titanium-based MOF materials," Kolobov says. “MOFs are still in their infancy when it comes to photocatalytic applications,” he adds. “We believe the modular approach toward their construction offers unlimited possibilities for performance improvement, and we are taking the first steps in this direction.”

“Every step to better understand how catalysts work under light illumination is important,” Gascon says. “Our main objective at this moment is to come up with new MOF structures able to efficiently perform overall water splitting.”

-KAUST Discovery

Share this

​A simple and noninvasive treatment could become a prime post-crystallization process to optimize the optoelectronic properties of hybrid perovskite solar cell materials.

In this treatment devised by KAUST, bromine vapors penetrate the surface of as-synthesized perovskite crystals to reach their deep-lying layers, removing surface and bulk defects generated during crystal growth.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON KAUST DISCOVERY

Share this

Congratulations to the 97 students who graduate today, which is KAUST's Spring Graduation!

This group of new graduates includes 24 PhD students, 35 MS/PhD students and 38 MS students. Traditionally, this cohort of 36 Saudi Arabian and 61 international graduating students, is recognized at an informal lunch hosted by Alumni Affairs. However, this year's celebration had to be different.

In a video message embedded in a personalized e-card sent to the Spring Graduates, President Tony F. Chan acknowledged the global impact of COVID-19.

"Your graduation comes during one of the greatest challenges of our time. COVID-19 has impacted the foundations that support our modern way of life.  With this in mind, I applaud those of you who have had to complete your MS degree or PhD at this time."  President Chan also encouraged the University's newest alumni to always think of KAUST as home.

The addition of these new graduates brings the total number of the KAUST alumni community to 1997.  For more information on Alumni Chapters, virtual events, or programs, please contact Alumni Affairs alumni@kaust.edu.sa

-KAUST News

Share this

​KAUST Professor and Program Chair of Chemical Engineering and founding Director of the Advanced Mem­branes and Porous Materials (AMPM) Center, lngo Pinnau, has been named a 2020 Fellow of the North American Membrane Society (NAMS).

"I am greatly honored of being elected as 2020 NAMS Fellow," Pinnau said. "This award recognizes the innovative work on energy-efficient separations we have done in my research group at KAUST and will motivate us to further devote ourselves for high-impact membrane research that can benefit the Kingdom and the world."

NAMS Fellows are recognized for ongoing excellence in mem­brane science, engineering and practice. Election as Fellow is in recognition of both "service to NAMS" and "highly significant professional accomplishment in the membrane field," according to NAMS.

Research
Pinnau's career spans over 35 years in industry and academia with internationally recognized contributions in the design of high-performance materials and membranes for energy-intensive separations. His research has resulted in several commercial membrane products for large-scale use in gas and vapor separations.

Pinnau's research activities focus on synthesis of advanced polymers and carbon molecular sieves; development of high-performance membranes for energy-intensive gas and liquid separations; hybrid organic/inorganic membranes; nanostructured microporous polymer membranes; thin-film technology; and membrane modifications (surface coatings/fouling resistance).

His research on polymers of intrinsic microporosity and functionalized polymeric materials at KAUST has established new membrane materials performance upper bounds for O2/N2, H2/CH4 and CO2/CH4 in 2015 and 2018. He has also built strong collaborations with several industrial membrane companies.

Publishing and more
Pinnau has published four edited books on membrane science and technology, more than 170 peer-reviewed research papers, and is named as inventor on 46 granted U.S. patents and 12 pending patent applications. He joined NAMS in 1987, served twice as NAMS President (2011 and 2014), and was co-organizer of Annual NAMS meetings in 2004 and 2018 and the International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes (ICOM) in 2008.

Prior to his 2020 NAMS Fellow election, he was awarded the ACS PMSE Collaborative Research Award in Polymer Science and Engineering in 2002, 2008 ICOM Leadership Award, 2011 and 2014 Presidential NAMS Service Awards, 2004 and 2018 NAMS Leadership Awards.

-KAUST News

Share this

​​Gilles Lubineau has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Lubineau is a professor of mechanical engineering and is the associate dean for faculty in the Physical Science and Engineering division. He is also the principal investigator in the Composite and Heterogeneous Material Analysis and Simulation lab (COHMAS).

Share this

​Ph.D. student wins best poster award at international conference:

"The award brings a great opportunity for the international recognition of KAUST's high quality research which can motivate KAUST  researchers to deliver our discoveries globally" Merfat said.

Share this

​A technique that can better assess harmful chemicals adds to the analysis toolkit for cigarette alternatives.

This pioneering research by KAUST scientists reveals that a tobacco-heating device called "I quit ordinary smoking" (IQOS), emits many more potentially harmful chemicals than those identified by the manufacturer.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON KAUST DISCOVERY

Share this

​Chemists regularly use high temperatures to make things happen, but sometimes keeping cool can work better. Researchers at KAUST are discovering that a low-temperature approach can make better single crystals for use in solar cells.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON KAUST DISCOVERY