King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
CORE LABS & MAJOR FACILITIES
KAUST has established Core Labs and Major Facilities in order to support the research of
faculty, scientists and graduate students on campus as well as regional and international
academic collaborators around the world. KAUST’s industrial partners may also use these
facilities.
Core Labs :
Analytical Chemistry
Bioscience
Coastal and Marine
Nanofabrication, Imaging and Characterization
Workshops
Major Facilities :
Cornea—Visualization
Shaheen Supercomputing Laboratory
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
The Analytical Chemistry Core Lab has facilities for spectroscopy, chromatography and mass
spectrometry, trace metals analysis, wet chemistry, and surface analysis. The state-of-the-art
instrumentation and operations are controlled by a Labware LIMS system. The Lab can provide
analytical services for environmental science (air, water, marine organisms, sea water,
nutrients, pollutants, etc), pesticide residue analysis, industrial hygiene (IH tubes, filters, and
impingers), geochemical analysis, as well as bio/pharmaceutical, health and safety, polymer and
catalysis research. Specific instrumental capabilities include :
Page 1 of 22
Trace Metals
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP/MS)
Quadrupole
Perkin
Elmer
Elan DRC-II
Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometer
(ICP/OES)
http://www.varianinc.com/cgibin/nav?products/spectr/icpoes/index&cid=KPOJLPKKFN
Atomic Absorption (AA)
http://www.varianinc.com/cgibin/nav?products/spectr/aa/s280fs/index&cid=KPOJLPKKFN
Mercury Analyser
http://www.leemanlabs.com/products/mercury/hydra-afgp/index.asp
Varian
720-ES
Varian
280FS
TeledyneLeeman
Labs
Hydra AF Gold
Plus
Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry
Gas Chromatograph (GC)
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enus/products/instruments/gc/agilent7890agcsystem/page
s/default.aspx
Liquid Chromatography (LC)
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enUS/Products/Instruments/lc/systems/1290infinitylcsyste
m/Pages/default.aspx
LC, Purification System
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enus/products/instruments/lc/1200seriespurificationsyste
ms/pages/default.aspx
Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC)
GPC w/ light scattering detector
SFC, Super Critical Fluid Chromatography
http://www.tharsfc.com
Ion Chromatography (IC)
http://www.dionex.com/en-us/webdocs/30191_Bro-ICS3000-06Feb09-LPN1691-05.pdf
Agilent
7890A GC (with
various
detectors)
Agilent
1290 Infinity
Ultra High
Pressure LC
system
1290 series
purification
system
Agilent
Agilent
1200 series
Wyatt
Technology
Thar
GPC with Heleos,
OptiLab,
Viscostar
Thar Assurance
Dionex
ICS-3000 RFIC-EC
http://www.dionex.com/en-us/webdocs/48428_Man-ICICS-3000-System-Operators-2008-01-065031-04.pdf
Page 2 of 22
GC/MS
Bruker
GC/MS
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/product/detail/0,105
5,10130922,00.html
LC/MS
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/landingpage/0,10255,
753,00.html
UPLC/MS
Thermo
MicrOTOF II &
GC
TSQ GC-MS
Thermo
LTQ Orbitrap
Velos
Thermo
TSQ Vantage
Quantum Ultra,
with FAIMS and
UPLC
Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) Spectroscope
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/product/detail/1,,115
542,00.html
Thermo
FTIR
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/product/detail/1,,101
37091,00.html
UV / VIS Spectrometers
http://www.varianinc.com/cgibin/nav?products/spectr/uv/cary5000/index&cid=KQHLH
PMNFI
Raman Spectrometer
Thermo
Nicolet 6700 FT-IR
System with
Continuum IR
Microscope
Nicolet iS10
Fluorescence Spectrometer
http://www.varianinc.com/cgibin/nav?products/spectr/fluoro/Eclipse/eclipse&cid=KPO
MILKMFP
XRF, X –Ray Fluorescence
Varian
Spectroscopy
Varian
Cary 5000, and
Varian 100
Thermo
DXR Smart
Raman
Spectrometer
