Susan Hockfield, a distinguished neuroscientist and Provost at Yale University, has been selected the 16th president of MIT, succeeding Charles M. Vest, who has led one of the world’s foremost research universities for the past 14 years. Susan Hockfield is the 16th MIT president and first female president of the Institute. Charles Vest remains at the Institute as a member of the faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

Professor Frank Wilczek, MIT's Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics, has won the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics for his research on the force between quarks, , the building blocks of the atomic nucleus. His work is key to solving several major problems in particle physics and beyond.

Wilczek, 53, shares the prize of about $1.3 million with David J. Gross of the University of California at Santa Barbara, and H. David Politzer of the California Institute of Technology. The three won "for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction."

Asymptotic freedom is a phenomenon whereby quarks behave as free particles when they are close together, but become more strongly attracted to each other as the distance between them increases. This theory forms the key to the interpretation of almost all experimental studies involving modern particle accelerators.

MIT has therefore won 53 Nobel prizes to date: 26 in physics, 10 in chemistry, 12 in economics, 8 in medicine/physiology, and 2 in peace.

On January 4th, the Club hosted a presentation by H.E. Dr. Hashim Yamani, Minister of Commerce and Industry at the Equestrian Club in Riyadh. The Minister delivered a timely presentation on the role of the private sector in national development, outlining the Kingdom’s recent structural reforms in commerce and industry. He also highlighted some of the significant challenges that have to be addressed and the Government’s efforts in this respect. News story. See the Photo Album for pictures of this event.

The Club's Endowment (see below) was a sponsor of the Abrahamic Faiths Seminar recently held at MIT. The seminar promotes dialogue among these faiths and provides an excellent platform for emphasizing common values. It is an on-going seminar offered every fall semester. Some prominent scholars, such as like Karen Armstrong  and Hamza Yousuf will be invited to speak at MIT as part of the Seminar's activities.

The Endowment also participated in sponsoring some Ramadan Iftars and Eid Al-Fitr dinner for the MIT community at large. MIT President Charles Vest and many faculty members attended some of these events.

The Endowment was also a sponsor of the SHARQ Arabic Music Ensemble, held on December 5. This cultural event, hosted by the MIT Arab Student Organization, hosted several distinguished Arab-American professional musicians who have performed all over the United States and were previously featured on WGBH TV as well as in the Boston Globe Arts Section. The event was heavily subscribed and well attended

On June 9th, Commencement Day at MIT, more than 2200 undergraduate and graduate students of the class of 2003 assembled in Killian Court to recieve their degrees. About 1,200 bachelor’s degrees, 1,100 master’s and 220 doctorates were awarded. Some students earned more than one degree. Five Saudis were part of this year's graduating class: Salwa M. Alazzouni (S.B. Architecture), Abdulaziz A. Al-Naim (S.B. Management Science), Osman M. Bakr (S.B. Materials Science & Engineering), Omar M. Bakr (M.Eng. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), and Belal M. Helal (Electrical Engineer).

Former United States Senator and chairman of the 1998 Northern Ireland peace negotiations George J. Mitchell was the featured keynote speaker at this year's Commencement Exercises. Mitchell gave an account of his experience in the Northern Ireland peace negotiations, and how that experience could be applied to achieve peace in the Middle East. He also urged MIT graduates to speak out against all forms of discrimination and injustice, and help others achieve a good education.

Club Member Appointed Saudi Aramco VP (Apr 23, 03)

Club member Abdullatif Al-Othman was appointed vice president of Saudi Aramco Affairs. Abdullatif joined Saudi Aramco in 1981 as an engineer with Engineering and Project Management and steadily rose through the ranks.

Following a variety of assignments, both in-Kingdom and overseas, in major projects such as the Gas Gathering Phase II, the Qasim Refinery Project, Ras Tanura modernization, Ju'aymah rebuild, Marjan completion and Ras Tanura Refinery upgrade, Abdullatif was named manager of the Project Support and Controls Department. Later, he was manager of Contract Review and Cost Compliance in the Finance organization. He also served as manager of Business Analysis in Corporate Planning and manager of Crude Oil Sales and Marketing in International Operations. In June 2001, Abdullatif moved to Saudi Aramco Affairs as acting executive director, and in September was appointed executive director of the SAA organization.

