Welcome Mr. Abdulrahman Aldossary!
Mr. Abdulrahman Aldossary recently joined the KACST-Berkeley collaborative team, in which he will visit UC Berkeley to carry out research in the applications of metal-organic frameworks towards clean energy technologies. In our first Global Science Researcher Spotlight, Abdulrahman was kind enough to tell us a bit about himself and what he plans to accomplish during his tenure with our global science team. Please see below:
Hometown: Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Research Focus: Synthesis and Application of MOFs
Tell us about your current research: I am working on synthesizing new MOFs by manipulating reaction conditions and characterizing them to get definite structure determination. On the side, the engineer in me is working on MOF water capture applications.
What got you interested in chemistry?
Chemistry is the field of matter. My curiosity begun with trying to answer this question: How can the same components of atoms, protons, neutrons, and electrons, behave so drastically different under different conformations?
How does chemistry inspire you?
I believe that the survival of humanity is heavily reliant on the advancement of chemistry and materials science. I dream of materials that can be stronger than steel and lighter than air, materials with enough chemical potential to energize our electronics for weeks with one charge, and of materials that can aptly capture water from air. One can realize how plausible these are by looking at how chemistry has changed our lives in the past century.
What do you look forward to by working in KACST-UC Berkeley collaboration?
My aim is to leverage research quality at KACST to world-class research such as that of UCB. My work as liaison between the two institutes consists of learning the know-hows and taking part into building an excellence center and lab culture at KACST. My ultimate goal is to make the fruits of this collaboration as long-lasting as possible rather than transitory.
What scientific challenge do you hope to address through your research?
During my work on MOFs application, I realized the application’s performance is very sensitive to the material properties like particle defects and particle size distribution. My end goal is to understand the materials synergistic effect on the application’s design and performance.
What are your future goals (scientific/career/short-term/long-term)?
My current goal is to enhance my scientific portfolio by conducting research to help me in my graduate school admission at a top school, which is a requirement by KACST. What comes after that is yet to be finalized, but my egoistic aspirations lean toward technology commercialization after graduate school.
Favorite quote: “Success is a journey, not a destination.”
Three words to describe yourself:
Sociable, perseverance, dedication