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Farooq’s group for Advanced Sensing Technology
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Aamir Farooq, Ph.D.

Aamir Farooq, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator, Professor, Mechanical Engineering​​​​

aamir.farooq@kaust.edu.sa
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Biography

Dr. Farooq’s research interests are in the areas of energy sciences, combustion chemistry, and laser diagnostics. He is interested in the development of new laser-based diagnostics and the application of these diagnostics to study energy conversion processes of renewable and traditional energy sources. One of his focus areas is the application of laser diagnostics in shock tubes and rapid compression machines to study the chemical kinetics of various fuels under conditions suitable for future high–efficiency energy systems. He is also interested in developing laser–based sensors for biomedical and environment–monitoring applications.

Education

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA, 2010
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA, 2006
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi, Pakistan, 2002

Professional experience

Academic appointments at KAUST

  • 2022–present
    Professor of Mechanical Engineering
  • 2016–2022
    Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
  • 2010–2016
    Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Leadership and service

  • Current
    Director, Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship (TIE) Program
  • Current
    Advisor to the Senior Vice President, Education & Advancement
  • 2017–2024
    Chair, Mechanical Engineering Program
  • Current
    Principal Investigator, FASTER Laboratory

Teaching

Courses taught at KAUST:

KAUST course catalogue

Awards

  • Fellow of Optica (2025).
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2022).
  • Research Excellence Award by the Combustion Institute (2020).
  • Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Research Award by Elsevier and the Combustion Institute and (2019).
  • Distinguished Teaching Award by KAUST (2019).
  • Visiting Guest Professor of the Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies at the Fredrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg, Germany (2018 – 2019).
  • Visiting Faculty Fellowship from the University of Lille, France (2016).
  • Paper selected as cover image of October 2018 issue of Sustainable Energy & Fuels journal.
  • Several papers selected as supplementary cover images of JPCA, JPCL, E&F, and JACS.
  • Distinguished co-author paper award (2011) from the Combustion Institute.

Professional memberships

  • Member, Optical Society of America
  • Member, Combustion Institute
  • Member, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • Member, American Chemical Society