KAUST


Farooq's group for Advanced Sensing Technology and Energy Research (FASTER)


F A S T E R (3)

Research Group Staff

Binod Giri, Ph.D.

Senior Member of Scientific Staff, Brandenburg Technical University, Cottbus-Seftenberg, Germany

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion

Hanfeng Jin, Ph.D.

Professor, University of Science and Technology of China, China

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion, Laser diagnostics

Postdoctoral Fellows

Ahmed Elwardany, Ph.D.

Professor (Associate), Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion

Ettouhami Essebbar, Ph.D.

Research Infrastructure Manager, CCRC, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Sensors, Fuels and combustion

Guangle Zhang, Ph.D.

Post Doctoral Associate, University of Minnesota, USA

Research Interests: Laser diagnostics

Jihad Badra, Ph.D.

AI for Science, Innovation & Discovery Team Lead, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia​​

Research Interests: Catalysis, Fuels and combustion

Mohammad Khaled Shakfa, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Khalifa University, UAE

Research Interests: Laser diagnostics, Chemical Kinetics

Robin Chrystie, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Sensors, Fuels and combustion

Utsav KC, Ph.D.

Research And Development Scientist, ABB , USA

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion

PhD Students

Ali Elkhazraji

Ph.D. Student

Awad Alquaity

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion, Sensors

Bidoor AlSaif

Researcher, Mechanical Engineering, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Sensors, Spectroscopic and Microscopic imaging system

Dapeng Liu

Post Doctoral Fellow, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion

Ehson Fawad Nasir

Optical Scientist, MetroLaser, USA

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion, Environment modeling

Emad Al Ibrahim

Ibn Rushd Fellow (Post-Doctoral Researcher), MIT, USA

Research Interests: Chemical Kinetics

Fethi Khaled

Lab Scientist, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion

Gani Issayev

Post Doctoral Fellow, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion

Khaiyom Hakimov

Ph.D. Student

Research Interests: Pre-chamber Combustion, Chemical Kinetics, Future Fuels

Khalid Aljohani

Assistant Professor, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University

Research Interests: Chemical Kinetics, Laser diagnostics

Mhanna Mhanna

Post doctoral fellow, University British Colombia, Canada

Research Interests: Laser diagnostics, Absorption Spectroscopy, Combustion Kinetics

Miguel Figueroa Labastida

Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Stanford University, USA

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion, Materials modeling

Mohammad Adil

Post doctoral Fellow, University of Galway

Research Interests: Chemical Kinetics

Mohammad AlAbbad

Research Scientist, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion

Muhammad Bilal Sajid

Professor (Associate), National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion, Sensors

Tamour Javed

eFuels Project Lead, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion, Sensors

Masters Student

Alber Popov

Graduate Student, Stockholm University, Sweden

Research Interests: Sensors

Ana Luiza Slama de Freitas

PhD candidate at University of Groningen, Netherlands

Research Interests: Clean Fuels, Chemical Kinetics, Catalysis

Chengyu Zhou

Research Interests: Chemical Kinetics, Laser diagnostics

Hassan Irshad Bhatti

Phd Student, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Clean Combustion, Combustion Diagnostics, Laser diagnostics, Laser Sensing, Laser Spectroscopy, Personalized Medicine, High Performance Engines

Kolin Loveless

Director of Development, Energy Storage Systems, Novis Renewables, USA

Research Interests: Environment modeling

Kuanysh Khabibullin

Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company,

Research Interests: Sensors

Kyle Owen

ICOS Technical Lead , ABB, USA

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion, Sensors

Lining Liu

​Engineer, China Energy

Research Interests: ​Low pressure, charged species, temperature

Majed Abdullah Alrefae

Assistant Professor, Royal Commission Yanbu Colleges and Institutes (RCYCI), Yanbu

Research Interests: Fuels and combustion, Sensors

Mohammed Dayili

Project Engineer, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Combustion, Chemical Kinetics, Fuel additives, Laser diagnostics, Machine Learning

Myriam Belmekki

PhD student, KAUST, Saudi Arabia

Research Interests: Chemical Kinetics, Shock tube Studies, Laser Absorption Spectroscopy, Theoretical Rate Calculations

Sarvarkhodzha Nematulloev

PhD student, KAUST, KSA

Research Interests: Combustion, Chemical Kinetics, Ignition Delay Time, Future Fuels

Visiting Students

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2023
Adolfo R Piminchumo Sausa, 
UTEC, Peru
Project: Energy analysis in a miniature detonation tube.

