Nidal Hilal

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.

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. He was the Deputy Head of 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 from September 2010 until February 2012 when he was seconded to Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi and held the position of Provost and Chief Academic Officer until end of December 2013. He moved in 2018 to New York University - Abu Dhabi Campus as a Global Network Professor and established NYUAD Water Research Center.

Hilal was awarded the 2020 Menelaus Medal by the Learned Society of Wales for excellence in engineering and technology. In 2005 he was awarded a Doctor of Science from the University of Wales and the Kuwait Prize for applied science "Water Resources Development".[1] He is a chartered engineer in the UK, a registered European Engineer (Euro Ing) and is an elected fellow of both the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and the Learned Society of Wales (LSW).

Hilal has supervised 42 students through their PhDs and more than 70 postdoctoral research fellows, authored over 500 publications,[2] 9 patents and 9 books.[3] 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: smallest AFM colloid probe reported in the literature, first AFM coated colloid probe technique, first AFM cell probe technique, first direct measurements of the interaction of single live cells with surfaces, first use of the atomic force microscope in meso-scale cavitation studies and development of novel and tailored membranes.

Hilal is the editor-in-chief for the international journal Desalination. He sits on the editorial boards of a number of international journals, is an advisory board member of several multinational organizations and has served on/consulted for industry, government departments, research councils and universities on an international basis.