In Alumni Affairs, we have prioritized getting to know as many alumni as we can. Through our conversations with you, we’ve learnt that so many of you are working on major initiatives to improve sustainability. This is good news, in fact it is great news, as we all hope science will, not to be too dramatic, save our planet!

Green Alumni – The Planet’s Medics

Fernando Cagua – using data and network theory to understand ecosystems better.

Wail Bamhair – leading the Kingdom’s drive to clean energy.

André Antunes – finding microbes that can help with food, medicine and energy problems.

Fernando Figueroa – engaging businesses for better environmental practices.

Eman Da’as – improving solar thermal collectors.

Kolin Loveless – more efficient and greener energy production.

Fernando’s Fight for Flora and Fauna

The outdoors, the ocean and the life that inhabits both have always intrigued Fernando Cagua, MS ‘12.

"When my sister was studying Biology, I realized my engineering knowledge could be used for some environmental problems."

Fernando then enrolled in a Master’s in Marine Science at KAUST, after which he spent two years working in research and conservation for non-governmental organizations. He soon realized he needed more tools to answer his questions.

"I'm now doing a PhD at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. I'm using machine learning, big data, and complexity and network theory to see how we can maintain and restore the resilience of ecosystems."

Already, Fernando has made significant improvements in conservation.

"I worked for six months in the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles. As a data cruncher, I had very fruitful discussions with the conservation practitioners. We learnt a lot from this cooperation, and the results of the analysis had a real impact on the conservation of this UNESCO World Heritage site," he said.

Solar Energy Powers Wail

‘’In my career, I have been very involved with renewable energy,’’ Wail said when we first spoke.

Wail (MS ’10) joined King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) in its early stages as an Energy Researcher.

‘’I was in charge of the National Renewable Energy Atlas, one of the key programs in the organization.’’

Wail told us that the National Renewable Energy Atlas of Saudi Arabia is a tool to support the development of a sustainable energy mix. The Atlas provides solar and wind data, plus satellite-based data, for use by developers, researchers, government institutions, and policy-makers.

A few years later, Wail joined Taqnia Energy (TE) as the first employee after the CEO. TE is a subsidiary of the Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company (Taqnia). TE was founded with a mandate to develop and invest in energy business opportunities.

It is encouraging to see Wail’s personal success, supporting the Kingdom’s priorities for renewables.

‘’Initially, as Business Development Manager at Taqnia Energy my role was developing and managing partnerships, acquisitions and investment opportunities related to the solar energy business. A big success was our development of the first independent solar power producer in the country, the Layla solar plant (50 MW) with the lowest tariff worldwide at the time. I enjoyed some personal success on the back of this when, in mid-2017, the board of directors assigned me to be Acting CEO for Taqnia Energy.’’

An Old Ocean Could Save the Oceans (and the rest of the planet)

Around 220 million years ago, rock salt was laid down in Cheshire, England. Seawater moved inland from an open sea, creating a chain of shallow salt marshes across what is today the Cheshire basin. As the marshes evaporated, deep deposits of rock salt were formed.

André Antunes, previously a post-doctoral fellow and research consultant at KAUST, now works as senior lecturer at Edge Hill University in northern England. He and his team spend much of their time squelching their way around salt marshes, fishing in brine springs and digging around in salt mines in Cheshire.

‘’Microbes from extreme environments are increasingly seen as key-players in helping us solve some major global challenges such as food, medicine, and energy,’’ says André.

Andre’s team is looking for microbes that produce useful bio-products, for example bio-plastics, bio-minerals, and antimicrobial compounds. Using these microbes, his team hope to find sustainable ways to produce biodegradable plastics, develop methods for cleaning up contaminated environments, and CO2 sequestration.

‘’These early studies are essential for downstream applications, and a wider impact will require more detailed follow-up work,’’ said André.

Adding more on the team’s success, ‘’our preliminary studies have succeeded in identifying several producers of bioplastics, with further studies under way. In addition, our genomic-based studies already provided us with very helpful insights into maximizing the production of bio-minerals. We are currently moving to lab-based confirmation, and should have first results on the applicability of this approach in a year.’’

Educating Industry – Fernando Figueroa, another alumnus leading climate change fightback.

Not all KAUST alumni in the sustainability space work on research projects. Fernando Figueroa (MS ’10) works for an environmental protection agency Procuraduría Ambiental y de Ordenamiento Territorial (PAOT) in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, overseeing the compliance of environmental regulations and policies by regional organizations.

The team and Fernando are helping pioneer a new approach.

‘’I am in charge of the environmental audit and self-regulatory programs designed to guide organizations to comply with environmental regulations, and reduce their environmental footprint. These are voluntary programs where their processes and methods are audited to identify non-compliance and areas for improvement.’’

Fernando’s work deploys his KAUST learning and is collaborative in nature.

‘’At PAOT, I apply the knowledge gained at KAUST and my later studies developing and using science-based indicators to evaluate the performance of participating companies. It is necessary to guide people and companies through all the steps, establish performance indicators and register information about their emissions and volumes of waste generated. This approach is particularly useful in countries where regulatory agencies cannot follow the pace of industrial growth.’’

How is it going?

‘’Our self-regulatory schemes are an alternative to the coercive mechanisms of most agencies. Such programs have experienced a radical growth, tripling the number of companies participating in the last three years,’’ Fernando said, and added.

‘’The programs are doing really well, many companies are excited to join, and now my team and we are overwhelmed with work!’’

Looking at the Effect of Light

Eman Da’as, PhD ’10

The Energy and Building Research Center (EBRC) in Kuwait focuses on research and technology in both the energy and construction sectors. EBRC’s research supports Kuwait’s transition to sustainable energy, further to this it is is building a research team who are addressing issues related to construction materials for better energy conservation and lower carbon.

Eman Da’as is a consultant at EBRC.

‘’My task is mainly to determine efficient ways of analyzing collected data, and then writing a code to analyze the data fast and efficiently.’’

What problem or topic are you or your organization addressing?

‘’The focus of my project is to investigate the optical efficiency of various solar thermal collector technologies. Then I study the applicability of these technologies in Kuwait, determining which sectors it can serve efficiently as heat and/or power generators,’’ said Eman.

How will the learning affect the environment?

‘’These systems use clean energy, so there are no carbon emissions, and are used for water heating.’’

How long will it be until you may have the solution/or better understanding?

‘’My work is in addition to ongoing developments.’’

A Better Way to Generate Energy

California is where Kolin Loveless combines his MBA with his MS from KAUST working for Bloom Energy. The company manufactures fuel cells which convert natural gas or renewable biogas into electricity using a direct electrochemical reaction without combustion. This is a highly efficient process and is not bound by the same thermodynamic constraints for creating electricity, enabling exceptionally high conversion efficiency.

Bloom has been operating for over 7 years. Acquiring more experience with the technology, and growing the scale of the business.

As Kolin said, ''These energy servers typically generate power at the customer's site, where it is needed, thus avoiding any losses via transmission. They are more reliable than the Grid,and are an ideal power supply for microgrids.''

We understand that there are significant environmental benefits, including:

Lower greenhouse gas emissions, when compared to the Grid
Zero water withdrawals during normal operation
Essentially zero emissions of the most harmful pollutants to human health and air quality like SO2, NOx, PM, and VOCs
Avoids the need for large-scale electricity transmission equipment and facilities with its attendant impact on the environment.

Kolin’s work includes advocating for regulatory decisions, exploring new business models, evaluating which markets to enter, and being the subject matter expert for communicating Bloom Energy's environmental benefits.

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