Science & Technology in KSA & GCC

[al-Hasani]

One of the world’s best supercomputers lands in Saudi Arabia​

KAUST University purchases Shaheen-2
By MIT TR Pan Arab Freelancer on January 30, 2015

"IBM Blue Gene P supercomputer" by Argonne National Laboratory's Flickr page
​

By Laurene Veale

In May of this year, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) will welcome Shaheen-2, a brand new supercomputer purchased from American supercomputer manufacturer Cray for $80 million last November.

Founded in 2009, KAUST has been steadily climbing world rankings for research and innovation thanks to its high-tech facilities and substantial research budgets. Shaheen-2, a custom-built Cray XC40 system weighing nearly 100 metric tons, is one of several supercomputer systems utilized by the university’s research teams, whose work spans from photovoltaic engineering to computational bioscience, water desalination and desert agriculture. The purchasing of this new system will bring the total amount spent by the university on supercomputers to approximately $150 million.

Shaheen-2 is the younger sister of Shaheen, a supercomputer system brought from IBM’s research centre in New York to KAUST in 2009. It is a Blue Gene supercomputer that came out of IBM’s ambition to design supercomputers with low power consumption and operating speeds in the petaFLOPS, meaning the computer can perform a thousand trillion floating point operations – a measure of computer performance – per second. It also carries over 65 thousand independent processing cores, the units that read and execute program instructions; that’s equivalent to the processing cores of 32 thousand iPhones 6 (which have a dual core processor) or 16 thousand Samsung Galaxy S4 (with a quad core processor).

Various uses for the supercomputer

Till now, Shaheen has been used in a wide range of fields, spanning from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s forecasting of the global climate, to the investigation of plasmoids caused by the solar wind, to petroleum reservoir modeling, and to the bioinformatics of salt and drought tolerant plants. With a peak performance of 185 Terapflops (and an estimated peak performance known as theoretical peak of 222 Teraflops), Shaheen ranked 14th best supercomputer in the world. Because of ever-constant progress in the field, the average processing power of the world’s best supercomputers increases fast, with new systems constantly pushing older ones down the list. Shaheen therefore lost its position in world rankings after five years, falling to 335th position in the list of top 500 supercomputers. In order to maintain its high position as an owner of a world-class supercomputer, KAUST purchased Shaheen-2, which is expected to perform 25 times better than its older sister Shaheen.

Professor David Keyes, the director of KAUST’s Extreme Computing Research Center explains: “If installed today, Shaheen-2 would rank ninth globally”. Shaheen-2’s theoretical peak performance reaches 7.2 petaflops and will store over 790 terabytes of memory, that’s equivalent to the storage of 12,354 iPhones with a 64GB memory. Performance will be enhanced progressively in autumn of this year with the addition of a DataWarp burst buffer which creates a pool of input/output resources and brings the applications as close to the computer as possible. The supercomputer can also be upgraded several times through the addition of new multicore processors for instance. Although this is possible with Shaheen too, new additions are rarely compatible with ‘old’ systems, as adding a multicore processor on Shaheen would be like adding a brand new electric engine on a very old car.

Shaheen-2 will be used for research in a number of fields, including fuel-efficient engine design, oceanography, seismic modeling, climate prediction, oil-reservoir modeling as well as the generation and storage of solar energy. It will also enhance the university’s capacity for fundamental research in algorithms, programming models and software design for next generation supercomputers.

Universities collaborating with Shaheen

KAUST expects to attract important collaborators from the Middle East and internationally thanks to the arrival of Shaheen-2. “Our entry into the world of Cray XC40 owners should create additional partnerships that are not in the first round of IBM Blue Gene partners, including NERSC at Berkeley, CSCS at Lugano, HLRS at Stuttgart, LRZ at Munich, and Archer at Edinburgh”, explains Professor Keyes. Researchers from all countries are eligible to have an account on Shaheen-2’s system if they demonstrate technical need and scientific merit.

The Shaheen system also enables innovation within traditional industries: research departments of large oil and manufacturing companies such as Saudi Aramco and SABIC have accounts on Shaheen and are expected to buy into Shaheen-2’s system as well. “Typical partner uses are in the oil industry and in chemistry and chemical catalysis research”, explains Professor Keyes.

A number of Saudi institutions already use KAUST’s Shaheen, such as King Saud University, King Abdulaziz University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineralsand King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. Having an account on Shaheen allows researchers to further develop their work and enter new fields of research, in turn contributing to improving their institution’s scientific output. It is due to this type of equipment that Saudi universities are climbing world scientific rankings: King Abdulaziz University, for instance, has gone from being among the top 400 universities worldwide in 2012 in the Shanghai University Ranking, to being among the top 200 in 2014. In Engineering, three Saudi universities rank in the top 150 universities worldwide, according to the Shanghai Ranking, King Saud University being the one that has improved its rank the most since 2009.

