Archived News: 2003 2004 2005

Prof. Robert Armstrong Dinner (Feb 1, 07)

Professor Robert Armstrong, Head of the Chemical Engineering Department at MIT and Associate Director of the MIT Energy Initiative was the guest of honor and keynote speaker of the Club on February 1 at a dinner arranged y the Club in Al-Faisaliyah Hotel in Riyadh. The title of his presentation was The MIT Energy Initiative: Addressing the Global Energy Challenge. He described the objective of the Energy Initiative and the commitment form MIT to be fully engaged in this critical aspect of the economy, and indeed human life in general. Prof. Armstrong articulated the energy challenge in terms of three key aspects: 1) energy supply and demand, 2) energy and security, 3) and energy and the environment. He reiterated MIT's strong energy tradition and also newly found zeal and enhanced commitment. He also described three major thrusts of energy research at MIT: 1) science and technology for a clean energy future, 2) improving today’s energy systems, and 3) energy utilization in a rapidly evolving world. A copy of his presentation is available here. Also see the Photo Album for pictures of this event.

Club Annual Dinner (Jan, 06)

Barbara Stowe, Vice President for Resource Development at MIT was the guest of honor at the Club's annual dinner in Jeddah. Guests were welcomed by Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel ('78) and Mohammed Bakr (Club President). The keynote speech was delivered by Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel on Corporate Social Engagement, and highlighted some of the projects that are underway as part of the community service programs, including the new Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at MIT

Barbara Stowe thanked all concerned for making the visit possible and also the generosity extended towards her during her stay in Jeddah. She conveyed greetings from the new President, Susan Hockfield, who was attending another club meeting in Tokyo. She continued by updating members of the club about the main initiatives underway at MIT and plans for the forthcoming year.

Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel ('78) committed a substantial gift in support of the Poverty Action Lab at MIT in the Department of Economics. The gift will endow a professorship, two fellowships, and a research and teaching fund, all in the areas of poverty alleviation and development economics. The endowment will be named in honor of Jameel's late father, Abdul Latif Jameel. The mission of the lab is to translate research into action that helps the lives of the poor in their communities.

Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel received his S.B. in civil engineering from MIT in 1978. He is president of the Abdul Latif Jameel Co. (ALJ), which was founded by his father in 1945. In 1994, ALJ made a donation to MIT to establish the Abdul Latif Jameel-Toyota endowed scholarship fund to honor the company's founder. To honor the long-standing relationship between Toyota and the late Abdul Latif Jameel, students receiving the scholarship are called Jameel-Toyota scholars. The scholarship provides financial aid to undergraduates from 28 Middle Eastern and Asian countries who could not attend MIT without financial assistance.

Abdullatif Al-Othman, the Club's Vice President and Sauai Aramco's Senior VP of Finance, visited MIT on September 12 and 13 and met with key MIT staff members interested in promoting relationships with the Middle East . Abdullatif  also visited the Sloan School of Management and addressed the Sloan Fellows Class on "Energy Trends and Issues, and A case Study about Transforming the Finance Organization". He also  met the Dean and Vice Dean of the Sloan School, and the Director of the Sloan Fellows Program. 

On April 7, the Club  held and hosted its most successful  event to date. The keynote speaker was the Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Minerals, Mr. Ali Al-Naimi, who outlined the Saudi Arabian oil strategy and its future challenges. He said that the Kingdom will increase its reserves by around 200 billion barrels, in addition to the existing 260 billion barrels. This in turn will enable Saudi Arabia to remain the major player in oil for the next 70 to 100 years.

The presentation added to the evening's quality atmosphere and the attendance was the largest ever. The dinner was the seventh annual meeting that the Club hosted, and was attended by over 140 persons. Guests included several MIT alumni, a number of Ministers, members from the Saudi Shoura council (the government's s consultative body) as well as other high ranking government officials, society notables and prominent business executives. The event was well organized. It outclassed the previous club's gatherings and received extensive media coverage from leading local papers. This year's dinner has further added to MIT's standing and profile
in the Saudi society. See the Photo Album for pictures of this event.