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Ahmed M Orif ,SRSI, Saudi Arabia
Project: UV assisted H2S decomposition for hydrogen production.

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Ernesto Gio Guanuna, Brigham Young University, USA
Project: OMEs oxidation on shock tube .

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Halim Essebber, WISER - TKS, Saudi Arabia
Project: Laser-based sensor for environmental monitoring.

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Hoang B Tran Ngo, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam
Project: Experiments and simulations of undiluted hydrogen-oxygen mixtures.

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Karim Chouchen
Project: Design, construction and testing of a novel flow-based optical cell for high- temperature spectral measurements.
Duration: February - June 2023
Institute: Ecole Polytechnique de Tunis, Tunisia

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Mohanad Shamsan
Project: Miniature shock tube.
Duration: June- August 2023
Institute: Al Faisal University, Saudi Arabia

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Mariah Alsinan
Project: Mid-IR laser sensor for multiple gas sensing.
Duration: June - August 2023
Institute: Purdue University, USA

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Robbie Brewer
Project: Ultra-sensitive trace gas detection using EC-QCL spectroscopy.
Duration: March- July 2023
Institute: Utah Valley University, USA

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Samia Abrar 
Project: Understanding the defective domain control in TiO2 support.
Duration: Ferbruary - April 2023
Institute: Institute of Space Technology, Pakistan

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Younis Ltaief
Project: Laser-based sensor for environmental monitoring.
Duration: July 2023
Institute: WISER - TKS, Saudi Arabia

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Ali H. Abualsaud
Project: Laser-based sensor for multi-species with deep neural networks.
Duration: June - August 2022
Institute: The University of Texas at Austin, USA

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Bruno Serrano Trejo
Project: Classification and quantification of species in a blend using absorption spectra.
Duration: April - September 2022
Institute: Hamburg University of Technology, Germany

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Houssem Rekik
Project:  Machine learning methods for spectroscopic analysis.
Duration: Februrary - June 2022
Institute: Ecole Polytechnique de Tunis, Tunisia

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James Harman-Thomas 
Project:  Experimental and modelling study of hydrogen ignition in CO2 bath gas.
Duration: September 2022
Institute: The University of Sheffield, UK

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Joury Aldhawyan
Project: Selective BTEX detection using laser absorption spectroscopy in the CH bending mode region.
Duration: June - August 2022
Institute: University of Minnesota , USA

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Mohamad Aldawood
Project:  Zero-carbon fuels: chemical kinetics and ignition.
Duration: June - August 2022
Institute: Purdue University, USA

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Mosa Mutahhar
Project: Combustion technology for manufacturing processes.
Duration: May- July 2022
Institute: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals - KFUPM, Saudia Arabia

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Dao Zheng
Project: Methane leak detection using machine learning.
Duration: November 2022 - April 2023
Institute: Tsinghua University, China

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Saif-Ul-Islam Javed
Project: Future fuels for advanced combustion engines.
Duration: June - September 2022
Institute: Leeds University, UK

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Ahmed Alsulami
Project: A mid-IR laser diagnostic for HCN detection.
Duration: June- August 2021
Institute: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals - KFUPM, Saudia Arabia

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Andrea Carena
Project: Chemical kinetics of novel biofuels.
Duration: September- December 2021
Institute: Politecnico di Milano, Italy

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Joseph S Conlon
Project: DFG laser spectrometer .
Duration: December 2019 - May 2020
Institute: University of Glasgow, UK

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Mohamed Sy
Project: Selective BTEX measurements using deep neural networks.
Duration: February - July 2020
Institute: Ecole Polytechnique de Tunis, Tunisia

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Mohammed A Dayili
Project: Aerosol studies on RCM.
Duration: January - August 2020
Institute: Jazan University, Saudi Arabia

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Abdullah S. Yildirim
Project: Ethers as alternative fuels.
Duration: July 2019
Institute: WISER - TKS, Saudi Arabia

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Ana L. Slama De Freitas
Project: Elementary kinetics of 2-MTHF (2-methyl-tetrahydrofuran) pyrolysis.
Duration: July- December 2019
Institute: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

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Ashkan Beigzadeh
Project: Reaction kinetics for high pressure hydrogen oxy-combustion in the presence of high levels of H2O and CO2.
Duration: March- July 2019
Institute: University of Waterloo, Canada

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Faisal  Alsayed
Project: Combustion laser-based sensor in RCM.
Duration: June- August 2019
Institute: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA

