Professor Stefan Catsicas has just finished his first month as KAUST's new Provost. He sat down to discuss the whirlwind of these past weeks. "At both the University of Lausanne and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), I had the privilege of joining well-established institutions. One of the biggest challenges many existing universities face is the hindrance of siloed approaches which often has the effect of limiting discovery and innovation. At KAUST there is effectively a tabula rasa - we should work without walls to solve problems together, free of traditional academic departments – free, frankly, of a history," he reflected.

"Research questions and practices should be framed according to real-world problems rather than disciplinary frameworks. Great breakthroughs often occur at the interface of traditional scientific disciplines."

Professor Catsicas intends to listen to feedback, and take time to assess before helping the executive team transition to the next logical, and not unexpected, step. To coin a phrase, we're now ready to "bring the university home. This is a further evolution and integration of ourselves as we develop the next generation of scientists, professors, and students to prepare for the future".

He was attracted to his role as KAUST's newly appointed Provost because it is an institution whose very DNA bears the transdisciplinarity he had worked to foster in his previous roles. "Science and technology that improves the quality of human life, and addresses critical problems facing the Kingdom and the world absolutely needs this open and collaborative environment to find innovative solutions."

Already in place is a unique academic matrix structure that encourages collaboration across disciplines leading to practical solutions. "I join this fledgling institution with great hopes of building on the foundation of human talent and physical infrastructure and equipment established over the past two years. Academic and research excellence and innovation intimately linked to entrepreneurial and economic development have driven the vision of the founders of KAUST."

Professor Catsicas is committed to that transdisciplinary strategy bridging the three KAUST foundations of education, research and innovation which, linked to economic development, maintains the highest academic ambition in areas that have an impact on the quality of life.

"I look forward to building on the strong faculty base already at KAUST; to attract and retain the very best talents, to nurture them with all that KAUST can provide in terms of facilities and mentorship, and to ensure their long-term commitment to KAUST by means of an efficient promotion track." He sees additional potential in identifying and recruiting the many talented faculty and students working in Middle East and North African (MENA) and European countries. He shares President Shih's view that KAUST offers junior faculty an open environment with a long runway for careers and research to take off by encouraging and enabling risk and protecting creativity.

Amongst other KAUST centers, Professor Catsicas enthused about the work of the Red Sea Research Center in preserving and enhancing the uniquely unspoiled coral reef environment while exploring the potential of new marine biotechnology applications. He looks forward to communicating such expertise worldwide, ultimately attracting new students, faculty and industrial partners.

"The standard sequential approach should be replaced with a parallel flow where progress occurs on many fronts simultaneously, creating a synergistic and autocatalytic process. I look to our graduate students, researchers and faculty for goal oriented research using their discoveries to create new technologies and start-ups, working hand-in-glove with our industrial partners. I would like to see small young companies attracted to KAUST where, like junior faculty, they can be nurtured to success in an environment less hostile than the current global environment."

Professor Catsicas, a neurobiologist and academic leader, comes to the university after five years as an entrepreneur founding innovative university spin-offs. He received his Ph.D. in 1987 from the University of Lausanne. Following his doctorate, and post-doctoral work at the Research Institute of the Scripps Clinic in San Diego, California, he was head of Neurobiology at the Glaxo Institute for Molecular Biology in Geneva.

Thereafter, he joined the University of Lausanne's School of Medicine as Professor and Chairman of Cellular Biology until, in 2000, he was recruited to join EPFL as Vice President, Research Director and Professor of Cellular Engineering.

He firmly believes that academic excellence must be the core aspiration of the university. "Groundbreaking peer-reviewed science of global significance must be KAUST's mission and responsibility as a research institution and the goal of all its scientists."