Jun 20 2008
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has agreed to become the honorary president of the Saudi Society for Nanotechnology, according to Higher Education Minister Dr Khaled Al Anqari.
Inaugurating an international conference on nanotechnology at King Abdulaziz University (KAAU) here on Tuesday, Al Anqari said that this approval reflected the King’s support for scientific research.
Al Anqari commended King Abdullah’s moral and material support to nanotechnology research and its applications in the Kingdom, and added that the King has given his directives to remove all obstacles facing such research centres.
King Abdullah has already approved the establishment of three nanotechnology research centres in the Kingdom, including the one at KAAU. He has given SR12 million to establish the KAAU centre.
About 500 delegates are taking part in the conference, which will discuss 100 research papers.
International speakers have come from the United States, China, South Korea, Britain, Russia, India, Japan, Italy, Taiwan and Bulgaria.
Al Anqari later inaugurated a knowledge garden, a house of expertise, business incubators and central workshops as well as an exhibition on nanotechnology.
Dr Usama Tayeb, President of KAAU, highlighted the university’s efforts to make use of modern technology.
Dr Sami Habeeb, director of Nanotechnology Centre at the university, said the new technology would boost the Kingdom’s efforts to achieve sustained progress, diversify resources and create more jobs for its citizens.
“The university decided to host this large conference with the participation of experts from different parts of the world in order to exchange views and discuss results of new researches in the field,” he said.