Areej Al-Muqbil Alqarni
Saudi Climate Researcher, Founder of Nasūn & Columbia I.I. Rabi Scholar
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Areej's Keynote Topics
Climate Science to Climate Policy
Youth as Leaders Not Just Talent
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Researcher as Communicator
Women in STEM and Leadership
Literacy and Education Advocacy
Innovation Patents and IP
Science Diplomacy
Arts Culture and National Identity
Biography
Areej Al-Muqbil Alqarni is a Saudi researcher, entrepreneur, and public speaker working at the intersection of climate science and policy. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Development at Columbia University as an I.I. Rabi Scholar, and in 2026 founded Nasūn, where she serves as Founder and CEO, designing a regulatory intelligence platform that delivers Climate Compliance-as-a-Service to business and government clients navigating climate policy alignment.
Her research career spans four institutions across three countries. At Columbia's Climate School, she conducts environmental research under Prof. Shahid Naeem at the E3B Lab. At KAUST, she worked under Prof. William Roberts on a novel contact liquid for pilot-scale cryogenic carbon capture, part of a $20 million flagship program funded by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy. At Fondazione Bruno Kessler in Italy, she developed a subseasonal weather forecasting system validated on the Leonardo Supercomputer. Her work has produced two pending patents and one issued patent, along with publications on geoengineering, solar coating technology, and a CNN-based glaucoma diagnostic method, plus an authored book, Evolution by Design: The Genetic Renaissance.
As a speaker, she has delivered opening speeches at Misk Global Forum 2025 and 2026, addressed the UNIDO 21st General Conference on unlocking global youth talent, and gave her personal speech and final remarks at the Arab Reading Challenge Final Ceremony at Dubai Opera House, where she was awarded the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Award. Her work has earned her the Regeneron ISEF Environmental Engineering Grand Award, the Prince Khalid Al-Faisal Royal Badge of Honor, Saudi Arabia's Most Influential Youth Award, and recognition from Society for Science.
Her work has been featured by Arab News, MBC, and Al Share' Al Saudi. With a rare ability to translate complex scientific research into compelling public narrative, Areej speaks on climate compliance, youth leadership, innovation ecosystems, women in STEM, and the power of reading as a national movement, bringing cross-cultural perspective from her work across Saudi, American, and Italian institutions.
