Featured

The skill behind the utilitarian

Ernest Neil Davison began his career in glassblowing 30 years ago in his hometown of Sunderland in the northeast of England. Sunderland has a proud history of glassmaking, and it was in one of the city’s most well-known workshops that Davison began his five-year glassmaking apprenticeship.

“The job hasn’t changed since I started,” he noted. “You’re using the same medium, and the tools that were used are pretty much the same. The only difference nowadays is that some companies now have lathes with water jet capabilities that can cut glass in precision shapes. But the trade is exactly the same—today’s apprentices will learn the same skills I learned back in the 1980s.”

Conquering your doorstep mile

British Explorer and author Alastair Humphreys gave an entertaining and insightful keynote lecture detailing the life and travails of a modern adventurer as part of the KAUST Enrichment in the Spring program. The affable British explorer spoke to the KAUST community on April 18, as he detailed his travels, anecdotes, inspirations, fears, aspirations, motivations and goals, as well as sharing advice and encouragement.

Featured

Diving headfirst into marine research

Seasoned Irish divers Brian Hession and Francis Mallon have witnessed it all during their careers. From intense neurological bends; oxygen toxicity; brushes with aggressive marine life; prickly fire coral and testy hydroids; to the more seasonal nuisances like avoiding weekend leisure boaters.

Featured

A ‘silver bullet’ awakening

The seed of Mani Sarathy’s love of science—and combustion—can be traced back to his youth growing up in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and specifically to the year 1993. It was during this year that the 13-year-old Sarathy was amazed as he read an article describing the hydrogen fuel cell.

“[The article] was about the hydrogen fuel cell, a technology that would provide efficient energy with zero emissions—a ‘silver bullet!’ Wow, I was fascinated by it and it motivated me to become an engineer so I could work on fuel cells.”

Exploring deep-sea exploration

The promise of oceanic discovery has intrigued and captivated scientists and explorers for centuries—be it to study underwater ecology and climate change or to uncover the natural resources and treasures buried beneath the waves.

Art as a window into sight

Artists have long recognized that color and luminance can play independent roles in visual perception. Picasso once said, “colors are only symbols. Reality is to be found in luminance alone.”

Neuroscientists agree with Picasso, believing that the appearance of objects changes from moment to moment…

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30