08 September, 2026
This summer, the DESAL Research Group welcomed Sarah Alahmadi and Saad through the KAUST Academy Water Sustainability Summer Internship Program, held from June 28 to August 20, 2026.
During their time at KAUST, both students moved beyond the classroom to gain hands-on experience in advanced water treatment research. Working alongside DESAL researchers, they contributed to projects addressing two important areas: membrane development for desalination and the treatment of challenging hypersaline water streams.
Sarah, a Master’s student in Chemistry at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, worked under the supervision of Prof. Noreddine Ghaffour and the mentorship of Dr. Mohammed Obaid Awad.
Her project focused on designing and fabricating novel membranes for water desalination and treatment. Working primarily with nanofiltration membranes, Sarah prepared and coated membranes using different materials before testing their water permeability and ability to reject salts and dyes.
She also gained experience in membrane fabrication, filtration experiments and characterization techniques including UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis.
For Sarah, one of the most important lessons was learning to approach unexpected results as an essential part of scientific discovery.
“The biggest thing I learned is that research is mostly troubleshooting. At first, that was frustrating, but I started to see it as the whole point—that is how research moves forward.”
The experience strengthened Sarah’s understanding of how membrane materials and structures influence performance. It also helped her become more independent in the laboratory and more confident when communicating results and defending her ideas.
Her time at DESAL further reinforced her interest in advanced materials and their potential applications in membrane-based water treatment.
Saad, an undergraduate General Engineering student at the Islamic University of Almadinah Almunawwarah, worked under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Saqib, with support from the wider DESAL team.
His project investigated the use of inorganic draw solutes to enhance water recovery during produced water treatment. This area of research is particularly relevant to industries that generate highly saline wastewater, including the oil and gas sector.
During the internship, Saad gained practical experience operating a Forward Osmosis–Membrane Distillation (FO-MD) hybrid system. His work also included preparing membranes for testing, conducting contact angle measurements and using FTIR analysis to evaluate membrane performance.
Through these activities, he developed a deeper understanding of advanced water treatment technologies and the complexities involved in treating hypersaline streams. The experience also highlighted the importance of teamwork, perseverance and learning through failure.
“The most interesting part of my experience was getting to work independently in the lab and seeing an idea successfully implemented and executed.”
With academic interests closely connected to the oil and gas sector, Saad leaves DESAL with a stronger technical foundation for his future studies and career.
Summer internships provide students with an opportunity to experience how scientific ideas develop through experimentation, collaboration and continuous improvement. They also allow emerging researchers to contribute to work addressing urgent global challenges such as water scarcity and sustainable water management.
We thank Sarah and Saad for the curiosity, enthusiasm and dedication they brought to DESAL throughout the summer. We also acknowledge the supervisors, mentors and researchers whose guidance made their experiences both valuable and rewarding.
Congratulations to both of our 2026 summer interns. We wish Sarah and Saad every success as they continue their academic and professional journeys.