King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST;Arabic:مدينة الملك عبدالعزيز للعلوم والتقنية,romanized: Madīnat al-Malik ʻAbd-al-ʻAzīz lil-ʻUlūm wa-al-Tiqnīyah) inRiyadh,Saudi Arabia is a governmental organization established in 1977 as theSaudi Arabian National Center for Science & Technology (SANCST;المركز الوطني العربي السعودي للعلوم والتقنية,al-Markaz al-Waṭanī al-ʻArabī al-Saʻūdī lil-ʻUlūm wa-al-Tiqnīyah); in 1985, it was renamed King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.
In 1977, theSaudi Arabian National Center for Science and Technology (SANCST) was established, with Prof.Rida M.S. Obaid being the president. This center was created as an independent scientific organization that is responsible for the promotion of science and technology in Saudi Arabia. However, the name was later changed toKing Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). In 1987, KACST has joined theInternational Council for Science (ICSU) as a National Member.[1]
The National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan (NSTIP) is a collaboration between the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and theMinistry of Economy and Planning. This program was approved by the Council of Ministers in 2002. This program has fifteen strategic technologies that will help the future development of Saudi Arabia.[7]
King Abdullah's Initiative for Arabic Content [ar] is a project that aims to provide high-quality Arabic contents in all disciplines. To achieve this goal, KACST started to work with the local and international organizations. For example:
Nature Arabic Edition: KACST has collaborated with theMacmillan Publishers to translateNature journal into Arabic. The print issues are freely available to qualified subscribers.[9] Also, the contents of this journal will be available online for free.[10]
Wiki Arabi (Arabic:ويكي عربي): This is another project initiated by King Abdullah's Initiative for Arabic Content. This project aims to improve the content of theArabic Wikipedia by translating the high-quality articles from other languages of Wikipedia such asEnglish,French andHebrew Wikipedia. The first Wiki Arabi event was in 2010, where over 2000 articles were translated into Arabic.[11] The second Wiki Arabi was in 2012.[12]
In 1988, KACST starts planning to developnuclear technology in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, KACST decided to open theAtomic Energy Research Institute (AERI). This Institute will help Saudi Arabia to develop thenuclear power along withKing Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy.[13] The AERI has four different departments: Radiation Protection Department, Industrial Applications, Nuclear Reactors and Safety, and a Materials Department[14]
In 2006, KACST signed a collaboration agreement withCERN to participate in the construction ofLINAC4 project. KACST engineers constructed a warm prototype of it. This prototype was then qualified at CERN. And now, KACST is working build up ahigh-energy physics community to participate in future CERN programs.[15][16]
On September 30, 2008, KACST funded the science team ofGravity Probe B, helping them to complete the project.
In 2012, KACST announced the firstelectrostatic accelerator in Saudi Arabia. This accelerator has been designed by theNational Center of Mathematics and Physics.[17]
In April 2013, KACST announced the creation ofWaferCatalyst, which is aMulti-project Wafer (MPW) consolidation initiative, which aims to promoteIntegrated circuit design and related technologies in Saudi Arabia and surrounding regions.
The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology operates theInternet backbone in Saudi Arabia as well as the local registry address space. According toRIPE, "all Saudi Arabia web traffic will come from [the] IP block" registered to KACST.[18]
