Alumni Focus: Qana A. Al-Sulami
Qana Al-Sulami (center) received her Ph.D. in chemical science from KAUST in 2016. She is now an assistant professor at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. File photo.
-By Abdullah Alhamdan, KAUST News
Qana A. Al-Sulami graduated from KAUST in 2016 with a Ph.D. in chemical science. She is currently an assistant professor at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in the Department of Chemistry, and she lives in Jeddah.
"Prior to joining KAUST, I had a Ph.D. scholarship from KAU to the University of Colorado Denver in the U.S. When I had the opportunity to join KAUST and passed its admission interview, I knew it [was] going to be the best choice for me over all other options in many ways," Al-Sulami said. "KAUST has a fascinating and state-of-the art research environment as well as distinguished scientists and faculty members from around the world and a unique community life."
Al-Sulami described her experience at KAUST as beautiful and unique and full of many memories for her and her family. After graduating from KAUST, she realized how rewarding it is for researchers to maintain academic relationships with their colleagues and professors. She noted that KAUST's academic environment promotes research collaboration with different nationalities from around the world. This helped her to grow as a scientist and provided her with the skills to contribute in many initiatives from the Ministry of Education.
Al-Sulami said that students currently studying at KAUST are very fortunate, since they get to study and live in an outstanding research and recreational environment. She urged them to take advantage of all that the University offers.
Even after her graduation, Al-Sulami has kept up an excellent relationship with her supervisor—she is still in contact with him and is looking forward to many research opportunities at KAUST in the near future.