Eclipse
Horiba
Jobin Yvon, XGT7000 with
microscope
Page 3 of 22
Wet Chemistry
Chem. Sorption
http://www.micromeritics.com/ProductShowcase/AutoChem-2950-HP.aspx
Micromeritics
AutoChem II 2950
Total Organic Carbon TOC / TN analyzer
http://www.teledynetekmar.com/products/TOC/Apollo/
Teledyne
Tekmar
Apollo 9000
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analyzer
http://www.teledynetekmar.com/products/TOC/Fusion
Kjeldahl Nitrogen Determination
http://www.buchi.com/Digest-Automat-K432.7772.0.html and http://www.buchi.com/autokjeldahl-unit-K-370.359.0.html
Karl Fisher
Teledyne
Tekmar
Buchi
Fusion
Mettler
C30X
CHNS/O Elemental Analyzer
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/landingpage/0,,3208,
00.html
Autoanalyzer
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/product/detail/1,,101
35632,00.html
Thermo Gravimetric Analyser (TGA)
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/thermobalances/
Voltmetric Workstation
Thermo
Flash 2000
Thermo
Aquakem
250
Netzsch
TG 209 F1
with ASC
Gamry
3000
Mettler
T 70
Autotitration system
Digest Automat
K432/K370
Surface Analysis
Size and zeta potential measurements
Surface area and porosimetry system
http://www.micromeritics.com/ProductShowcase/ASAP-2420.aspx
Xtended pressure sorption analyzer
http://www.micromeritics.com/ProductShowcase/ASAP-2050-Xtended-Pressure.aspx
Malvern
NanoZS/DelsaNanoZeta
Micromeritics
ASAP 2420
Micromeritics
ASAP 2050
Page 4 of 22
Water Sorption
Mercury Porosimeter
http://www.micromeritics.com/ProductShowcase/AutoPore-IV.aspx
Tensiometer, multi-mode
http://www.kruss.de/en/products/tensiometer/proc
essor-tensiometer-k100mk2.html
Tensiometer spinning drop
http://www.kruss.de/en/products/tensiometer/spin
ning-drop-tensiometer-site100.html
Contact angle measuring system
http://www.kruss.de/en/products/contactangle/easydrop.html
Analytical Ultracentrifuge
http://www.beckmancoulter.com/products/instrum
ent/protein/proteomelab_xla_xli_dcr.asp
Hilden
Micromeritics
IGAsorp HT
system
AutoPore IV 9510
Kruss
K100MK2
Kruss
SITE 100
Kruss
Easy Drop
Standard
Beckman
Coulter
XLA
BIOSCIENCES & BIOENGINEERING
The Genomics Core Lab provides services vital to the study of cellular materials by focusing on
genetic analysis of samples. This includes DNA sequencing and synthesis as well as micro-array
and real-time PCR analysis. Facilities include:
DNA extraction and sample preparation
Liquid-handling robots
http://www.tecan.com/platform/apps/pr
oduct/index.asp?MenuID=2694&ID=5270
&Menu=1&Item=21.1.8
PCR
https://products.appliedbiosystems.com/
ab/en/US/adirect/ab?cmd=catNavigate2
&catID=603666&tab=DetailInfo
TECAN
EVO platform
ABI
Veriti 96
Page 5 of 22
DNA extraction and sample preparation
Microfluidic DNA/RNA analysis
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enUS/Products/Instruments/lab-on-achip/2100bioanalyzer/Pages/default.aspx
Colony-picking robot
UV Spectrometer
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/produ
ct/detail/1,,10135607,00.html
Agilent
Bioanalyser 2100
Genetix
Q-pic Expression X9200
Thermo Scientific
Nanodrop 8000
Illumina
Roche
ABI
ABI
GAIIX (x3)
454 FLX Titanium
Solid V3
3730XL (x2)
Agilent
G2565CA
Roche
ABI
480 Lightcycler
7900 HT
High-throughput Sequencing Suite
New Generation Sequencing (short read
length)
96 Capillary Sequencing (long read length)
Micro-array Suite
Scanner
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enUS/Products/Instruments/dnamicroarrays
/dnamicroarrayscanner/Pages/gp64120.as
px
Real-time PCR Suite
Expression analyser
Expression analyser
The Proteomics Lab has state-of-the-art instrumentation for the discovery and characterization
of proteins implicated in important cellular processes. Focus will be on deep Proteome Analysis
for the discovery of putative functional regulatory proteins. This Core Facility also includes a lab
for the production of oligonucleotides, which are required for genetic experiments.
