Islam Ashry recently undertook a field trial in north-western Saudi Arabia that is likely to have implications for the Kingdom’s date industry. Ashry, a research scientist at KAUST, spent a week collecting data from an optical fiber wrapped around many date palms at TADCO farm in Tabuk. The aim was to detect what one Saudi official called a hidden and deadly enemy.

Dr. Islam Ashry, a research scientist based in the KAUST Photonics Laboratory, has been named to the National Academy of Inventors’ 2023 class of Senior Members. Ashry will be officially inducted as a Senior Member at the 12th NAI Annual Meeting, which will take place from June 26-27, 2023, in Washington D.C., U.S.
KAUST researchers Dr. Islam Ashry, Dr. Chun Hong Kang and Professor Boon S. Ooi were part of a team that recently won the 2022 International Date Palm Innovative Technology Excellence Prize from the National Center for Palm and Dates (NCPD).
KAUST Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Boon S. Ooi was recently named as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow, effective January 1, 2023. Professor Ooi was elected for his "contributions to broadband light emitters and visible light communications," the IEEE stated.