Nidal Hilal
Nidal Hilal is an 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 founding director and principal investigator of NYUAD Water Research Center. Hilal previously held professorships at the University of Nottingham and Swansea University in the United Kingdom. He is an emeritus professor of engineering at Swansea University and the founding director of the Centre for Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research.
Education
Hilal earned a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering in 1981 and subsequently spent three years working in the oil industry. He obtained a Master of Science in advanced chemical engineering in 1985 and a Doctor of Philosophy in chemical engineering in 1988 from Swansea University. He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education from the University of Nottingham.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, a position he held until August 2010. He then joined Swansea University as chair professor of water process engineering, where he founded the Centre for Water Advanced Technologies and Environmental Research and served as head of chemical and environmental engineering. In 2018, Hilal joined New York University as a Global Network Professor and established the NYU Abu Dhabi Water Research Center.Honors and awards
Hilal has received several honors and awards in recognition of his contributions to chemical and water process engineering. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, and a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. He was awarded a Doctor of Science by the University of Wales for his research in water process engineering.His awards include the 2020 Menelaus Medal from the Learned Society of Wales for excellence in engineering and technology, the Kuwait Prize for Applied Science in Water Resources Development, and the 2024 GPID Global Prize for Innovation in Desalination in the category of Advanced Water Production Technologies.
Hilal has been listed among the Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate in 2022 and 2024. 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. He has also been ranked among the top 100 researchers in the world in engineering and technology and is the most cited lifetime author in the journal Desalination.
Research
Hilal has supervised 48 doctoral students and over 80 postdoctoral research fellows. He 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.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 module in the United Arab Emirates.