1D/2D Electrophoresis Protein Separation
Page 6 of 22
Electrophoresis unit
http://www5.gelifesciences.com/aptrix/upp01077.nsf/Cont
ent/Products?OpenDocument&parentid=421705&moduleid
=40213&zone=Elpho#content
GE Hoefer
Mini VE
Electrophoresis unit
GE Ettan
DALTsix
IEF cell
Bio-Rad
Protean
Bioanalyzer
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enUS/Products/Instruments/lab-on-achip/2100bioanalyzer/Pages/default.aspx
OFF GEL
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enUS/Support/Downloads/Utilities/Pages/3100OFFGEL.aspx
Gel spot picker
Agilent
2100
Agilent
3100
Genetix
GE
Q-pic
Expression
X9200
Typhoon
Tecan
EVO platform
Imager
Sample prep liquid-handling robots
http://www.tecan.com/page/content/index.asp?MenuID=1
&ID=2&Menu=1&Item=21.1
Tandem Mass Spectroscopy
LTQ Orbitrap
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/landingpage/1,,6848,00.html
Quadropole /iontrap
Thermo
Scientific
ABI
VELOS
QTRAP
Q-TOF
http://www.bdal.com/products/uhr-tof.html
Bruker
MAXIS
MALDI-TOF
http://www.bdal.com/products/maldi-tof-toftof-ms.html
Bruker
Ultraflex III
COASTAL & MARINE
Page 7 of 22
Located close to the pier to the south of the main campus buildings, the Coastal & Marine
Resources Lab facilitates Red Sea research and development, thereby taking advantage of
KAUST’s spectacular geographic location. It will :



Construct and deploy modern oceanographic instrumentation
Provide operational services to support research vessels for marine exploration, diving
and sampling
Maintain indoor and outdoor seawater facilities for culturing marine organisms.
NANOFABRICATION, IMAGING & CHARACTERIZATION
The Nanofabrication Laboratory comprises 2000 sq m of Class 1000 clean-room space, with
multiple bays at Class 100. It integrates a diversity of advanced tools for the fabrication of
micro/nano-scale devices to support research in advanced materials, biotechnology,
electronics, photonics and MEMS/NEMS. Each service bay has a full complement of utilities,
including high purity DI water, high purity nitrogen, reactive gases, and chilled water.
Capabilities include:
Mask-making and Photolithography
Coat/bake with Dispense, 150 mm
DEV with Dispense, 150 mm
COAT / BK / DEV /BK, 200 mm
Plasma Strip
Contact Aligner
Suss
Suss
TEL
NanoPlas
EV Group
Mask-making and Photolithography (continued)
Nano-Imprinter
DUV Stepper
E-beam Writer
Mask Processor
Mask - Laser Writer
Mask – Laser Writer – BASIC
EV Group
ASML
Crestec
SSEC
Heidelberg
Heidelberg
DWL 2000
Wet Etching and CMP
ACID Sulf Per HF 2-6
ACID Parts Cln w CMP Rinse-6
JST
JST
Page 8 of 22
BASE Silicon Etch-6
ACID-Metal Etch-6
ACID BOE and HF Etch-7
HF Vapor – Acid Component
Post CMP Clean-4
Spin Rinse Dryer SRD-2 (A, B, C, D)
Critical Point Dryer (CPD)
CMP and Clean
JST
JST
JST
JST
JST
Micropress
Tousimis
Euris
Film Deposition
Reactive Sputter
Metal Sputter
Ion Beam Assist Deposition (Sputter)
ESC
ATC2000
ESC
Denton
ATC2000
Explorer 30
High Performance E-beam Evaporator
Explorer 30
Denton
Film Deposition
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)
Oxford
Instruments
A-Silicon PECVD
Oxford
Instruments
Molecular Vapor Deposition (MVD100)
Applied
http://www.appliedmst.com/products_mvd100.htm
Microstructures
Plate Station
Surface Finishing
Technologies
Ink Jet Printer
MicroFab
http://www.microfab.com/equipment/pdf/jetlab2_mf1.pdf
Technologies
Inc.