The arrival of Shaheen-2 will be a major step forward for the Saudi R&D industry. Like its older sister Shaheen, it will contribute to the enhancement of Saudi’s major industries as well as its economic transition towards a knowledge based economy. With such investments such as Shaheen and Shaheen-2, Saudi Arabia is bound to strengthen its position as the regional hub for research and innovation.

One of the world’s best supercomputers lands in Saudi Arabia

@Rakan.SA

 

[Rakan.SA]

now i dont know how to delete lol

its good you kept the title generale.. il add some other topics here

 

[al-Hasani]

now i dont know how to delete lol

Below your flags there should be a button called "Delete". You don't have to delete your thread.

NEXT GENERATION LEADERS
How to Stop Superbugs


Claire Martin—INSTITUTE for TIME​

Ian Lloyd Neubauer / Brisbane
Nov. 13, 2014

Saudi Arabian microbiologist Hosam Zowawi has drug-resistant bacteria in his sights

In a world full of very clear and present dangers — like the Ebola virus, terrorism and climate change — some burgeoning global threats can remain below the radar, garnering comparatively little attention. Among that group are ordinary bacteria that have developed such resistance to antibiotics that scientists refer to them as superbugs. The World Health Organization says bacterial resistance has reached “alarming levels in many parts of the world” and warns that the problem is so serious, it threatens the achievements of modern medicine.

Among the researchers battling superbugs is Hosam Zowawi, a 30-year-old doctoral student in microbiology who decided to make drug-resistant bacteria the focus of his research after working as an infection-control trainee in a hospital in the Saudi city of Jeddah in 2006. Zowawi, who is a Saudi citizen, witnessed firsthand the problem of hospital-acquired infections: patients going into hospitals for crucial operations and acquiring infections there that led to disability and even death.

Now studying at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR) in Brisbane, Australia, Zowawi is working on developing a rapid diagnostic test to identify bacterial infections. He says the test will take only three or four hours to detect superbugs rather than the current average of three days. It is just months away from being ready for use, he says.

Although the test relies on sophisticated, expensive machinery — which will limit its availability — Zowawi hopes it will be a first step toward ending the practice of doctors prescribing antibiotics on a trial-and-error basis because they don’t have the ability to make a rapid diagnosis in emergency situations.

In the past, the field of antimicrobial resistance research wasn’t too competitive, says Zowawi. That’s about to change. In July, the U.K.’s Nesta Foundation offered its Longitude Prize, worth nearly $16 million, to scientists who could create a cheap, point-of-care test for bacterial infections. Two months later, the White House also announced a $20 million prize for the development of the same kind of rapid diagnostic tool. Zowawi believes this surge in interest is a sign that world leaders are finally taking the superbug threat seriously, a threat that currently kills nearly 50,000 people a year in the U.S. and Europe alone.

“We’re still a fair way from Star Trek, where they wave a device and get an instant result, but Hosam’s work is significantly narrowing that gap,” says Dr. David Looke, president of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases.

Zowawi’s native Saudi Arabia and the surrounding Gulf states are among the regions of the world most impacted by superbugs. Poor prescription practices, a boom in medical tourism, and large numbers of both expatriates and refugees from conflict zones in the Middle East have all contributed a high prevalence of resistant bacteria in the region. Professor Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician at the Canberra Hospital, says the situation is worse in Saudi Arabia than it is in Australia. “It’s gotten to the point where many medical procedures can’t be carried out because of fear of secondary infection,” he says.

Once Zowawi began to focus his research on superbugs he quickly realized that there was an obvious lack of knowledge about the problem in the Gulf. “This was an area that needed to be studied, if only to help paint a global picture,” he says. Zowawi recently initiated a collaborative project between seven hospitals in the Gulf states, allowing them to share data to monitor the emergence of superbugs. He hopes it will develop into a formal superbug surveillance system, though this will require a lot more work and maintenance.

Zowawi is also raising awareness of the threat posed by antibiotic resistance in the Gulf states through an education campaign that began with him tweeting about the subject. He gives public lectures and makes appearances on television.

Omar Baz, a junior researcher who volunteered at Zowawi’s lab in Brisbane, says Zowawi taught him the importance of having goals. “He is not going after superbugs for personal gain,” he adds. “What matters to him is making an impact.”

In June, the Rolex Awards for Enterprise selected Zowawi as one of the watch manufacturer’s five Young Laureates for 2014, kicking in nearly $60,000 to help him pursue his work. Currently on a full scholarship from the Saudi government, Zowawi plans on eventually returning to Saudi Arabia to set up a biotech firm, where he will continue the development of diagnostic tests as well as working with hospitals to help them identify bacterial infections.

