This summer, Sara Alelq, an undergraduate research intern from the KAUST Gifted Student Program and Environmental Engineering student at the University of Colorado Boulder, joined the DESAL Research Group at KAUST to explore sustainable water treatment and reuse.

Sara first learned about DESAL’s work during the 2023 KAUST Gifted Student Program Convocation, where she attended a presentation on membrane desalination technologies. The experience sparked a lasting interest in sustainable water treatment and its role in addressing water scarcity.

“I’ve always been aware of how limited access to clean water can affect communities. As a future environmental engineer, I aspire to contribute to solutions that make clean, safe water available and accessible for everyone—not only for drinking, but also for essential daily use,” she shares.

During her internship, Sara contributed to the project “Integration of Controlled Environment Agriculture with Non-Conventional Water Resources to Enhance Sustainable Food Production in Urban Ecosystems,” under the guidance of Dr. Alla Alpatova. Her work focused on evaluating and comparing membrane technologies for treating brackish water from different Saudi regions, supporting hydroponic farming of salt-tolerant crops. She assisted with high-pressure filtration experiments, data collection, and analysis—bringing a valuable perspective to the team’s interdisciplinary work.

Through this experience, Sara built a strong foundation in membrane-based desalination and water quality analysis, while gaining hands-on training with advanced lab systems such as the high-pressure reverse osmosis unit and microfiltration pretreatment. She highlights how working closely with researchers has taught her to adapt, communicate effectively, and contribute meaningfully to a collaborative research environment.

Reflecting on her time at DESAL, Sara notes: “Being involved in a large-scale project has strengthened my research mindset and encouraged me to think critically about the environmental trade-offs in water treatment. It’s given me a clearer picture of how research actually works, from testing and data analysis to collaboration across different parts of a project.”

Looking ahead, Sara plans to pursue graduate studies in environmental engineering with a focus on water treatment, reuse, and renewable energy integration. She is particularly interested in the connection between water and food systems and aims to contribute to research that improves water security, reduces environmental impact, and builds resilient, resource-efficient communities.

As she concludes her internship, we thank Sara Alelq for her contributions and enthusiasm during her internship. At DESAL, we are proud to encourage and mentor young Saudi researchers, and we look forward to seeing the impact she will make in the field of sustainable water treatment.