Jetlab II
Dry Etching / Plasma Etching
Plasma etch 200 mm
Oxide / Nitride, Poly RIE, A = 200 mm, B =
150 mm
Metal RIE and Strip A = 200 mm, B = 150
mm
Oxford Instruments
Oxford Instruments
Oxford Instruments
Page 9 of 22
Deep RIE, Two Chamber or A = 200 mm, B
= 150 mm
Ion Beam Etch
Plasma Etch, 150 mm
Oxide / Nitride, Poly RIE, A = 200 mm,
B = 150 mm
Metal RIE, Two Chamber or A = 200 mm,
B = 150 mm
XeF2 Etcher
Chemical Assisted Ion Beam Etch
Oxford Instruments
Oxford Applied Research
Oxford Instruments
Oxford Instruments
Oxford Instruments
Xactix, Samco, or STS
Oxford Instruments
Thermal and Thermal Diffusion
Abatement (seven sets)
RTP (four sets)
Clean 3 Tube Furnace Bank
Metal 3 Tube Furnace Bank
LPCVD / DEP 3 Tube Furnace Bank
TecHarmonic
Jipelec
Tystar
Tystar
Tystar
Metrology
Film Stress
http://tohotechnology.com/flx.html
Reflectometer
Toho
Nanometrics
Contact Angle
http://www.kruss.de/en/products/contactangle.html
Tensiometer
http://www.kruss.de/en/products/tensiometer.h
tml
Four Point Probe
Kruss
Profilometer
Veeco
Parameter Analyzer
Kruss
MDC
Keithley
Surface Analyzer
KLA
SEM / FIB Dualbeam System
FEI
Quanta3D FEG
Page 10 of 22
http://www.fei.com/products/dualbeams/quant
a3d.aspx
Probe Station
Spectroscopic Ellipsometer
http://www.horiba.com/application/materialpropertycharacterization/spectroscopystructureanalysis/details/uvisel-640/
AFM / SPM
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.j
spx?cc=US&lc=eng&ckey=859462&nid=35708.426385.00&id=859462
Bonders
Wafer Bonder
Aluminum Wire Bonder
Gold Wire Bonder
Dicing Saw
Wafer Mount/ Demount
Die Attach Pick and Place
UV Tape Release
Cascade
M150
Horiba
Agilent
5400
EV Group
Hybond
Hybond
Accretech
SEC
SEC
Powatec
Biology Applications
BIO Spectrophotometer
BIO BSL 2 Cabinet
BIO BSL 2 Cabinet w/Sink
BIO Sink Station
BIO Work Station
Agilent
Nuaire
Nuaire
Flores Valles
Flores Valles
The Imaging and Characterization Laboratory has comprehensive facilities for scanning,
transmission, confocal, and Raman microscopy, magnetic and thermal measurements and other
instrumentation for materials characterization. These allow the visualization of nanostructures,
devices and surfaces down to the level of individual atoms. Equipment includes:
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
Titan Cubed
FEI
80-300 Cs image corrected and
monochromated
Page 11 of 22
Titan Cubed
FEI
Titan
Titan
Titan
Tecnai
FEI
FEI
FEI
FEI
80-300 Cs probe corrected and
monochromated
Krios
80-300
80-300 Bio
Spirit Biotwin
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
http://www.fei.com/applications/lifesciences/biomaterials/particle-analysis.aspx
http://www.fei.com/products/scanningelectron-microscopes/magellan.aspx
SEM/FIB Dualbeam System
SEM/FIB Dualbeam System
http://www.fei.com/products/dualbeams/quant
a3d.aspx
http://www.fei.com/uploadedFiles/Documents/
Content/2007_02_C06FI96_1_Quanta_3D_FEG_J
.pdf
FEI
Quanta200
FEI
FEI
FEI
Quanta600 FEG
Nova NanoSEM630
Magellan XHRSEM
FEI
Helios 400S
FEI
Quanta3D FEG
Environmental
Optical Microscopy
Upright Confocal Microscopy (x2)
Carl Zeiss
Inverted Confocal Microscope
Carl Zeiss
Multispectral Inverted System
Large Scale Imaging and SuperZoom Confocal
Microscope
Multiphoton Imaging Microscope
Deconvolution System
Laser Microdissection System
Live Cell Microscope
http://www.fluorescencemicroscopy.com/products/details/product/leica-
Leica
Leica
Carl Zeiss
Deltavision
Leica
Leica
Axio Imager, Z1 Upright
LSM 710
Axio Imager, Z1 Inverted
LSM 710
TCS SP5
LSI
Auto Examiner for LSM 7
MP
LMD6000
AF7000
Page 12 of 22
af7000/
Raman Microscope
Raman Microscope
Horiba
Horiba
LabRAM HR
ARAMIS UV
(220 – 1600 nm)
Surface Science
Spectroscopic Ellipsometer
Horiba
Spectroscopic Ellipsometer
Horiba
Interferometer
http://www.zygo.com/?/met/interferometers
3D Imaging System
http://www.veeco.com/dektak-150-stylusprofiler/index.aspx
Multi-technique (XPS, AES, UPS + SIMS)
