Update Jan-26-17: A more indepth article can be found on the KAUST web page - click here.

​The meetings of the Materials Research Society (MRS) are among the most popular conferences worldwide with around 6000 participants per conference. Starting in fall 2016, MRS introduced student-led events, which allow students to organize a symposium on any topic relevant to their student colleagues, following a competitive call for proposals. Led by the KAUST-MRS student chapter, a group of KAUST Solar Center (KSC) students prepared a successful proposal under the supervision of the chapter's advisor, Prof. Husam Alshareef, which was selected for the MRS Fall Meeting 2016 in Boston. This event was co-sponsored by the KAUST Solar Center and KAUST Graduate Affairs. Four top-notch speakers agreed to share their experience on topics important for academic life as follows:

1. Dr. Kenneth Graham, University of Kentucky: "Writing Scientific Papers."
2. Dr. Seth Marder, Georgia Institute of Technology: "How to write effective research proposals and grant applications in science."
   
3. Dr. Bruce Gnade, The University of Texas at Dallas: "How major funding agencies screen proposals."
4. Melanie Parker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Academic Resumes, Cover Letters & CV Writing."

All sessions were very well-attended and attracted a broad audience from Ph.D. students to faculty. KSC thanks the students who made this event possible through teamwork and their passion for learning. Those students are

1. Guy Olivier (Team Lead)
2. Ahmed Esam Mansour
3. Maha Alamoudi
4. Sana Alshammari
5. Rahim Munir

Photo source: Rahim Munir, KSC

From left to right: Guy Olivier, Prof. Husam Alshareef, Prof. Bruce Gnade, Ahmed Esam Mansour, Lorri Smiley, Rahim Munir.

For further information regarding the MRS student/led event click here.