Professor Iain Young is the Dean of the KAUST Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division. With over 30 years of academic experience in the UK and Australia, he has held several leadership positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney, Head of the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Sydney, and Head of Environmental and Rural Science at the University of New England. He is also the former Director of the Dundee Science Centre and President of the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture. A graduate of Aberdeen University, Professor Young specializes in the biophysics of soil, using it to study functionality in complex porous media. He has secured over AUD$50 million in competitive grants, has an H-index of 64, and published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers.