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KAUST: Seed Fund Fall Round 2012 Gala Honors Winning Teams
Four winning teams, selected from a pool of thirty-five applicants, were honored recently at the Seed Fund Fall Round 2012 Gala and award ceremony. This round's successful teams count among their ranks one faculty member, two graduate students, four researchers, one postdoctoral researcher, and two staff members. They will now receive advisory services and incubation support to develop their products from the prototype stage to commercialization and, ultimately, into a new business. The four winning projects were:
- Osmo H20 -- Hybrid Osmosis Process for Water Desalination and Reuse: A membrane-based technology to recover fresh potable water from wastewater effluents and seawater with a 50% less energy consumption. Team: Gary Amy, Lijo Francis, Rodrigo Valladares, Muhannad Abu-Ghdaib, Zhenyu Li
- MSMD -- Multi-Stage Membrane Distillation Desalination Unit: A multi-stage membrane distillation unit for water desalination with low cost, scalable, and environmental friendly solution. Team: Ahmad Alsaadi, Lijo Francis, Noreddine Ghaffour
- Manufacturing of Nanoparticles Using Flames: A commercial prototype to produce several kgs of nanoparticles and a detailed roadmap for developing a viable production facility. Team: Nasir Memon, Majed Al Refae, Amir Memon
- Makkah Window: A mobile app using Augmented Reality and 360 degree panoramas, providing interactive contents for historical sites and museums in Makkah. Team: Peter Rautek, Abdulwahid Al-Zaydi, Mohammed Al-Zaydi
The KAUST Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC) is well represented at this round with two projects, " Osmo H20: Hybrid Osmosis Process for Water Desalination and Reuse" as well as "MSMD: Multi-Stage Membrane Distillation Desalination Unit", being selected among the winners.
Bringing together decades of collective experience, the diverse teams of scientists from WDRC have been able to draw from their experience working on various industrial projects.
Also recognized at the Seed Fund award ceremony was one of the winning team's innovative processes of manufacturing nanoparticles using flames. This technology is based on nanoparticle production using a proven technology of flame synthesis. Utilizing recent advancements in flame-based technology, a commercial prototype will be developed to produce several kilograms of nanoparticles, as well as a detailed roadmap for developing a viable production facility.
Finally, the Makkah Window team gained the recognition of the Seed Fund committee for developing a mobile application, using Augmented Reality technology and 360 degree panoramas, providing interactive content for historical sites and landmarks in Makkah – further enriching the experience of pilgrims and visitors.
The KAUST Seed Fund Program has funded sixteen projects, three of which have already launched into the marketplace (Acadox, Touching Care and Shopmate). The KAUST New Ventures and Entrepreneurshipportfolio of projects resulted in the formation of two new companies and recently created eleven jobs.
The Seed Fund Program, is described by Teo Uysal, Acting Director of New Ventures and Entrepreneurship as "a very important funding mechanism that addresses a very unique gap at the very early stages." "Here at KAUST we are very fortunate to be able to provide financial support for teams who are willing to take on this journey", he adds.
More information:
| Contact information |
Dr. Noreddine Ghaffour, KAUST
(email: Noreddine.Ghaffour@KAUST.EDU.SA) |
|---|---|
| News type | Nomination |
| File link |
http://www.kaust.edu.sa/media/features/seedfund2012.html |
| Source of information | KAUST |
| Keyword(s) | Hybrid Osmosis Process for Water Desalination and Reuse, , Multi-Stage Membrane Distillation Desalination |
| Subject(s) | ANALYSIS AND TESTS , CHARACTERISTICAL PARAMETERS OF WATERS AND SLUDGES , DRINKING WATER , DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION : COMMON PROCESSES OF PURIFICATION AND TREATMENT , ENERGY , FINANCE-ECONOMY , HEALTH - HYGIENE - PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISM , HYDRAULICS - HYDROLOGY , INDUSTRY , INFORMATION - COMPUTER SCIENCES , INFRASTRUCTURES , MEASUREMENTS AND INSTRUMENTATION , METHTODOLOGY - STATISTICS - DECISION AID , NATURAL MEDIUM , PREVENTION AND NUISANCES POLLUTION , SANITATION -STRICT PURIFICATION PROCESSES , SLUDGES , TOOL TERMS , WATER QUALITY |
| Relation | http://newventures.kaust.edu.sa/seed-fund/ |
| Geographical coverage | Saudi Arabia, |
| News date | 21/02/2013 |
| Working language(s) | ENGLISH |
