SAS-CI 2026

Professor Ahmed Ghoniem

Ronald C. Crane Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Professor Ahmed Ghoniem is the Ronald C. Crane Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he directs the Center for Energy and Propulsion Research and the Reacting Gas Dynamics Laboratory. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Cairo University and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on combustion, multiphase flows, computational engineering, and clean energy technologies, including carbon capture, renewable energy, and alternative fuels. Professor Ghoniem has published more than 500 refereed papers, supervised over 100 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and is a Fellow of ASME, APS, and The Combustion Institute. His honors include the ASME James Harry Potter Gold Medal, the AIAA Propellants and Combustion Award, and the KAUST Investigator Award.

Professor Assaad Masri

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Sydney

Professor Assaad Masri is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sydney, where he earned both his Bachelor of Engineering (Honours with University Medal) and Ph.D. degrees. He is internationally recognized for his pioneering contributions to turbulent combustion, spray flames, atomization processes, and the development of combustion systems for green and renewable fuels. Professor Masri has published more than 230 journal papers and received several prestigious honors, including The Combustion Institute Silver Medal and the Jürgen Warnatz Gold Medal. A Fellow of The Combustion Institute, he has served on its Board of Directors, was Program Co-Chair of the 36th International Symposium on Combustion, and currently serves as Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Section and President-Elect of The Combustion Institute.

Professor Mani Sarathy

Professor of Chemical Engineering & Chair of the Clean Energy Research Platform, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Professor Mani Sarathy is Professor of Chemical Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Chair of the Clean Energy Research Platform. His research focuses on combustion chemistry, sustainable fuels, energy systems analysis, and computational modeling of reacting flows. He is widely recognized for his contributions to chemical kinetic mechanism development, combustion modeling, and the assessment of sustainable fuel technologies. Professor Sarathy serves on the Editorial Board of Combustion and Flame and is actively involved with The Combustion Institute, in addition to being a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering.

Professor Bassam Dally

Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Director of the Future Cement Initiative, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Professor Bassam Dally is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), leader of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Technology (ReSET) Group, and a member of the Clean Energy Research Platform. With more than 30 years of experience in energy research, his expertise spans combustion, renewable energy, energy conversion and storage, decarbonization technologies, and advanced laser diagnostics. Prior to joining KAUST, he served as Head of the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide. Professor Dally has authored more than 380 peer-reviewed publications, holds four patents, and is a Fellow of The Combustion Institute. He currently serves as the Director of the Future Cement Initiative at KAUST.