Abstract: Seismological studies can be carried-out by using multiple approaches, from derivation of fundamental equations governing the seismic wave propagation to applications for natural hazard monitoring, with many flavours in between. In this talk I will present the first results of a seismological experiment performed in northern Tanzania within a natural park where the wild fauna is the protector of the area and even access to clean water and electricity cannot be given for granted. A project in a such remote area poses several challenges from both logistic and scientific perspectives. During the talk, I will show how these challenges have been tackled starting from the planning of the seismological network and the installation of the instruments, moving to the dataset building and processing to infer information on the seismicity levels that insist in the area, and finishing on the preparation for the earth structure imaging. The project includes fieldwork as well as computational efforts that all have been possible thanks to the extraordinary facilities available in KAUST.​

Bio: Laura Parisi is currently a post-doctoral fellow in KAUST and is part of the Computational Earthquake Seismology research group. In her research, Laura uses seismological observations and seismic wavefield simulations to understand the dynamics of the Earth from local to global scale.  She graduated in Geology in 2011 at the University of Palermo (Italy). Before starting her PhD, she worked as at Université de Strasbourg (France). She joined KAUST in 2015 after receiving her PhD in Seismology from the University of East Anglia (UK). Laura served as representative of the Early Career Scientists of the European Geoscience Union from 2016 to 2018.

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• CONTACTKarema S. Alaseef

​ABSTRACT: Trapping air at the solid-liquid interface is a promising strategy for reducing frictional drag and desalting water, although it has thus far remained unachievable without perfluorinated coatings. Here, we report on biomimetic microtextures composed of doubly reentrant cavities (DRCs) and reentrant cavities (RCs) that can enable even intrinsically wetting materials entrap air for long periods upon immersion in liquids1. Using SiO2/Si wafers as the model system, we demonstrate that while the air entrapped in simple cylindrical cavities immersed in hexadecane is lost after 0.2 s, the air entrapped in the DRCs remained intact even after 27 days (~106 s)2. To understand the factors and mechanisms underlying this ten-million-fold enhancement, we compared the behaviors of DRCs with RCs and simple cavities through high-speed imaging, confocal microscopy, and pressure cells. We also investigated the effects of the shapes of cavities, circular, square, and hexagonal, along with the vapor pressures of liquids on the entrapment of air3. Those results are expected to advance the development of coating-free liquid repellent surfaces for a variety of applications, such as frictional drag reduction in pipes and desalination.

References:
[1] Domingues, E. M.; Arunachalam, S.; Nauruzbayeva, J.; Mishra, H., Biomimetic coating-free surfaces for long-term entrapment of air under wetting liquids. Nature Communications 2018, 9 (1), 3606. 
[2] Domingues, E. M.; Arunachalam, S.; Mishra, H., Doubly Reentrant Cavities Prevent Catastrophic Wetting Transitions on Intrinsically Wetting Surfaces. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2017, 9 (25), 21532-21538. 
[3] Arunachalam, S.; Das, R.; Nauruzbayeva, J.; Domingues, E. M.; Mishra, H., Assessing omniphobicity by immersion. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2018. 


BIOGRAPHY: Himanshu Mishra is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering and a principal investigator at the Water Desalination and Reuse Center at KAUST. His research Group investigates fundamentals of wetting, surface forces, electrification, and chemistries at interfaces of water and hydrophobic media, such as air, oils, and coatings. Applications include coating-free drag reduction and boosting wateruse efficiency in desert agriculture. Articles based on his research have appeared in Nature Communications, ACS journals, JCIS, and PNAS. 

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• CONTACTMazen E. Mero

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• CONTACTKarema S. Alaseef

Abstract:

There is much discussions on the future of internal combustion engines. Will there be any ICE in the future or will it be all Battery Electric Vehicles, BEV, or Fuel Cell Vehicles FCV?
This presentation starts with the current state of the car fleet and the fact that it is still 99.9% ICE powered vehicles out there. After some extrapolation to the future, CO2-emission for different means of transport is discussed. Is it better to run or drive a car in terms of g CO2 per km? The very strong trend of electrification of around 80-90% of all cars before 2030 will be discussed and also the six reasons not to buy a BEV. Even with 80-90% of all car electrified 80-90% of all cars will still have an ICE. Some recent trends in ICE development are then shown with focus on high efficiency, approaching 60% in best cases. Finally, a short discussion on future totally carbon neutral transport with the use of ICE will end the presentation.  

Bio:

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• CONTACTEmmanuelle Sougrat

​Join us for the 1st session of this special series as experts from BESE will discuss how best to prepare for your MS or PhD thesis defense.
This session will be followed by a Q&A discussion.
Students across all divisions are welcome.
A lunch buffet will be provided for those who are registered.
Register via the Student Life Forum by clicking here.

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• CONTACTOffice of Professional Development
• EMAILprofessional.development@kaust.edu.sa