Expert in desertification and very critical of the Spanish scientific system, he had just won a European aid of 2.5 million that will have to suspend or reject

Fernando Maestre, uno of the world’s most cited scientists and an ecologist specializing in desertification, is leaving Spain to join the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. He criticizes the Spanish scientific system, citing bureaucracy and lack of stable staff as reasons for his departure. Despite recently winning a European grant of 2.5 million euros, he will have to suspend or reject it. Maestre estimates he will have 15 times more funding for research in Saudi Arabia. Four members of his team from the University of Alicante will join him. The King Abdullah University, founded in 2009 with an initial fund of 20,000 million euros, has attracted renowned global scientists and aims to transform research into economically beneficial innovations.