Welcome To KFUPM Physics

Welcome to the Department of Physics at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. I invite you to explore our website where you can find information about our academic programs, courses, research activities, and faculty members. Physics has always been at the forefront of exploration. This is accomplished through cognitive enhancement by education transmitted through academic courses as well as carrying out research at the cutting-edge frontiers of human knowledge. The Physics department offer courses that are solidly based on the American system to meet international quality assurance requirements, which has placed the Department as a world-class regional center in a leading international institution. Our student body includes pure-physics students and double-major students, which reflects the interdisciplinary nature of our program. In addition, our research facilities span various fields of physics including condensed matter physics, lasers, materials research, magnetism and superconductivity, nuclear physics, and nonlinear and computational physics. Over the past five decades, our faculty members have conducted research using in-house facilities as well as collaborative research with national and international centers.

Mohammad Al-Kuhaili,
Professor & Chairman, Physics Department

Mission & Goals View Recent Events

Research and Academic activity statistics 2015 to 2021

3.1

Average Impact Factor Publications​

51

Patents

10042

Cumulative Citation Count​

452

Publications

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SEMINAR

The solar PolArization and Directivity X-Ray Experiment (PADRE) Mission Concept

Speaker:
Prof. Juan Carlos Martínez Oliveros
Space Science Laboratory (SSL), University of California Berkeley (UCB), USA
Date: Monday, November 10th, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Bldg. 6/Room 125

Abstract:
Solar flares are known to accelerate electrons to high energies efficiently. However, how the underlying acceleration mechanism works remains poorly understood.  The angular distribution of the accelerated electrons and the resultant hard X-ray emission and specifically, its polarization and directional anisotropy are the key to solve this mystery.  The solar PolArization and Directivity X-Ray Experiment (PADRE) is a 12U Cubesat observatory that will observe the Sun in hard X-ray (HXRs) from low earth orbit. PADRE will investigate the accelerated electron angular distribution in solar flares with two unique and complementary approaches (1) by making spatially integrated spectro-polarimetric x-ray measurements (~10-100 keV) and (2) by coordinating with Solar Orbiter/STIX to make the first two-point measurements of x-rays and determining their directivity. 

We present an overview of the PADRE mission, and its current stage of development. We will discuss the mission concept, its science objectives and design. We will discuss the type of observations that will be made by its two instruments (SHARP and MeDDEA). PADRE was launched in June 2025, therefore the data products and pipeline will be discussed.

Biography:
Juan Carlos Martínez Oliveros is a Colombian solar physicist at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory. He earned his M.Sc. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from Saint Petersburg State University and his Ph.D. from Monash University, where he studied particle acceleration and sunquakes. His research spans solar flares, radio emissions, and high-energy phenomena, and he is the Principal Investigator of the PADRE CubeSat, lead developer of Timepix3-based X-ray polarimeters (SHARP), and a key contributor to major NASA missions including Parker Solar Probe, FOXSI, and COSI/BTO. He also leads international collaborations and mentors’ students in advanced detector development, CubeSat engineering, and solar instrumentation.

All faculty, researchers and students are invited to attend.

    Location and Time

  • 6/125

  • 10 Nov, 2025

  • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM