In a press release today, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, announced a new president in Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, who will be the second to serve in that post since the university’s inception.

The program is designed as much to educate Saudi students as to facilitate the cultural and academic diffusion between Saudi Arabia and other nations.

The tide of money is bearing a fleet of results. In the 2000 to 2009 period Turkey’s output of scientific papers rose from barely 5,000 to 22,000; with less cash, Iran’s went up 1,300, to nearly 15,000.

Investment in human capital has become a top priority for the Saudi government, as spending on education has more than tripled since 2000.

We must reverse the process of the brain drain of Muslim scientists and attract the best and brightest minds to our region.

Saudi students, parents and educators are preparing for the new academic year, which begins September 1st.