He believes the struggle against superbugs will be a long one. “Even if we have new antibiotics, bacteria will figure out a way to overcome them,” he says. “But if I wasn’t optimistic, I wouldn’t be doing this. I think we can tackle this.”

Saudi Virologist Battles Superbugs

Q&A with Saudi Arabian Virologist Hosam Zowawi​

How did you first get involved with microbiology? 


When I was seven years old a relative visited and he brought my father a microscope. The first time I looked into it I observed an ant. To this day I remember the image exactly — the way it looked so big and the way it moved. I realized there are many things in the world that we cannot really observe with the natural eye, yet they are very complicated and very interesting to study.

When did you decide to make superbugs the focus of your career?

Ten years ago, I was at the end of my microbiology degree at Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia and doing a practical internship in a clinical laboratory. I started reading about cases in the medical world of people being infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

I decided to learn more about this [so I] worked as an infection control trainee in a hospital in Jeddah. Patients were going into hospitals for crucial operations like hip replacements or eye surgery and they would catch a superbug. These people were already very sick and suffering, and the last thing they needed was a subsequent infection given to them by the health care services that could lead to disability or even death. And it’s all avoidable. This realization was enough for me to pursue my first infection control research project.

How big is the superbug threat?

To this date we find them on every continent and in many different countries. The situation of superbugs is bad all over the world so the global attention is on. With my background [in Saudi Arabia] I know what’s going on there in terms of antibiotic use; people can buy antibiotics over the counter sometimes and I’ve seen a lot of hospital-acquired infections. So we focused our research on the Gulf to fill the gap in knowledge and research in that part of the world.

The image of health care in the Gulf is that it’s all quite clean, modern and advanced. But you’re saying health care workers’ failure to clinically clean their hands — something we learned about a century ago — is contributing to superbug infections?

Yes. Compliance of hand-washing is low, but not just in the Gulf — all over the world, even in the most advanced countries. That is why in very fancy hospitals in the U.S. they have electronic devices that measure how frequently doctors wash their hands to enforce compliance.

What role can education play in the war against superbugs?

I believe the general public has a huge role to play in battling superbugs worldwide, especially in places where people can buy antibiotics without medical consultation. Self-prescribing antibiotics can eradicate normal friendly bacteria that lives in our body and give evil bacteria the chance to move in.

One of the reasons superbugs are gaining so much ground is that no new class of antibiotics has been developed since 1987. Why don’t we make new ones anymore?

A lot of pharmaceutical companies are stepping out of the business because they believe making antibiotics is not as profitable as making other drugs. But there are other regulatory reasons. The F.D.A. makes it very difficult for pharmaceutical companies. It takes 10 years and billions of dollars to take a chemical compound antibacterial properties from the lab through clinical trials and all the way to market.

What’s the worst-case scenario if governments and institutions stop investing in superbug research?

The worst-case scenario is we enter the post-antibiotic era which looks just like the pre-antibiotic era when people died from little things like cutting their hand or getting a sore throat. We would also lose almost all advanced forms of medicine. Heart transplant surgery, for example, depends on antibiotic treatment beforehand to prevent potential infections. We estimate the human lifespan has increased by up to 20 years because of antibiotics.

And the best-case scenario? 


The best case is we don’t lose any more ground. The threat of superbugs will still be here but we will still have some antibiotics that work. Either way the war will never finish — my work will never finish — because even if we have new antibiotics, bacteria will figure out a way to overcome them.

Do you think you will continue to work in the field of antimicrobial resistance for the rest of your career?

I think there’s a lot of research that needs to be done and I am also very keen to work on different elements. I like to step away from my lab and talk to the general public, give speeches, but at the same time I need to get the work done.

But I think we are in an excellent position. I am working with world-class researchers who know exactly what they are doing. They are giving me the freedom to pursue whatever is needed, with their guidance, and that is such a valuable thing. I think through collaboration, teamwork and funding to maintain the team, hopefully we can achieve this.

Interview by Ian Lloyd Neubauer. This interview has been edited and condensed

now i dont know how to delete lol

its good you kept the title generale.. il add some other topics here

Great. Looking forward to it.

 

[Al Bhatti]

After UAE Drones for Good Award :




February 10, 2015

Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad launches the award for robotics and Artificial Intelligence on February 10, 2015. Winners will be judged by an expert panel.

Dubai launches new $1m international prize for useful robots
Local version of contest to award Dh1m to winning robot or Artificial Intelligence system in education, health, or social service

A new $1 million (Dh3.67 million) international award for robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) was announced at the Government Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.

