ANPERC faculty have participated in the Saudi Research Science Institute's program since 2016, providing guidance and skills to the Kingdom's rising generation. Last year Dr. Hussein Hoteit and postdoctoral fellow Victor Torrealba served as mentors for an SRSI student, Mohammed Suleiman, as you may recall from this story last fall. Now Suleiman has gone on to win one of the IBDA'A National Olympiad's special awards in chemistry, sponsored by Exxonmobil.

From KAUST Discovery:

"Twenty-three SRSI alumni beat out thousands of high school peers from around the country to earn top awards [in the IBDA'A National Olympiads], including three students taking the competition's highest honors. Twenty-one students in the group won IBDA'A special awards, sponsored by global organizations focused on science and innovation. The annual IBDA'A event is the most prestigious academic competition in the country, and is considered a precursor to qualifying for the world's most important youth competitions, such as the Intel ISEF and iSweep. Over the last several years, SRSI alumni performance at these competitions has significantly raised Saudi Arabia's profile and reputation as a nation filled with a talented and innovative next generation."

This is not the first time SRSI students have studied under Dr. Hoteit. Deemah AlAshban and Zainab Al-Abdullatif completed the six week program in 2017. ANPERC and the larger KAUST community is gratified whenever it can have a positive impact on the Kingdom's capacity for scientific research, or the development of future innovators and researchers. Together Dr. Hoteit and Mr. Suleiman have done both.