KAUST researchers win prestigious Date Palm Prize for technology excellence

KAUST researchers win prestigious Date Palm Prize for technology excellence

JEDDAH — KAUST researchers Dr. Islam Ashry, Dr. Chun Hong Kang and Professor Boon S. Ooi were part of a team that recently won the 2022 International Date Palm Innovative Technology Excellence Prize from the National Center for Palm and Dates (NCPD). The KAUST Photonics Laboratory researchers won the award with their colleagues Dr. Yousef Alfehaid and Eng. Abdulmonem Alshawaf from the Palms and Dates Center in Al-Ahsa, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA). The KAUST-MEWA team was shortlisted as finalists of the prestigious award from a pool of 66 submissions. They were announced as prize winners during the 3rd International Dates Conference and Exhibition, held from December 7-10, 2022, in Riyadh. The prize comes with a SR200,000 reward. According to the NCPD, the event provided “a unique combination of scientific research and commercial strategy to exchange scientific knowledge and innovative technologies to enhance the safe production and commercialization of these extraordinary super-fruits. “We are very honored to receive such a prestigious international award. We are grateful to all our colleagues from the Photonics Laboratory and the Palms and Dates Center in Al-Ahsa, who participated in developing, testing and deploying the technology. This recognition motivates us to continue improving,