Egyptian Predictions | rapportplus

Egyptian Prediction - Modeling to Reduce Carbon Emissions: Mohammed Hassan

The Greek historian, Herodotus (5th century BCE) wrote of flying snakes in the Nile delta.

These winged snakes would fly towards the Egyptian plain only to be attacked and killed by

ibis birds. Introducing KAUST alumnus Dr Mohammed Hassan: born in Egypt, he would find

the flying abilities of these creatures inspiring; even if one of them is mythological.

Mohammed’s dream was to pursue a career in aerospace engineering, which he realized. As

a Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Tech’s Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL), one

of US’ largest laboratories of its type, he is working on a joint NASA/US Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) sponsored project that aims to guide R&D funding for reducing aircraft

carbon emissions.

Global air travel contributed 815 million tons of CO2 emissions in 2016 — 2% of the global man-made total, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA forecasts that 7.2 billion passengers will take up air travel by 2035, almost doubling the 3.8 billion that flew in 2016, leading to congestion and ﬂight delays. Consequently, the consumption of aviation fuel will increase, leading to additional nitrogen oxide (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Like many KAUST alumni, Mohammed is most interested in tackling key issues for the planet, using his research expertise to address these.

“I would like to work in research labs developing cutting-edge technologies that enhance fuel performance and minimize the environmental impact of civil aviation.’’

This and other solutions can mitigate harmful emissions, including bio-fuels, new engine technology, new airframe materials such as carbon-fiber, and more efficient aircraft operations. The question is, how much will these affect a reduction in emissions? Mohammed is suitably qualified to answer this as he co-authored a paper that includes a model to predict various outcomes by allowing the user to freely vary inputs and/or underlying assumptions and instantly observe changes.

Framework Development for Performance Evaluation of the Future National Airspace System

A key conclusion from the paper is that bio-fuels and efficient aircraft operations are key drivers for meeting IATA’s emissions targets.

How did KAUST help Mohammed?

‘’KAUST is where I met highly intellectual scientists and engineers. I was tutored and mentored by extremely qualified faculty including my academic advisor Professor David Keyes, and my research advisor Professor Ravi Samtaney. (Both) had a great impact on me (and) were the first to expose me to the world of research and problem solving necessary to tackle any research problem.’’

It is comforting to know Mohammed’s work could affect the ibis, and the rest of us.