Nidal Hilal

Nidal Hilal is an academic, engineering scientist and scientific adviser. He is a Global Network Professor at New York University and the founding director and principal investigator of NYUAD Water Research Center.^[1][2] He held professorships at the University of Nottingham and Swansea University in the United Kingdom. He is an emeritus professor of engineering^[3] at Swansea University and the founding director of the Centre for Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research (CWATER).^[4]

Nidal Hilal
Occupation	Professor (Chemical Engineer)
Known for	Desalination Membrane Separation AFM in Process Engineering
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Wales, Swansea University, University of Nottingham
Academic work
Discipline	Desalination, Membrane Technology, Water Treatment

Education

Hilal obtained a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering in 1981 followed by three years industrial experience in the oil industry. He obtained a Master of Science degree in Advanced Chemical Engineering in 1985 followed by a PhD in Chemical Engineering in 1988 from Swansea University. He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.

Career

Hilal worked as a lecturer in chemical engineering at the University of Nottingham from 2001 to 2003, when he was promoted to a reader in chemical and process engineering. He was promoted to a chair professor in chemical and process engineering (personal chair) in December 2004 at the School of Chemical, Environmental and Mining Engineering until August 2010. He moved to Swansea University as the chair professor in water process engineering and established the Centre for Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research (CWATER). He was also the head of chemical and environmental engineering at Swansea University. He moved in 2020 to New York University as a Global Network Professor and established the NYUAD Water Research Center.

Honours and awards

Hilal received many honours and awards, including:

• Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
• Elected Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE)
• Elected Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales (FLSW)
• Awarded a Doctor of Science, senior doctorate, from the University of Wales for outstanding research contributions to water process engineering
• Recipient of the 2020 Menelaus Medal^[5] by the Learned Society of Wales for excellence in engineering and technology
• Recipient the Kuwait Prize for applied science "Water Resources Development"^[6]
• Recipient of the GPID - Global Prize Innovation in Desalination Award in the category of Advanced Water Production Technologies 2024^[7]
• Listed among the Highly Cited Researchers 2022 and 2024 by Clarivate^{[8][9][10][11]}
• Listed among the most Notable Alumni of Swansea University^[12]
• Listed among the most Notable Alumni of University of Wales^[13]
• Ranked by google scholar #1 in Nanofiltration and Membrane Distillation, #2 in Reverse Osmosis and among the top 10 desalination leaders around the world^[14]
• Ranked among the top 100 in the world ranking for Engineering and Technology^[15]
• The most cited author (life time) in Desalination^[16]

Research

Hilal has supervised 48 students through their PhDs and more than 80 postdoctoral research fellows, authored over 600 publications including several patents and books.^[17][18][19] His research interests lie broadly in the identification of innovative and cost-effective solutions within the fields of nano-water, membrane technology, and water treatment including desalination, colloid engineering and the nano-engineering applications of AFM. His internationally recognized research has led to the use of AFM in the development of new membranes with optimized properties for difficult separations. His research has produced several breakthrough innovations, including:

• The smallest AFM colloid probe reported in the literature^[20]
• The first AFM coated colloid probe technique^[21]
• The first AFM cell probe technique^[22]
• The first direct measurements of the interaction of single live cells with membrane surfaces^[23]
• The first direct measurement of the force of adhesion of a single particles with membrane surfaces^[24]
• The first to show pores on nanofiltration membranes^[25]
• The first use of the atomic force microscope in meso-scale cavitation studies, development of novel and tailored membranes^[26]
• The development of composite imprinted membranes^[27]
• The development of self-cleaning membrane for sustainable desalination^[28]
• Tapping into salty water for agriculture^[29][30][31]
• The development of the first industrial scale RO module in the UAE^[32]

Books

Hilal published several books including:

• Electrically Conductive Membrane Materials and Systems: Fouling Mitigation For Desalination and Water Treatment. ISBN 9780367702069,^[33]
• Nanofiltration for Sustainability: Reuse, Recycle and Resource Recovery. ISBN 9780367702069,^[34]
• Osmosis Engineering. ISBN 9780128210161,^[35]
• Nanofiber membranes for medical, environmental and energy applications. ISBN 9780815387039,^[36]
• Membrane-based salinity gradient processes for water treatment and power generation. ISBN 9780444639615,^[37]
• Membrane Characterization. ISBN 9780444637765,^[38]
• Membrane Fabrication. ISBN 9781482210453,^[39]
• Boron Separation Processes. ISBN 9780444634542,^[40]
• Membrane Modification: Technology and Applications. ISBN 9781439866351,^[41]
• Atomic Force Microscopy and Process Engineering. ISBN 9781856175173,^[42]
• Nutrients and Coloured Compounds in Wastewater. ISBN 9780443217012,^[43]
• Water Treatment: Resource Recovery and Sustainability. ISBN 9781032749464,^[44]