DHAHRAN, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA (August 13, 2007) -- The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) announced that the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will be the first partner in its global collaborative research program. A delegation from WHOI arrived on June 15 in Saudi Arabia to view the KAUST site and conclude the initial Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in April 2007.

KAUST is a new world-class graduate research university that is under development at a site along the Red Sea approximately 80 kilometers north of Jeddah. Set to open in September 2009, KAUSTs aggressive global research program begins now with collaborative projects such as the WHOI initiative announced this summer. The University expects to conclude as many as four collaborations with leading institutions in other fields. A substantial grant program for individual investigators and centers around the world and a student scholarship program will be launched this summer.

Among KAUSTs four fields of research, ocean research is critical because the coastal campus includes 19 million square meters of protected marine sanctuary. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by WHOI and KAUST creates three initial areas of research at KAUST: coral reefs; coastal hydrography; and fisheries and aquaculture. WHOI also will provide consultation on the design of laboratory support, and dock facilities for the KAUST Marine and Ocean Research Center, which will provide opportunities for advanced research on Red Sea oceanography and marine life.

We treasure our relationship with Woods Hole not only because it is our first formal collaboration with another world-c
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Contact: David Hart
media@kaust.edu.sa
44-020-739-57131
King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST)
13-Aug-2007