Mohamed Obaid Awad

Research Scientists

Research Scientist

CURRENT MEMBER

Location:

4254-WS14, Water Desalination and Reuse Center Al Jazri (building 4), Level 4, Seaside, Left side​

Social Profile:

Biography

Dr. M. Obaid is a Research Scientist at the Water Desalination and Reuse Platform(WDRP) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), where he conducts advanced research in membrane science, desalination technologies, and sustainable water treatment systems. His work focuses on the development of next-generation membrane materials and membrane-based processes for energy-efficient desalination, wastewater reuse, oil–water separation, and renewable-energy-driven water purification.

Dr. Obaid received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Minia University, Egypt, graduating first in his class, and earned his Ph.D. in Organic and Nanofiber Engineering from Chonbuk National University, South Korea. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Global Desalination Research Center (GDRC) at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea, before joining KAUST in 2019.

Dr. Obaid has authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications in leading international journals and holds several patents in membrane and desalination technologies.

Research Interests

  • Advanced membrane materials for desalination and water treatment
  • Nanofiber and nanocomposite membrane fabrication
  • Membrane distillation and low-temperature desalination technologies
  • Sustainable wastewater treatment and reuse
  • Solar-driven and photothermal membrane systems

Selected Publications

  • Obaid, M.; Soukane, S.; Qtaishat, M. R.; Zhang, Y.; Guillerm, V.; Mohamed, H. O.; Ayach, M.; Singaravelu, V.; Castaño, P.; Maurin, G.; Eddaoudi, M.; Matsuura, T.; Ghaffour, N. Subnanoporous hydrophobic thin films for ultrahigh-efficiency seawater and brines desalination using membrane distillation. Nature Communications, 2026.
  • Obaid, M.; El-Demellawi, J. K.; Lee, J.; Nawaz, M. S.; Hota, M. K.; Musteata, V.-E.; Elcik, H.; Hedhili, M. N.; Soukane, S.; Xu, X.; Hong, S.; Alshareef, H. N.; Ghaffour, N. Thin-film composite membranes enhanced with Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXenes for highly selective desalination and water reuse. InfoMat, 2025, e70054.
  • Alhamdan, K.; Obaid, M.; El-Demellawi, J. K.; Amin, N. A.; Hari, A. R.; Lei, Y.; Saikaly, P. E.; Alshareef, H. N.; Ghaffour, N. Sustainable antimicrobial silver@MXene nanofiber membranes for enhanced photothermal membrane distillation performance. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2025, 17, 52607–52621.
  • Almahfoodh, S.; Obaid, M.; et al. Superhydrophobic pancake-like graphene oxide for zero-energy solar desalination. Journal of Membrane Science, 2025.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Organic and Nanofiber Engineering Chonbuk National University (CBNU), South Korea 2014 – 2017 Thesis: Preparation, Characterization, and Water Treatment Performance of PSF and PVDF Nanofiber Membranes
  • M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering Minia University, Egypt 2009 – 2011 Thesis: New Trends in Treatment of Industrial Effluents
  • B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering Minia University, Egypt 2001 – 2006 Graduated first in class for four consecutive academic years

Professional Profile

  • Research Scientist Water Desalination and Reuse Platform (WDRP), KAUST, Saudi Arabia May 2022 – Present
  • Postdoctoral Fellow Water Desalination and Reuse Platform (WDRP), KAUST, Saudi Arabia 2019 – 2022
  • Postdoctoral Researcher Global Desalination Research Center (GDRC), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), South Korea 2017 – 2019

KAUST Affiliations

  • Water Desalination and Reuse Platform (WDRP)
  • Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE)

Non-KAUST Affiliations

  • Chemical Engineering, Minia University, Egypt

Research Interests Keywords

Low-Temperature Desalination Nanofiber Membranes Membrane Science and Engineering Membrane Distillation Thin-Film Composite (TFC) Membranes Photothermal Membranes Solar-Driven Desalination Oil–Water Separation Superhydrophobic and Superhydrophilic Surfaces