It was revealed by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

The award will also reward Dh1 million for the local UAE version of the contest, said Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Government Summit.

Winners will be judged by an expert panel specialised in the field and awarded in the next summit in 2016.

Contestants have to develop a robot-AI application that will serve a significant “useful” purpose and bring “added value” in the three award categories – education, health, and social services.

The contest – which will follow the same criteria and standards in both local and international versions – is open to individuals, universities, private establishments and government departments.

It is named ‘UAE Robots and Artificial Intelligence for Good’.

It follows the Drones for Good contest announced last summit launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The local winner of the previous award – the Wadi Drone – recently received Dh1 million, while the international $1 million prize went to the Collision-Resistant drone by Swiss company Flyability.

The idea behind the latest contest is also to inspire innovators to develop solutions for people.

“His Highness Shaikh Hamdan is personally following up the inventions to use them in the best possible way for the happiness of people and service to society,” Al Gergawi told a press conference on Tuesday.

More details will be revealed in the coming days and will also be made available on a dedicated award website within a week, he added.

Al Gergawi said today’s computer-based systems are ultimately based on the mathematical theory of algorithms that originated in the region in the eight century AD.

“This is a process, it is not something that started today. It is algorithm that directs the world today. We want to send a message that people in our region are also creators and innovators.”

He welcomed the idea that robotics and AI should be taught at UAE schools from an early age.

Al Gergawi added: “In the UAE, young Emiratis are skilled. The education system is changing with the changes in the world.”

Responding to questions on whether the local contest version will focus on a public government service delivered via a robot/AI application, the minister only said: “The role of the government is to be a motivator. Next year, that role will be much more important by providing incentives and supporting many of the projects.”

He also said that such contests and the recent focus on innovation by the UAE is “ongoing; it will keep moving forward in many years to come”.

Dubai launches new $1m international prize for useful robots

 

[Al Bhatti]

February 14, 2015

Google self-driving car

RTA embarks on study of using driverless cars
Project part of RTA’s endeavours to use latest technology in the field of smart mobility solutions to be considered for use in Expo 2020

Driverless vehicles could soon be travelling alongside you on the city’s roads as the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the commissioning of a study on using ‘autonomous cars’ in Dubai.

Autonomous cars (driverless cars) are the latest developments of global smart mobility systems, and this technology is based on electric vehicles fitted with smart sensors to enhance the safety element and avoid crashes.

The project comes as part of the RTA’s endeavours to use the latest technology in the field of smart mobility solutions to be considered for use in Expo 2020.

Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said, “The RTA has set up a team for studying the use of autonomous cars (driverless vehicles) to map out a strategy and a work plan for addressing the latest developments in this field, and identifying the standards and specifications required in these vehicles along with the needed infrastructure and safety legislations. In this context, the RTA has approached a host of international manufacturers of smart vehicles to examine technological alternatives on offer, and plan for real-life experiments for using such vehicles in Dubai under the supervision of the RTA.”

Al Tayer said that a delegation from the RTA has visited a number of European countries to examine the latest models undertaken by smart cities across the globe in the field of smart mobility.

“The team has also visited some businesses and manufacturers of smart vehicles to check the best international practices of this line of industry, and review the latest studies and researches published by key specialist international research centres in this regard.

“The smart vehicle has multi-operational techniques as it can operate within moving vehicles’ environment without necessarily requiring connectivity with the control centre. Examples of this include ceasing motion in the event of traffic disruption, and perceiving the road condition as well as traffic signals, and pedestrian movement, among others,” Al Tayer said.

Such electricity-powered smart vehicles can make a significant contribution to reducing carbon emissions, saving fuel consumption, and improving smart mobility which, in turn, contributes to transforming Dubai into a smart city.

“The vehicle can also be operated via an automated internet-based control system where it can be fully controlled by a control centre without requiring a driver. In this regard smart vehicles can be programmed to lift passengers by moving in pre-designated lanes to feed public transport stations and link with vital centres with the aim of alleviating the need for private vehicles, mitigating road congestion, easing the huge demand of parking spaces, and eliminating environmental pollution and the waste of resources. Smart vehicles will provide mobility solutions to all users, even those who are unable to drive, which will ultimately ease the mobility of Dubai residents and visitors, and improve the mobility of services on offer,” added Al Tayer.

Al Tayer said the initiative is being adopted in implementation of the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to endorse 2015 as a year of innovation in the UAE, in addition to the launch of a comprehensive national strategy with the aim of ranking the UAE in the first position worldwide in the field of innovation.

Free wifi and parking app among plans to transform Dubai into a ‘smart city’

 

[Rakan.SA]