http://www.kratosanalytical.net/surface/index.p
hp?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Ite
mid=36
AFM / SPM Microscope for Biology
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enUS/Search/Pages/default.aspx?k=5500&a=%20sc
ope:"English%20(U.S.)%20Content"
AFM / SPM Microscope for Materials
http://www.chem.agilent.com/enUS/Search/Pages/default.aspx?k=5400&a=%20sc
ope:%22English%20(U.S.)%20Content%22
Zygo Corp
UVISEL LT AGMS (210 –
2100 nm)
UVISEL ER FGMS (190 –
2100 nm)
NewView 7300
Vecco
Dektak 150 stylus profile
Kratos
Analytical
AXIS Ultra DLD XPS
Agilent
5500
Agilent
5400
X-Ray Fluorescence / Diffraction (XRF / XRD)
Wavelength dispersive X-ray Fluorescence
http://www.panalytical.com/index.cfm?pid=558
Powder XRD
http://www.bruker-axs.com/d8_advance.html
Thin Film XRD
http://www.brukeraxs.com/glass_and_coatings.html
Non-ambient XRD (10 – 2200 K)
http://www.bruker-axs.com/d8_advance.html
Single Crystal XRD
PANanalytical
Bruker
Bruker
Bruker
Axios Advanced XRF
System
D8 Advance
Diffractometer System
D8 Advance
Diffractometer System
D8 Advance
Diffractometer System
TBD
Page 13 of 22
Page 14 of 22
Thermal Analysis
Dilatometer
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,16.html
Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,20.html
Differential Scanning Calorimeter
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,2.html
Dynamic High-pressure Heat Flow
Differential Scanning Calorimeter
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,3.html
Flash Diffusivity Testing Apparatus
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,25.html
Simultaneous TG-DTA/DSC System
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,42.html
Thermogravimetric Analyser
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,6.html
Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,33.html
FTIR Spectrometer
http://www.netzsch-thermalanalysis.com/en/products/detail/pid,35.html
Netzsch
DIL 402 C/4/G
Netzsch
DMA 242 C/I/G
Netzsch
DSC 204 FI Phoenix
Netzsch
DSC HP/2/H Phoenix
Netzsch
LFA 447/4/InSb
Nanoflash
Netzsch
STA 449 F1/4/MFC/G
Jupiter
Netzsch
TG 209 F1 Iris
Netzsch
QMS 403 C Aeolos
Netzsch
Tensor 27
Page 15 of 22
Microwave Lab
Manual Probe Station
http://www.cmicro.com/m150/m150measurement-platform
Manual Probe Station with Thermal System
(20 – 300 C)
http://www.cmicro.com/m150/m150measurement-platform
Semi-automatic Probe Station with Thermal
System (-65 to 200 C)
Impedance Analyser / LCR Meter
Cascade
Cascade
Cascade
Agilent
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/prod
uct.jspx?cc=US&lc=eng&pageMode=OV&pid
=1000000856%3Aepsg%3Apro&ct=PRODUC
T&id=1000000856%3Aepsg%3Apro
LCR Meter
Agilent
Semiconductor Analyser
Keithley
Parameter Network Analyser
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/
E8364-90031.pdf
Agilent
M150 Multipurpose
Station with Large
High Stability Bridge
M150 Multipurpose
Station with Large
Area High Stability
Bridge
MMIT 12000B – AP
4287A RF LCR Meter
(3 GHz)
4980A (2 MHz)
Semiconductor
Measurement System
E8363B, 10 MHz – 40
GHz
Low Temperature Physics Lab
Magnetometer
http://www.qdusa.com/products/squidvsm.html
Physical Property Measurement System
http://www.qdusa.com/products/squidvsm.html
Quantum Design
MPMS SQUID VSM
Quantum Design
MPMS – 9 Tesla
System
Page 16 of 22
Thin Films
Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD), with three
chambers
http://www.neocera.com/ThinFilm%20Technology.htm
Reactive Sputter
Metal Sputter
Ion Beam Assist Deposition (Sputter)
E-beam Evaporator
High Performance E-beam Evaporator
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)
Glove Box, w/ integrated spinner
Furnace, Tube 1700C (x2)
Furnace, Tube 1200C (x2)
Furnace, Box 1200C (x2)
http://www.thermo.com/com/cda/product/detail
/1,,10130043,00.html
Spin Coater (x2)
Ball Mills (2350 ml, 125 ml x2)
http://www.retsch.com/products/milling/ballmills/
Dies for Pellets
Hydraulic Press
Hydraulic Press
Analytical Balance (x3)
Ultrasonic Cleaning (x3)
Seebeck Coefficient System
Vented Workstation
http://www.flowsciences.com/brBenchTopbrScal
eUp/VentedBalanceSafetyEnclosures/FS2350/tabi
d/77/Default.aspx
Water Polisher
Xenon Difluoride Etching System
http://www.xactix.com/XeF2_Unique.pdf
Neocera
Pioneer 180
ESC
ESC
ESC
Denton
Denton
Oxford Instruments
Mbraun
ATC 2000
ATC 2000
ATC 2000
Explorer 30
Explorer 30
Thermo Scientific
Thermo Scientific
Thermo Scientific
Laurell
Retsch
Labmaster SP
1800/780
STF54434C
HTF55667C
BF51731BC
WS-650SZ-NPP-Lite
Retsch
Retsch
MTI
Mettler Toledo
Bennett Scientific
ULVAC-Riko
Flow Sciences
ZEM-3
FS2350
Millipore
Xactix
Milli-Q Academic
Xetch e1 Series
Page 17 of 22
The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Laboratory comprises a suite of 10 NMR
spectrometers for solution-based and solid-state samples, together with comprehensive sample
preparation facilities for the study of macromolecular structures and spatial distributions,
dynamics in solution, and chemical composition of small features in solid-state samples. All
spectrometers are equipped with hardware for state-of-the-art multinuclear experiments
including gradient probes and capability for multi-channel pulsing with deuterium decoupling.
Cryoprobes are installed at all field strengths. KAUST has instrumentation for:
Biology
AVANCE – III
AVANCE – III
AVANCE – III
Bruker
Bruker
Bruker
950 MHz
700 MHz
500 MHz
Bruker
Bruker
Bruker
850 MHz WB
600 MHz WB
400 MHz WB
AVANCE – III
AVANCE – III
Bruker
Bruker
600 MHz
400 MHz
AVANCE – III
Bruker
500 MHz SWB
Materials Science
AVANCE – III
AVANCE – III
AVANCE – III (x2)
Chemistry
Imaging
Page 18 of 22
WORKSHOPS
KAUST’s Major Facilities and Core Laboratories are complemented by :




Machine Shop, for the design and fabrication of prototype devices and components for
research and coursework, utilizing mills, lathes, grinders, saws, and electrostatic
discharge cutting machines. Capabilities include precision milling, turning, and grinding;
brazing, welding, and soldering; finishing by buffing, bead-blasting, and sand-blasting;
production of CAD drawings and CAD programs; contour and cutoff sawing; diamond
core drilling, cutting, and grinding; and heat treatment
Electronics Shop, which offers services for the maintenance and repair of
electrical/electronic devices used in research labs, and for the design and fabrication of
customized electronic equipment not commercially available
Metrology Lab, for the maintenance of standards, measurement and calibration of
equipment
Glass-Blowing Shop, for the design and fabrication of scientific glassware
CORNEA -- ADVANCED COMPUTATION & VISUALIZATION FACILITY
The Visualization Lab at KAUST hosts a Mechdyne-built CAVE, creating the world’s highest
resolution and brightest virtual environment. This immersive visualization facility comprises :
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24 of the world’s highest native resolution projectors (4096 x 2160 pixels each), with
four illuminating each side of a cubic space
A fully immersive stereoscopic visual environment
100 million pixels
Space for up to eight viewers within the environment
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An Advanced Audio Studio complements the visual experience. A CORNEA cluster provides
computational power to drive the displays :
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96 quad-core CPUs
768 gigabytes of RAM
12 TB of internal hard drive capacity
Dual gigabit interprocessor connectivity
2 x 10 gigabit uplinks
96 FX5600 GPUs
144 GB of graphics memory
48 TB of external storage
A Multi-Purpose Room has an ultra high-resolution (32 million pixel) digital cinema projection
system allowing stereoscopic viewing for an audience of 75. This room also provides a
reconfigurable dynamic collaborative display environment for inter-disciplinary research.
