James Scott Berdhal originally came to KAUST through a pilot program. The five week writing program was offered by the KAUST Communications Department exclusively to students and alumni of the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing.It was a one-time opportunity the University was testing, and of the three students selected and interviewed, Scott (as he prefers to be called), was awarded the chance to experience KAUST as a freelance writer.

From January 5 – February 6, 2014, he joined the Communications team covering the 2014 Winter Enrichment Program. A year later, Berdahl returned to KAUST. This time as a Ph.D. student in the Earth Science and Engineering division, under the tutelage of Matthew McCabe, Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering.

Like so many before him he was unsure of what exactly KAUST was, and what it stood for. "Before the pilot writing experience, I hadn't heard of KAUST, so initially it was a ticket to see another part of the world. I received an email on my alumni email list alerting me to the pilot writing assignment at KAUST. Then Michelle D'Antoni, who is head of KAUST's Public Relations, got in touch with me and before I knew it I was interviewing all these interesting and talented people behind the scenes at WEP 2014," he said.

From his original five week stint at KAUST, Berdahl was impressed enough with what he saw that he applied to study here. "I could see this place had a lot of opportunities, so much so I decided to come back. I put in an application and luckily I got accepted," he said.

The transition from interviewing scientists to his current steps to become one of them is not lost on him. "Being a student again? It's weird; I mean I had about a four year hiatus from being a student. So getting back into the routine of studying and assignments again was strange. Some of my skills sets had become rusty," he said. "However it was always in the back of my mind to go back to study. Out of school I just kind of launched into work then things slowed down a bit. When the opportunity arose to come here I grabbed it."

For a young man, Scott has already packed a lot into a vibrant and varied life so far including a stint in East Africa prospecting for minerals. "When I finished in school I was working as an exploration geologist or a prospector so I had the opportunity for a lot of exploration work in the Canadian north where I'm from [Yukon] and also in the U.S. Upon coming here, I have had to the chance to visit and prospect in Ethiopia with my dad. We ended up in some pretty remote parts of the country looking for various minerals," he said.

Berdahl is quick to espouse the positives in living and working here at KAUST. "Really with the resources here at KAUST no dream is too grand. I mean, if your dream is relevant and worthwhile, you are at a place where you can actually achieve it."

Berdahl enthusiastically describes the exciting work and research he is involved with, from the emerging science of drones through to the 3D mapping and scaling of deformations in moving land features.

From speaking to Scott you can almost sense the positive enthusiasm and explorer's mentality emanating from him. When asked what his plans are after KAUST, Berdahl unflappably shrugs his shoulders and said, "Well, we'll just see what happens."

By David Murphy, , KAUST News