By Marian O'Neill
This year marks the fourth LABTECH (laboratory technology) conference hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain. A conference that offers a discussion platform to the international worlds of industry, academia and research. This year the KAUST Core Labs' team fully participated in the debate instigated by the conference's mandate; Transforming Laboratory Proficiency into a Core Value.
The KAUST Core Labs delivered one keynote speech and eight papers exploring their experiences in the many disparate aspects raised by this vital and topical theme. The KAUST Core Labs also manned a booth showcasing their core values.
Dr. Justin Lee Mynar, Associate Vice President for Research and Executive Director for the KAUST Core Labs, delivered a keynote speech. His talk explored the KAUST Core Labs' role in building an enduring model for advanced scientific research and economic development. In it he examined the structuring and governance of the 'one lab' model. The model the Core Labs are run along; a model that fosters ease of interdisciplinary access, streamlined expenditure and a unified, transparent management structure.
Barry Hogan, Facilities Director of the KAUST Core Labs, echoed Dr. Mynar's emphasis on the 'One Lab' model. In his talk on the systematic processes and tools that support the operations of a large, user-shared facility, Mr. Hogan specifically discussed how the 'one lab' 'one door' policy facilitates ease of access and governance.
In addition three Core Lab facilities Directors; Dr. Acevedo-Feliz, Dr. Lee and Dr. Buechmann-Moeller; and four of the Core Labs' directors; Mr. Smith, Dr. Iordache, Dr. Langner and Dr. Li delivered papers. The topics they covered incorporated the broad spectrum of the Core Labs' capabilities; from technologically driven environmental research to the resolution of technological challenges; from quality control to quality customer service.
HE Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Minister of Oil for the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Mr Suleman Al-Bargan, Exec Director of Refining and NGL Fractionation Saudi Aramco, visit the KAUST Core Labs' Booth
The KAUST Core Labs booth proved to be very popular throughout the three day event; good coffee and good conversation providing a focal point for conference goers. Among our many, welcomed visitors was patron of the conference, HE Shaikh Mohamed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, Minister of Oil for the Kingdom of Bahrain. He visited us along with Mr. Suleman Al-Bargan, Executive Director of Refining & NGL Fractionation Saudi Aramco, and one of the conference's executive plenary speakers. They discussed fracking and supercomputing with Dr. Mynar, who was on hand throughout the three day conference to invite engagement and interaction with academic institutes and industries alike.
As Mr. Suleman Al-Bargan so rightly put it,
"It's all about the science".