Assistant Professor
Materials Science and Engineering
Alfonso obtained his master’s and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from KAUST in 2010 and 2013 respectively. He is a KAUST founding class alumnus.
In 2014 he joined SABIC Corporate Research and Innovation Center where he initiated and led the company efforts in the development of disruptive sensing technologies including new materials development (polymer composites), sensing and actuation devices, and system integration. During his tenure at SABIC he advanced R&D projects to the pre-commercialization stage in record time. He worked on triboelectric materials, piezocomposites, thin film transistors and the development of several devices such as touch and force sensors, haptic feedback devices, and thin film circuitry.
In 2018 he became a Research Scientist at the University of Texas at Dallas where he managed a research group focused on developing all solid-state radiation detectors. He also led the commercialization efforts to bring this technology to the marketplace. In August 2023 he returned to SABIC Technology and Innovation as a Staff Scientist, where he worked identifying new opportunities for the company in the Electrical and Electronics market segment.
Alfonso has 26 publications in peer-reviewed journals, 2 book chapters, 14 granted patents and 28 US patent applications. Some of these patents are currently under commercial use or licensing agreements. He has transferred 4 R&D projects to commercialization and led the sale of a startup company to a global leader in additive manufacturing of high-value, high-performance consumer electronics. He has received grants from different US agencies including National Science Foundation (NSF), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Energy (DoE). In 2020, he was awarded the National Researcher distinction to become a member of Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology.
On April 6th, 2025, he joined KAUST as an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Dr. Jose Taboada is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He obtained his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from KAUST, where his research centered on novel doping techniques and device optimization strategies for high-performance power electronics. His expertise combines semiconductor physics, cleanroom fabrication, and material characterization. He is passionate about mentoring and advancing the application of ultra-wide bandgap materials.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
South China University of Technology
Yifei Xu is a PhD student in the Materials Science and Engineering program. His research focuses on piezoelectret materials, particularly voided charged polymers, for sensing, actuation, and micro-energy harvesting applications. He is interested in how molecular structure and dipole alignment influence the electromechanical behavior of soft functional materials.
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
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