SHAHEEN SUPERCOMPUTING LABORATORY
KAUST plans to rapidly become one of the world leaders in academic High Performance
Computing (HPC) and establish itself as a top supercomputing research center. To that end,
KAUST has partnered with IBM to install PetaFLOP (one quadrillion floating-point-operations, or
calculations, per second) computing capability within three years, putting it on the path toward
exa-scale computing.
The KAUST Supercomputing Laboratory (KSL) already houses a 16-rack IBM Blue Gene/P
supercomputer system named ‘Shaheen’. Comprising 16,384 nodes, each with four cores
(CPUs) and 4GB of memory - for a total of 65,536 cores (CPUs) and 64 TB of memory, ‘Shaheen’
is capable of over 222 TeraFLOPS, or 222 trillion floating-point-operations (calculations) per
second. As of June 2009, the Top500 (www.top500.org) designated Shaheen the most
powerful supercomputer in the Middle East, and the 14th most powerful supercomputer in the
world.
In addition to the Shaheen supercomputer, KSL has substantial other resources to support the
advanced IT load and requirements of researchers, students and worldwide partners of a firstrate research university such as KAUST.
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Additional resources include:
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A 128-node Linux x86 cluster, each 8-way node with 32 GB of memory.
A 256-node Linux x86 cluster, each 8-way node with 32 GB of memory.
32 GPGPU-accelerated Linux nodes.
Four 32-way Power6 SMP nodes, each with 512 GB of memory.
a 40 Gbps backbone network with multiple 10 Gbps connections between campus
buildings
Disk storage subsystems with over 2.4 Petabytes (2.4 quadrillion bytes) of raw capacity
and an aggregate data transfer bandwidth of 16 Gbps.
A high-capacity tape archive subsystem to assure data resiliency and system backup.
A next-generation Data Center that can scale to meet exa-scale computing
requirements.
KAUST is connected directly into the worldwide research networks, running 10 Gbps directly to
networks such as Internet2 and GEANT2. The infrastructure is designed with future IT
requirements and developments in mind, including the installation of 100,000 Ethernet ports
and 500 kilometers of cables, with abundant dark fiber ready to be activated when needed.
KSL also offers a range of services to KAUST researchers, students and worldwide partners,
including assistance with:
 General support including high-performance computing (HPC) systems management,
programming, applications performance tuning, algorithm development for massively
parallel systems, and usage scheduling of Shaheen and peripheral systems
 Collaboration support to provide high-performance computing applications,
middleware, library, algorithm support & enablement services
 Enablement support such that users can request KAUST SL research staff assist in the
development, enablement, debug, porting, and scaling of applications.
 ‘Best practice’ HPC program management support.
Reference Links
Current Systems
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‘Shaheen’: 16 frame Blue Gene/P (65,536 x 850MHz PowerPC 450 cores, with ½ GB per
core
 Blue Gene:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg247287.html?Open
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp4453.html?Open
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o FORTRAN and C Compilers:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/lnxpcomp/v9v111/
128-Node Linux Cluster: 128 x IBM x3550 nodes with 2 x quad-core 2.5GHz
‘Harpertown’ Xeon nodes (total 1024 cores), 4GB per core.
o https://www-03.ibm.com/systems/x/hardware/rack/x3550/
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Disk Storage: 2.4 PB of IBM DCS9900 disk storage with aggregate IO bandwidth of
16Gbps.
o http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/storage/disk/dcs/dcs9900/index.html
Tape Storage: 5 PB of tape storage for backup and archive.
o http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/storage/tape/ts3500/index.html
Expected Future Systems:
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256-Node Linux Cluster: 256 x 2 x quad-core ‘Nehalem’ Xeon nodes (total 2048 cores),
4 GB memory per core.
o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Nehalem_(microarchitecture)
32-Node Tesla GPGPU Linux Cluster: 32 x Nvidia Tesla GPGPU Linux cluster.
o http://www.nvidia.com/object/tesla_computing_solutions.html
SMP Cluster: 4 x IBM p570, each with 32 x 4.2 GHz POWER6 processor cores
o http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/hardware/570/index.html
o http://ibmtvdemo.edgesuite.net/servers/power/demos/power_570/
General References
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/
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