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Giuseppe Pezzella
Project: A shock tube and laser absorption study of the reaction of hydroxyl radical with glycidol.
Duration: November 2018 - March 2019
Institute: Politecnico di Milano, Italy

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Hadi Al Naji
Project:  Laser-based sensor for GHG monitoring.
Duration: June- August 2019
Institute: Michigan State University, USA

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Jiabiao Zou
Project: Kinetic model of alkylcyclohexanes.
Duration: November 2018 - March 2019
Institute: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

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Khalid Alharthi
Project: DBE studies as future fuel.
Duration: June - August 2019
Institute: North Carolina State University, USA

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Sarvarkhodzha Nematulloev
Duration: November 2018 - April 2019
Institute: National University of Science and Technology, Russia

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Talib Mohiuddin
Project: Study of potential future fuels.
Duration: July 2019
Institute: WISER - TKS, Saudi Arabia

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Ghanimah Abuhaimed
Project: Nitrous oxide laser based sensor.
Duration: May -July 2018
Institute: University of Colorado Boulder, USA

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Halistya Zahra
Project: Ignition delay correlation with RON/MON.
Duration: June - August 2018
Institute: University of Indonesia, Indonesia

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Khaiyom Hakimov 
Project: Ignition delay measurements of DBE (dibutyl ether).
Duration: April - November 2018
Institute: Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Russia

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Khuong Nguyen
Project: OpenFoam CFD for RCM and ignition delays measurement of biofuels.
Duration: February - April 2018
Institute: Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam

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Myriam Belmekki
Project: Symmetric Ethers as Bioderived Fuels: Reactivity with OH Radicals.
Duration: June - August 2018
Institute: ENSIACET, France

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Mohammed A. Almomtan
Duration: July - August 2017
Institute: Iowa State University of Science and Technology, USA

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Ali Al Nemer
Project: Gasoline combustion ignition (GCI) fuel.
Duration: June - September 2017
Institute: King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals - KFUPM, Saudi Arabia

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Mohammad Alzahrani
Project: DEE-EtOH blend measurements.
Duration: November - December 2017

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Nesrine Toujani
Project: Electron density measurement in shock tube using microwave interferometry.
Duration: October 2016 - March 2019
Institute: Ecole Nationale des Ingenieurs de Tunis ENIT, Tunisia

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Khalil Djebbi
Project: Ignition delay measurements of light naphtha: A fully blended low octane fuel.
Duration: Ferburary 2015 - March 2016
Institute: Ecole Nationale Superieure des Ingenieurs de Tunis, Tunisia

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Malik Abdul Wahhab
Project: Ignition delay times for straight run naphtha.
Duration: October 2015 - March 2016
Institute: Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Pakistan

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Kuanysh Khabibullin
Project: Measurements of absorption cross section of PAHs using FTIR.
Duration: October - December 2015 
Institute: Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan

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Miguel Figueroa Labastida
Project: Ignition delay times measurement for methane.
Duration: April - June 2015
Institute: Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), Mexico

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Mohamed Beshir
Project: Benzene diluted mix. soot measurements using low pressure shock tube and laser scattering.
Duration: February- August 2015
Institute: Alexandria University, Egypt

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Samira Lagaguena 
Project: Determination of site-specific reaction rates in combustion reactions.
Duration: April- August 2015
Institute: ENSIC, France

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Sarah Siblini
Project: Detecting isoprene using direct laser spectroscopy.
Duration: June- August 2015
Institute: American University of Beirut, Lebanon

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Weiqi Ji
Project: On the controlling mechanism of the upper turnover states in the NTC regime.
Duration: March - September 2015
Institute: Tsinghua University, China

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Malik Abdul Wahhab
Project: Ignition delay times for straight run naphtha.
Duration: October 2015 - March 2016
Institute: Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Pakistan

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Rafik Bouguecha
Project: An experimental and modeling study of the chemical kinetics of 2-methyl-butanol.
Duration: February - June 2014
Institute: Ecole Polytechnique de Tunis, Tunisia

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Fethi Khaled
Project: Shock tube measurement of ignition delay time of Face gasoline fuels( Face A and Face C).
Duration: February - June 2013
Institute: Ecole Polytechnique de Tunis, Tunisia

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Abdullah Al Ramadan
Project: Shock tube measurement of ignition delay time of Face gasoline fuels( Face A and Face C).
Duration: April 2014 - October 2014
Institute: University College London UCL , UK

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Sohaib Aamir
Duration: June - August 2014
Institute: Purdue University, USA

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Sayan Biswas
Duration: May - August 2014
Institute: Purdue University, USA

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