May 01, 2025

KFUPM Secures 10 Global Awards at Geneva Invention Expo

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) marked a significant achievement at the 50th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, held from April 9 to 13, 2025, in Switzerland. As part of the Saudi delegation led by the Ministry of Education, KFUPM showcased ten innovative projects at the Saudi Pavilion, standing out among 1,050 inventions from over 40 countries and more than 130 Saudi contributions.

In a globally competitive forum supported by the Swiss Confederation, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the City and Canton of Geneva, and the International Federation of Inventors’ Associations (IFIA), KFUPM researchers were recognized with a total of ten prestigious awards. These included one gold medal, six silver medals, two bronze medals, and one special international prize.

The gold medal was awarded to Dr. Shafiqur Rehman from the IRC – Sustainable Energy Systems, along with his team: Dr. Kashif Irshad (same center), Dr. Mohamed Mohandes (Electrical Engineering Department), and Dr. Ali Al-Shaikhi (Electrical Engineering Department and Vice Presidency for Research and Innovation), for their invention: Floating Structure for Eco-Adaptive Floating Photovoltaic System.

Silver medals were presented for the following technologies and inventors:

• Dr. Muhammad Khalid – Adaptive Power Smoothing Filter for Solar Energy Using Moving Linear Regression – Electrical Engineering Department
• Dr. Sami Ferik – Fault-Tolerant Secure Backstepping Control for Nonlinear Multi-Agent Systems Using Reinforcement Learning – IRC – Smart Mobility and Logistics
• Dr. Samir Mekid – Vessel Cleaning Robotic System – IRC – Intelligent Manufacturing and Robotics
• Dr. Ammar Alzaydi – Dual Direction Accident Prevention and Assistive Braking System – Mechanical Engineering Department
• Dr. Theis Ivan Solling – Co-developer of the invention Method of Treating an Oil Spill – Center for Integrative Petroleum Research
• Dr. Asad Butt – AI-Based Medical Diagnostic Setup for Brain EEG Prediction for Foot Amputees – Deanship of Chemicals and Materials

Bronze medals were awarded to:

• Dr. Faisal Mukhtar – Universal Debonding Test Apparatus for Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer-Concrete System – Civil and Environmental Engineering Department
• Dr. Ahmad Alareeq – Advanced Flood Susceptibility Mapping Using Optimized Swarm Intelligence and Deep Learning – Civil and Environmental Engineering Department

A Special International Prize was awarded to Mr. Ali A. Binabdi from the College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences (CPG), in collaboration with Dr. Theis Ivan Solling from the Center for Integrative Petroleum Research, for their Super-Hydrophilic Formula for Oil Spill Clean-Up. Their invention, an advanced method for oil spill treatment developed in partnership with Aramco, was honored by the Korean Invention Promotion Association for its outstanding environmental application and innovation in utilizing super surfactancy for fast, effective oil spill response.

In addition to the awards, KFUPM contributed to the intellectual dialogue at the exhibition by presenting two workshops. Dr. Ali Al-Shaikhi, Vice President for Research and Innovation, led a session on KFUPM’s transformation journey, while Dr. Ahmed Alfadhel from the Dhahran Techno Valley Company (DTVC) spoke about the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.