In 1979, Abdullatif earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). He earned a master's degree in business administration in 1998 at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States. Abdullatif has served as a board member of Petron Corporation, the Saudi Aramco joint venture in the Philippines, and has served as president of the Arabian Gulf Chapter of the Project Management Institute.

Source: Saudi Aramco's web site.

Club Visit to Saudi Aramco (Apr 29-30, 03)

The Club conducted a visit to Saudi Aramco on 29 and 30 April, 2003. Participating members, led by the Club President, enjoyed visiting the Saudi Aramco Exhibit, where they listened to an overview of Saudi Aramco and its IT master plan. They also enjoyed a 3D show of Saudi Aramco and later toured the exhibit, which covers most all of Saudi Aramco activities, plus historic displays of various scientific endeavors related to the prospecting and use of oil.

The next day, participants visited EXPEC (Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center) , where they listed to Aramco's technology efforts in exploration an petroleum engineering. This was followed by a tour of the ECC (EXPEC Computer Center) facilities (including its immense parallel computer) and then a 3D presentation of Shaybah in one of the center's 3D visualization rooms.

After that, participants visited OSPAS (Oil Supply, Planning & Scheduling) headquarters, where all of Saudi Aramco's oil and gas activities (including tanker loading, oil and gas pumping and transportation, refining, and bulk distribution) are monitored and controlled. The final stop in Dhahran was in the R&D Center, where the visitors listened to a presentation about the Center's activities and plans, and toured some of its facilities.

The tour culminated by a lively visit to Shaybah (700 km south of Dhahran), the most recent giant oil field developed by Saudi Aramco (1988).

The Club would like to thank Saudi Aramco, especially Mr. Abdullatif Al-Othman (VP, Saudi Aramco Affairs, see above), for arranging this most interesting and informative visit.

See the Photo Album for pictures of this event.

Visit of Club President to MIT (Mar 12, 03)

The Club’s President (Mohammed Bakr) paid a visit to MIT in March, 2003, where he met with the MIT President, Dr. Charles Vest. President Vest expressed his appreciation for the Club’s Endowment, and asked Mr. Bakr to convey his thanks to all Club members. In return, Mr. Bakr thanked the President for the constructive environment that Muslim and Arab students are enjoying at MIT. It was agreed that the Club’s Endowment will significantly contribute to MIT's programs that promote cultural tolerance and understanding.

Moreover, during this short visit to MIT, the Club’s President also had the opportunity to meet with Dean Robert Randolph, Senior Associate Dean for Student Life and the Endowment coordinator, and some faculty members to discuss ways of streamlining future activities to be sponsored by the Endowment. The Club’s Endowment was described by Christina Tempesta, Senior alumni Clubs Officer, as the largest single contribution of any MIT club worldwide.

See the Photo Album for a picture of this event.

Annual Meeting (Jan 13, 03)

Following the success of last year's annual meeting, the Club held its 2003 meeting on Monday, January 13th at the prestigious Equestrian Club premises in Riyadh. MIT alumni/alumnae from all over the Saudi Arabia and their guests participated in this social and intellectual event. The guests included several members of the Saudi Majlis Al-Shoura (The highest consultative body to the Government), some members of the diplomatic corps, as well as a number of prominent executives. In all, about 70 people attended.

The guest speaker for this event was Brad Bourland, Chief Economist at the Saudi American Bank, who provided his outlook for the Saudi economy in 2003. His primary conclusions were that the strong growth of 2002 in the private sector would continue into 2003. This growth was fueled by firm oil prices and low borrowing costs for companies and individuals. He forecasts that high oil prices and low interest rates would continue well into 2003. Besides these strong current economic conditions, however, he highlighted the longer term challenges of growing unemployment and continuing government budget deficits.

Endowment Fund (Jan 13, 03)

Mohammed Bakr, the President of the Club, announced the establishment at MIT of an endowment fund in the name of the Club. The primary purpose of the fund is to support programs at the Institute that promote cultural tolerance and understanding. The Office of the Dean of Student Life will coordinate these programs.