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Farooq's group for Advanced Sensing Technology and Energy Research

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Farooq’s group for
Advanced Sensing Technology
and Energy Research

Explore our research
FASTER group photograph, 2026
Our group around the world — KAUST in ThuwalMOFA country outlines and borders. An orange marker indicates KAUST near Thuwal on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. Nationalities represented by FASTER current members and alumni: Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Türkiye, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen. Singapore is listed below but is too small to appear in this source map.IndonesiaPapua New GuineaMexicoEstoniaAlgeriaMoroccoMauritaniaSenegalGambiaGuinea-BissauGuineaSierra LeoneLiberiaCôte d’IvoireMaliBurkina FasoNigerGhanaTogoBeninNigeriaTunisiaLibyaEgyptChadSudanCameroonEritreaDjiboutiEthiopiaSomaliaYemenCentral African RepublicSão Tomé & PríncipeEquatorial GuineaGabonCongo - BrazzavilleAngolaCongo - KinshasaRwandaBurundiUgandaKenyaTanzaniaZambiaMalawiMozambiqueZimbabweNamibiaBotswanaEswatiniLesothoSouth AfricaGreenlandAustraliaNew ZealandNew CaledoniaMalaysiaBruneiTimor-LesteSolomon IslandsVanuatuFijiPhilippinesChinaTaiwanJapanRussiaUnited StatesMauritiusRéunionMadagascarComorosSeychellesMaldivesPortugalSpainCape VerdeFrench PolynesiaSt. Kitts & NevisAntigua & BarbudaDominicaSt. LuciaBarbadosGrenadaTrinidad & TobagoDominican RepublicHaitiFalkland IslandsIcelandNorwaySri LankaCubaBahamasJamaicaEcuadorCanadaGuatemalaHondurasEl SalvadorNicaraguaCosta RicaPanamaColombiaVenezuelaGuyanaSurinameFrench GuianaPeruBoliviaParaguayUruguayArgentinaChileBrazilBelizeMongoliaNorth KoreaSouth KoreaKazakhstanTurkmenistanUzbekistanTajikistanKyrgyzstanAfghanistanPakistanIndiaNepalBhutanBangladeshMyanmar (Burma)ThailandCambodiaLaosVietnamGeorgiaArmeniaAzerbaijanIranTürkiyeOmanUnited Arab EmiratesQatarKuwaitSaudi ArabiaSyriaIraqJordanLebanonIsraelCyprusUnited KingdomIrelandSwedenFinlandLatviaLithuaniaBelarusPolandItalyFranceNetherlandsBelgiumGermanyDenmarkSwitzerlandCzechiaSlovakiaAustriaHungarySloveniaCroatiaBosnia & HerzegovinaMaltaUkraineMoldovaRomaniaSerbiaBulgariaAlbaniaNorth MacedoniaGreeceKAUSTThuwal, Saudi Arabia

About us

FASTER is part of the Physical Science and Engineering Division at KAUST.

The Farooq group for Advanced Sensing Technology and Energy Research (FASTER) conducts research in chemical kinetics, molecular spectroscopy and optical sensing.

Established at KAUST in 2010, the group works with academic and industrial partners worldwide.

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In energy research, the group measures ignition delay times, reaction rate constants and species concentrations for conventional and alternative fuels, providing the kinetic data on which predictive combustion models depend.

In sensing, it develops selective laser-based instruments for the oil and gas industry, environmental monitoring and health.

Both are enabled by diagnostics developed within the group: it measures the spectroscopic parameters of target molecules, builds tunable laser sources from the ultraviolet to the mid-infrared, and advances shock tube design. These capabilities are now being extended to heterogeneous catalysis, water treatment and medical applications.

Our research

Researchers inspecting pressure equipment in the FASTER laboratory

Inside the lab

Shock tubes, rapid compression and laser diagnostics underpin the group’s research.

Explore the facilities and instruments we develop and use.

Our facilities
Professor Aamir Farooq

Principal investigator

Aamir Farooq

Professor of Mechanical Engineering at KAUST.

His research spans chemical kinetics, spectroscopy and laser-based sensing.

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News & discoveries

All news

Research affiliations & initiatives

FLEET

FLEET Consortium ↗

PSI

Performance Sensors Initiative ↗

CERP

Clean Energy Research Platform ↗

Collaborators

Industrial collaborators

Saudi Aramco
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Express interest M.Sc. & Ph.D. admissions at KAUST
A13I5197

 Research Areas

 

Facilities

 

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