Nidal Hilal

Nidal Hilal
OccupationChemical engineer
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Wales, Swansea University, University of Nottingham
Academic work
DisciplineDesalination, membrane technology, water treatment

Nidal Hilal (Arabic: نضال هلال) is a Syrian-born British academic and engineering scientist known for his work in water research and membrane technology. He is a Global Network Professor at New York University and the principal investigator of NYUAD Water Research Center.[1][2] Hilal previously held professorships at the University of Nottingham and Swansea University. He is an emeritus professor of engineering at Swansea University and the founding director of the Centre for Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research (CWATER).[3][4]

Education

Hilal received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1981 followed by a period of experience in the oil industry. In 1983, he moved to United Kingdom to pursue postgraduate studies at Swansea University, graduating with a Master of Science in advanced chemical engineering in 1985 and a Doctor of Philosophy in chemical engineering in 1988.[5] He later earned a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of Nottingham in 2002.[6] In recognition of his outstanding lifetime research contributions to the field of Water Process Engineering, the University of Wales awarded him a Doctor of Science (DSc) degree in 2005.[7]

Career

Hilal began his academic career at the University of Nottingham, where he served as a lecturer in chemical engineering from 2001 to 2003 and was subsequently promoted to reader in chemical and process engineering. In December 2005, he was appointed chair professor of chemical and process engineering at the School of Chemical, Environmental and Mining Engineering[8], a position he held until August 2010. He then joined Swansea University as chair professor of water process engineering[9], where he founded the Centre for Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research (CWATER) and served as head of chemical and environmental engineering. Hilal joined New York University as a Global Network Professor and the principal investigator at NYU Abu Dhabi Water Research Center.

Honors and awards

Hilal has been listed among the Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate in 2022 and 2024.[10][11] According to Google Scholar metrics, he has been ranked first worldwide in the fields of nanofiltration and membrane distillation, second in reverse osmosis, and among the top 10 global leaders in desalination research.[12] He was also awarded, by the Emir of Kuwait, the prestigious Kuwait Prize (Kuwait Medal) of Applied Science for the year 2005[13] and Menelaus Medal 2020, by the Learned Society of Wales, for excellence in engineering and technology.[14] In 2024 he was awarded the GPID - Global Prize Innovation in Desalination Award in the category of Advanced Water Production Technologies.[15] Hilal is appointed a Special Advisor to the International Desalination and Water Reuse Association-IDRA.[16]

Research

Hilal has authored more than 600 publications, including several patents and books. His research focuses on developing innovative, cost-effective solutions in nano-water science, membrane technology, and water treatment—spanning desalination, colloid engineering, and nano-engineering applications of atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hilal’s pioneering work has advanced the use of AFM in designing and optimizing membranes for complex separations. His key contributions include developing the smallest AFM colloid probe reported in the literature, introducing the AFM coated colloid and cell probe techniques, and achieving the first direct measurements of interactions between single live cells and membrane surfaces, as well as adhesion forces between individual particles and membranes. His team also identified pores on nanofiltration membranes, applied AFM in meso-scale cavitation studies and membrane development, and created composite imprinted and self-cleaning membranes for sustainable desalination. Additional achievements include research on the use of saline water for agriculture and the development of the first industrial-scale reverse osmosis (RO) module in the United Arab Emirates.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Books

Hilal has published 12 handbooks on water treatment, osmosis engineering, membrane technology, and related engineering fields.[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]

