I have altogether a decade of experience in Chemical Engineering as well as Materials Science & Engineering Departments, conducting cutting-edge research, building and running collaborations, teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, as well as writing research grants to NSF, DOE as well as to industrial entities. My goal is to combine my quantitative background with very diverse knowledge and collaborations to continue developing and investigating chemical and electrochemical processes and systems that can help change the energy and water landscape.
During my postdoc at Stanford Chemical Engineering, I am leading and contributing into a number of projects in the space of of energy and sustainability, focusing on catalysts engineering, reactors and processes design, and technoeconomic analysis in relation to fuel cell energy storage, freshwater and seawater electrolysis, marine carbon removal, water treatment among others.
Besides, I am contributing a set of projects through collaborations and mentorships as listed below.
To conclude, leading and contributing into multiple projects have widened my scope and knowledge to design different catalysts, electrodes, reactors, and systems for various electrochemical and photoelectrochemical processes. Additionally, it allowed me to extend my collaboration network with different departments within Stanford University and SLAC National Lab and further to the DOE and the USDA and beyond to Ford Motor company.
My research expertise further spans over synthesis and characterization of a wide range of bulk and nanostructured materials as well as investigating their applications in energy, environmental, and biomedical fields. During my PhD in Drexel, I developed a scalable and facile wet-chemistry-based protocol to prepare nanostructured materials on the kilogram scale at temperatures <100 ºC and under ambient pressure. This method yielded a novel family of metal oxides nanostructures we christened Hydroxides-derived Nanostructures, or HDNs. Following this method, I discovered the first ever reported one-dimensional (1D) form of titanium oxides nanostructures; these are 1D nanofilaments that crystallize into lepidocrocite titanates form (referred to as 1DLs). A Composition of Matter Patent was filed and has been issued. Along with >25 collaborations we reported on the 1DLs outstanding performance in many applications including photocatalytic water splitting, electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction, lithium–sulfur and lithium-ion batteries, water purification, dye degradation, cancer therapy, and polymer composites.
My research career concluded six patent applications and >35 articles published in prestigious journal and more than 500 citations according to my google scholar.
Research Interests
As an independent Faculty, my research group will focus on the cross-cutting area of developing novel catalyst materials to comprise the toolkit of materials that can help change the energy and water landscape. More specifically, my group will focus on developing a library of nanostructured materials (mostly earth-abundant based) for use in the broad field of energy conversion and storage as well as water treatment and electrolysis , mainly freshwater but also seawater and wastewater point sources.
In the broad field of electrocatalysis, My research directions are three-fold as follows. (1) Developing and preparing novel nanostructures as well as deep fundamental understanding of their formation mechanism and surface chemistry. (2) Investigating their catalytic activity, selectivity, and durability from the materials’ level as well as the interfacial microenvironment as defined by the reaction chemistry and conditions, electrolyte nature, reactor design, among others. The target electrochemical testing will be carried out on two different settings, the first is rotating desk electrode setup, focusing on the fundamental understanding of materials activity, selectivity and stability under various electrochemical conditions. The second is materials in-devices testing, aiming to evaluate the catalysts performance using different electrolyzers architectures (zero-gap, flow cell, H-cell, etc), and with respect to a library of different membrane materials and under various reaction conditions. (3) Advanced characterization methods to probe the catalysts as well as the MEAs evolution and degradation mechanism under various reactions conditions. Characterization techniques include both in-situ and ex-situ XRD, XPS, Raman, among others, as well as synchrotron-based XAS, XRF, TXM, etc. In one example, my group will develop a synchrotron compatible electrolyzer which can operate at current densities up to 2 Acm-2 that enables the in situ characterization of the MEA to track these important redox dynamics under industrial conditions (e.g., pure water feed, high current density, elevated temperature, etc.). Understanding structure function relationships under these industrially relevant conditions is essential for the rational design of next-generation materials.
In the broad field of Batteries energy storage devices. In Batteries come in many different flavors including Li-ion, Na-ion, ammonium-ion, Li-S, among many more. Recently, batteries have been commercially populated with the development of electric vehicles, Tesla Powerwall, and other technology for renewable energy storage. That said, batteries remain quite expensive technology that is available for the vast majority of customers. In this manner, I aim to develop the next generation cathode materials that are active and durable but cheap and can be easily scaled up. Following my recently developed materials snythesis protocol, I plan to focus on (1) Developing novel nanostructures, and (2) Scaling up certain transition metals oxides, phosphates, and sulfides, that are known for their high-voltage operation and durability. My plan is to target not only Li-ion batteries, but also Na-ion batteries and others that have already shown potential for commercialization. At the early stage of this project, I plan to prepare and deeply investigate properties of the prepared nanostructure, while running all batteries testing in collaborations with world leaders in batteries research around the globe.
Teaching Interests
Teaching Philosophy: My goal in the classroom is to inspire students and equip them with problems-solving skills and conceptual competence to be academically and professionally successful. My general approach emphasizes (1) relevance and real-world application and (2) facilitating a sense of discovery in learning. To create an inclusive learning environment, I am adaptive in presenting material given student feedback, am flexible with office hours and mode (e.g., virtual vs. in-person), and will give examples of success stories from people with diverse backgrounds who work in a course-relevant career. Learning assessments provide students with critical feedback and is important for my own growth as a teacher. I will provide an opportunity for daily feedback (e.g., via an online survey) to evaluate the efficacy of my lectures (example prompt: What’s one thing that was clear and one thing that was unclear today?) and will evaluate student learning through a variety of methods (e.g., problem sets, projects, and individual and group meetings). With these principles, I focus my efforts on preparing students to be leaders who excel in academics, innovation, and research.
Teaching Experience: Teaching and mentorship have been at the core of my graduate experience, exploring and cultivating a variety of impactful teaching, curriculum development, and innovative pedagogy. Throughout my career as a teaching assistant at Cairo University and Drexel University, I was honored to teach a large number of undergraduate and graduate-levels courses falling in four main categories:
Mentorship: Additionally, mentorship has been a parallel pathway to continue engaging with students and researchers from very diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and ethnicities, with a focus on supporting individuals from underrepresented groups. In that, I have been privileged to mentor > 40 undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral researchers and visiting scholars in a holistic, encouraging, and supportive way throughout their academic career. My mentees span across very diverse departments starting from Metallurgical Engineering Department at Cairo university, to Physics Department at American University in Cairo, further to Materials Science and Engineering Department at Drexel University, and finally at Chemical Engineering Department at Stanford University. This rich journey has deepened my own interdisciplinary perspective as well as my communication and leadership skills. Needless to mention its impact on my research through new insights and collaborations—while reinforcing my commitment to serving the broader academic and scientific community.
To conclude, I look forward to contributing to the greater community of Chemical Engineering as well as Materials Science Engineering Departments to make an environment that supports effective learning and academic growth. I am also eager to continue learning and growing by continuously evolving my teaching methodologies to meet the dynamic needs of students.