Cornell, Stanford and Texas A&M universities each will receive grants of $20 million to $25 miliion from a new Saudi Arabian research institution to study nano materials solar energy and computational science. The grants come from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology or KAUST a graduate-level research school set to officially open next year in Thuwal,about80 km north of Jeddah. Cornell and Stanford will receive about $25 million each, and Texas A&M will receiveabout$20 million. The five-year grants are part of KAUST's Global Research Partnership, which focuses on problems of particular interest to Saudi Arabia. Besides using the funds for their designated research, the recipient schools will set up labs in Saudi Arabia open their classrooms to KAUST students through the Internet, and exchange faculty and students. Cornell will study ultra-small materials, known as nano material,that could help with water desalination oil and gas production and solar energy conversion. Stanford's research will focus on using refined petroleum to make molecule-sized particles that convert light into electricity. Texas A&M will examine the application of mathand Computer science to the design of reservoirs, disease imaging and gene expression.