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DOW Launches Innovation and Sustainability Agendas at KAUST

Dow R&D Center to increase ongoing academic and professional opportunities at KAUST

Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) - March 14, 2011 - King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and The Dow Chemical Company ( Dow ) have finalized a comprehensive cooperation agreement that establishes Dow 's Middle East and Africa R&D Center at KAUST on the University's campus. The agreement represents another milestone for Dow as a Founding Member of the KAUST Industrial Collaboration Program (KICP). The agreement is expected to enhance Dow 's offering of academic and professional opportunities to the KAUST community and Saudi citizens. Dow previously unveiled its vision for an R&D partnership with KAUST at the Dow Innovation Summit in March of 2010.

Under terms of the definitive R&D agreement, Dow and KAUST will collaborate on a range of academic research programs tailored to KAUST's areas of excellence in research and education.

The agreement's main components include:

1. Formation of the Dow Middle East and Africa R&D Center at KAUST. R&D will be conducted out of the KAUST Innovation Cluster facilities until a permanent Dow facility in the KAUST Research Park is completed.

2. Research will initially focus on water, water treatment technologies, and oil and gas, later expanding to include fields of study pertaining to infrastructure.

3. Dow will provide opportunities and funding to educate and train citizens of Saudi Arabia. Dow has already offered academic development opportunities and extended permanent offers of employment to KAUST students and will continue to do so.

4. Dow will provide financial support for research challenge competitions. Firstly, in alignment with Dow 's 2015 Sustainability Goals, KAUST will administer the Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Research Challenge Program, which recognizes and rewards students for their innovation and research of sustainable solutions to the world's most pressing social, economic and environmental problems.

Dow announced plans for the R&D Center in September 2009, shortly after announcing that it would become a Founding Member of KICP, which aims to enrich the research experience at the University while promoting economic development in Saudi Arabia.

KAUST President Professor Choon Fong Shih said: "The Dow -KAUST agreement represents a win-win partnership. Dow will be able to leverage KAUST's talented students and outstanding faculty for expertise in cutting-edge technologies. KAUST will benefit from Dow 's long-standing R&D capabilities and its market and commercialization expertise as of one of the world's leading science and technology companies."

Dow Middle East President Markus Wildi, said: "KAUST combines socio-economic vision, technological capabilities, and commitment to talent development in a very creative and rather unique way, and the Dow R&D Center at KAUST is a reflection of our commitment to the intellectual and human potential of this distinguished institution. We are proud to be partnering with KAUST to pursue scientific leadership and research excellence. Our collaboration agreement lends strong support to the notion that Saudi Arabia will become an engine of innovation and a generator of solutions for modern developmental challenges like clean water supply and sustainable living."

-Ends-

About Dow
Dow combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow 's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. References to " Dow " or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

About Dow in the Middle East
Dow has a longstanding relationship with the Middle East beginning with the establishment of manufacturing and commercial facilities in the United Arab Emirates more than 30 years ago. Since then, Dow has established a solid presence in the Middle East petrochemicals industry, partnering with leading regional companies to set up state-of-the-art petrochemical complexes across the region. For 15 years, Dow and Petrochemical Industries Company K.S.C. (PIC) of Kuwait have shared one successful milestone after another, partnering on six industry-leading joint ventures. Saudi Aramco and Dow are in the formation process of a joint venture to build, own and operate a world-scale integrated chemicals complex in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. From the entrepreneurship initiatives of Young Arab Leaders to the new Dow Middle East and Africa R&D Center at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, Dow actively supports the social and economic aspirations of the communities where it operates. For more information about Dow in the Middle East, please visit:

www.dowmiddleeast.com

About KAUST
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), located in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, is an international, graduate-level research university dedicated to inspiring a new age of scientific achievement in the Kingdom, the region, and the world. As an independent, merit-based institution, KAUST attracts top researchers from around the world and leverages on its partnership network with many of the world's top research universities to address the grand challenges of our times. KAUST also seeks to catalyze the diversification of the Saudi economy through its technology transfer and economic development activities and through its partnerships with local and international industrial corporations. For more information about KAUST, visit http://www.kaust.edu.sa

For more information please contact:
Jad Najjar
Dow Chemical Middle East
T +971 4 312 3672
Email: Jnajjar@dow.com

Christopher Sands
King Abdullah University of Science
and Technology (KAUST)
T: +966 54 470 1201
Email: christopher.sands@kaust.edu.sa

Reuven Proença or Nisreen Sarryeh
Weber Shandwick
T +971 4 3210 077
Email : dow@ws-mena.com

© Press Release 2011