Inspired by the legacy of the Islamic Golden Age and the spirit of the Dār al-Ḥikma (House of Wisdom), the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology confers its highest academic honor through three Distinguished Professorships named after the era’s most celebrated scholars — Al-Khwarizmi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Alhaytham — each representing excellence in a distinct scientific field: mathematics and engineering, life sciences, and physical sciences, respectively.

The Ibn Alhaytham Distinguished Professorship honors Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham (circa 965–1040), the pioneering Arab polymath widely regarded as the father of modern optics and one of the first scientists to apply a rigorous experimental method to natural phenomena. Born in Basra and active in Cairo during the Islamic Golden Age, Ibn Alhaytham transformed the understanding of vision and light through his seminal Book of Optics, in which he demonstrated that sight occurs when light rays enter the eye, overturning centuries of Greek theories. His reliance on empirical observation, mathematics, and reproducible experimentation helped shape the foundations of modern science.

Professor Husam Alshareef is a leader in materials science, known for his pioneering expertise in nanoscale materials for energy and electronics applications. He joined KAUST in 2009 as a founding faculty member and served as the Chair of the Materials Science & Engineering Program. He currently serves as Chair of the KAUST Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Storage Technologies (CREST) and principal investigator of the Functional Nanomaterials & Devices Laboratory. With more than 640 journal publications, 100 conference papers, nearly 75,000 citations, and 80 issued and pending patents, Alshareef has been a Clarivate Analytics highly-cited researcher in Materials Science for several years (2019-2023). He is a Fellow of several prestigious societies, including the Materials Research Society, American Physical Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, U.S. National Academy of Inventors, UK Institute of Physics, Royal Society of Chemistry, and Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. His research advances new battery chemistries designed to perform reliably in extreme environments, including lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries that are safer, cheaper, and longer-lasting. He is collaborating with ARAMCO and the local industry to develop batteries for oil drilling applications and advanced battery inspection technologies. He is also developing next-generation 2D materials known as MXenes, used to create electronics, sensors, and imaging devices.

Professor Jorge Gascon, is considered a pioneer in chemical engineer for his innovative work in catalysis and sustainable chemical processes carried out at KAUST, where he is Chair of the KAUST Catalysis Platform and principal investigator of the Advanced Catalytic Materials Research Group. From 2017 to 2024, he directed the KAUST Catalysis Center and led the Circular Carbon Initiative (2021–2024), advancing carbon-neutral solutions for industry and ranking several times among the world’s top 1% most-cited researchers in chemistry, according to Clarivate Analytics. Gascon also serves on the editorial advisory boards of the Chemical Engineering Journal, ACS Catalysis, and several other leading publications. His research focuses on the development of new catalysts, reactor concepts and processes that allow the efficient conversion of abundant feedstocks, from oil refining to CO₂ valorization. By translating ideas from the lab into scalable industrial solutions, his work helps make chemical manufacturing cleaner and more efficient. In addition to his academic work, Gascon is co-founder and CTO of ClimateCrete, Inc., a startup developing sustainable construction technologies — a venture that has raised more than $7 million in venture capital and is building its first industrial-scale plant.

“The Ibn Alhaytham Distinguished Professorship recognizes research that doesn’t just push scientific boundaries, but strengthens Saudi Arabia’s path toward a sustainable, innovation-driven economy,” said Chak K. Chan, Dean of the Physical Science and Engineering Division at KAUST. “Professors Alshareef and Gascon exemplify that purpose — from renewable energy storage to cleaner chemical processes — translating advanced science into real solutions that align with Vision 2030 and the global energy transition.”