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. He 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 (CWATER).

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 by the Learned Society of Wales for excellence in engineering and technology
Recipient the Kuwait Prize for applied science "Water Resources Development" 
Recipient of the GPID - Global Prize Innovation in Desalination Award in the category of Advanced Water Production Technologies 2024
Listed among the Highly Cited Researchers 2022 and 2024 by Clarivate   
Listed among the most Notable Alumni of Swansea University 
Listed among the most Notable Alumni of University of Wales
Ranked by google scholar #1 in Nanofiltration and Membrane Distillation, #2 in Reverse Osmosis and among the top 10 desalination leaders around the world 
Ranked among the top 150 in the world ranking for Engineering and Technology 
The most cited author (life time) in Desalination

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. 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 
 The first AFM coated colloid probe technique 
 The first AFM cell probe technique 
 The first direct measurements of the interaction of single live cells with membrane surfaces 
 The first  direct measurement of the force of adhesion of a single particles with membrane surfaces 
 The first to show pores on nanofiltration membranes 
 The first use of the atomic force microscope in meso-scale cavitation studies, development of novel and tailored membranes 
 The development of composite imprinted membranes 
 The development of self-cleaning membrane for sustainable desalination 
 Tapping into salty water for agriculture
 The development of the first industrial scale RO module in the UAE

Books 
Hilal published several books including: 
 Electrically Conductive Membrane Materials and Systems: Fouling Mitigation For Desalination and Water Treatment. , 
 Nanofiltration for Sustainability: Reuse, Recycle and Resource Recovery. , 
 Osmosis Engineering. , 
 Nanofiber membranes for medical, environmental and energy applications. , 
 Membrane-based salinity gradient processes for water treatment and power generation. , 
 Membrane Characterization. , 
 Membrane Fabrication. , 
 Boron Separation Processes. , 
 Membrane Modification: Technology and Applications. , 
 Atomic Force Microscopy and Process Engineering. , 
 Nutrients and Coloured Compounds in Wastewater. , 
 Water Treatment: Resource Recovery and Sustainability.

References 

Alumni of the University of Wales
British chemical engineers
Living people
1958 births
20th-century Welsh scientists
21st-century Welsh scientists
20th-century British engineers
21st-century British engineers
Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales
Academics of the University of Nottingham