References

  1. ↑ "Professor Nidal Hilal - New York University".
  2. ↑ "NYUAD Water Research Center".
  3. ↑ "Professor Nidal Hilal - Swansea University".
  4. ↑ "CWATER - Swansea University".
  5. ↑ "Swansea University".
  6. ↑ "University of Nottingham".
  7. ↑ "University of Wales".
  8. ↑ "Faculty of Engineering - The University of Nottingham".
  9. ↑ "Faculty of Engineering - Swansea University".
  10. ↑ "Clarivate 2022".
  11. ↑ "Clarivate 2024".
  12. ↑ "Nidal Hilal-Google Scholar".
  13. ↑ "Kuwait Prize".
  14. ↑ "Menelaus Medal 2020".
  15. ↑ "Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination 2024".
  16. ↑ "IDRA Special Advisor".
  17. ↑ Hilal, Nidal; Bowen, W.Richard (2002). "Atomic force microscope study of the rejection of colloids by membrane pores". Desalination. 150 (3): 289–295. Bibcode:2002Desal.150..289H. doi:10.1016/S0011-9164(02)00985-2.
  18. ↑ Bowen, W. R.; Hilal, N.; Lovitt, R. W.; Wright, C. J. (1998). "Coated colloid probe". Journal of Colloid and Interface Science. 197 (2): 348–352. doi:10.1006/jcis.1997.5247. PMID 9466876.
  19. ↑ Bowen, W.Richard; Hilal, Nidal; Lovitt, Robert W.; Wright, Chris J. (1998). "Direct measurement of the force of adhesion of a single biological cell using an atomic force microscope". Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. 136 (1–2): 231–234. doi:10.1016/S0927-7757(97)00243-4.
  20. ↑ Richard Bowen, W; Hilal, Nidal; Lovitt, Robert W; Wright, Chris.J (1999). "Characterisation of membrane surfaces: direct measurement of biological adhesion using an atomic force microscope". Journal of Membrane Science. 154 (2): 205–212. doi:10.1016/S0376-7388(98)00287-7.
  21. ↑ Bowen, W.Richard; Hilal, Nidal; Lovitt, Robert W.; Wright, Chris J. (1998). "A new technique for membrane characterisation: direct measurement of the force of adhesion of a single particle using an atomic force microscope". Journal of Membrane Science. 139 (2): 269–274. doi:10.1016/S0376-7388(97)00255-X.
  22. ↑ Bowen, W.Richard; Mohammad, A.Wahab; Hilal, Nidal (1997). "Characterisation of nanofiltration membranes for predictive purposes — use of salts, uncharged solutes and atomic force microscopy". Journal of Membrane Science. 126 (1). Elsevier BV: 91–105. doi:10.1016/s0376-7388(96)00276-1. ISSN 0376-7388.
  23. ↑ Barrow, M. S.; Bowen, W. R.; Hilal, N.; Al-Hussany, A.; Williams, P. R.; Williams, R. L.; Wright, C. J. (8 November 2003). "Meso-scale cavitation". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 459 (2039): 2885–2908. doi:10.1098/rspa.2003.1128.
  24. ↑ Kochkodan, Victor; Hilal, Nidal; Melnik, Volodimir; Kochkodan, Olga; Remizovska, Anna (2011). "The express monitoring of organic pollutants in water with composite imprinted membranes". Journal of Membrane Science. 377 (1–2): 151–158. doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2011.04.033.
  25. ↑ Hashaikeh, Raed; Lalia, Boor Singh; Kochkodan, Victor; Hilal, Nidal (2014). "A novel in situ membrane cleaning method using periodic electrolysis". Journal of Membrane Science. 471: 149–154. doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2014.08.017.
  26. ↑ "WaterWorld magazine". 26 April 2017.
  27. ↑ "Pollutionsolutions-online".
  28. ↑ "Tapping into salty water to grow healthy food".
  29. ↑ "The National 2024".
  30. ↑ Hilal, Nidal; Hashaikeh, Raed; Ahmed, Farah (2023). Electrically Conductive Membrane Materials and Systems. doi:10.1201/9781003144991. ISBN 978-1-003-14499-1.
  31. ↑ "Nanofiltration for Sustainability: Reuse, Recycle and Resource Recovery".
  32. ↑ Hilal, Nidal; Ismail, Ahmad Fauzi; Souhaimi, Mohamed Khayet; Johnson, Daniel (23 April 2021). Osmosis Engineering. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-12-821016-1.
  33. ↑ "Nanofiber Membranes".
  34. ↑ Sarp, Sarper; Hilal, Nidal (20 July 2018). Membrane Based Salinity Gradient Processes. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-444-63961-5.
  35. ↑ Hilal, Nidal; Ismail, Ahmad Fauzi; Matsuura, Takeshi; Oatley-Radcliffe, Darren (18 February 2017). Membrane Characterization. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-444-63776-5.
  36. ↑ "Membrane Fabrication".
  37. ↑ Kabay, Nalan; Bryjak, Marek; Hilal, Nidal (19 January 2015). Boron Separation Processes. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-0-444-63454-2.
  38. ↑ "Membrane Modification".
  39. ↑ Richard Bowen, W.; Hilal, Nidal (30 June 2009). Atomic Force Microscopy in Process Engineering. Elsevier Science. ISBN 978-1-85617-517-3.
  40. ↑ "Nutrients and Wastewater".
  41. ↑ "Water Treatment: Resource Recovery and Sustainability".
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.