Ahmad Allan l Mechanical Engineering – Energy Systems | Research Excellence Award

Mr. Ahmad Allan l Mechanical Engineering – Energy Systems | Research Excellence Award

 University of Johannesburg | South Africa

Mr. Ahmad Allan is a Senior Facilities and Operations Engineering Manager and MSc Mechanical Engineering researcher with extensive experience in managing complex facilities portfolios across multiple sectors. He holds postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications in mechanical engineering and has led large-scale operations and maintenance programs, delivering high asset reliability, operational efficiency, and measurable cost and energy savings. His professional expertise includes facilities and asset management, energy management, ESCO initiatives, and HVAC/MEP systems leadership. His research interests focus on waste heat recovery, thermal energy storage, and optimization of green hydrogen PEM electrolyzer systems. A published researcher and holder of internationally recognized professional certifications, Mr. Ahmad Allan is dedicated to advancing sustainable, high-performance energy and facilities engineering solutions.

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Featured Publications

Ioan Sarbu | Building Services Engineering | Research Excellence Award

Prof. Dr. Ioan Sarbu | Building Services Engineering | Research Excellence Award

Polytechnic University of Timisoara | Romania

Prof. Dr. Ioan Sârbu is a professor emeritus and doctoral supervisor in Civil and Building Services Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Timișoara (UPT), Romania. He earned a diploma in civil engineering in 1975 and a PhD in civil engineering in 1993, dedicating more than four decades to academic teaching, research, and leadership at UPT, including nearly 20 years as Head of the Building Services Department and Head of the National Building Equipment Laboratory. His academic activity includes supervision of numerous PhD and MSc students, evaluation of doctoral dissertations, and contributions to national and international academic governance. His research interests cover refrigeration systems, heat pumps, solar energy conversion and storage, thermal comfort and indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency in buildings, water and heat distribution systems, and numerical simulation and optimization in building services engineering. He has authored over 100 indexed documents, with 3,590 citations from 3,305 documents, and an h-index of 21, reflecting sustained international impact. Prof. Sârbu has published extensively in high-impact journals and books with leading publishers and holds patents and software developments. His distinctions include the Henri Coandă Award of the Romanian Academy, multiple international lifetime achievement honors, and recognition among the top 0.5% of researchers worldwide. His career exemplifies lasting contributions to sustainable energy and building services engineering research and education.

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Featured Publications

Thermal Protection Impact Assessment of a Residential House on the Energy Efficiency of the Air-Source Heat Pump Radiant Floor Heating SystemThermal Science and Engineering Progress, 2025

Exhaustive Overview of Advances in Integrating Renewable Energy Sources into District Heating SystemsReview Article

Investigation by Monitoring and Numerical Simulation of the Performance of a Ground-Source Heat Pump System with and without Regeneration in Different Configurations and Operating ModesApplied Thermal Engineering, 2024

Experimentally Investigating and Numerically Simulating the Performances of Various Low-Temperature Hydronic Heating/Cooling Systems Connected to a Vertical Closed-Loop Ground-Coupled Heat PumpEnergy and Buildings, 2023

Optimization of Urban Water Distribution Networks Using Heuristic Methods: An OverviewReview Article

Maatouk Khoukhi | Bio Materials | Best Researcher Award

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maatouk Khoukhi | Bio Materials | Best Researcher Award

United Arab Emirates University | United Arab Emirates

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maatouk Khoukhi holds a PhD in Machine Intelligence & Systems Engineering (Tohoku University, Japan 2004), an MSc in Renewable Energy (Algeria 1993) and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (Algeria 1991). He has held academic appointments at Sultan Qaboos University (Oman), King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (Saudi Arabia), University of Sharjah (UAE) and since 2017 at United Arab Emirates University (UAE) in Architectural Engineering. His research focuses on solar energy systems, building energy conservation, HVAC systems and sustainable built-environment technology. According to his UAEU profile he has produced 36 journal articles and 9 conference contributions (4 conference articles + 2 other papers) to date. Bibliometric data from AD Scientific Index lists his h-index as 16, total citations approximately 772, and about 53 papers with i10-index in that source. He has received multiple awards—including “International Research Scientist Award” (2024), and repeated recognition at UAEU for publishing in the top 5% of journals (2019-2023). In summary, Dr Khoukhi is an accomplished international academic with a strong publication record, recognised research impact, and significant contributions in building energy and solar technology.

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Featured Publications

Khoukhi, M., Gomez, A., Dar Saleh, A., Alkaabi, M., & Muhsenah, H. (2024). “Enhancing green building technologies and solutions in UAE university campus: a comprehensive assessment and validation approach.” Buildings.

Khoukhi, M. (2023). “Potential of form-pocketed design in mitigating heat in a university educational glazed-curtained building in the desert climate of UAE.” Energy and Buildings.

Kutty, N., Barakat, D., & Khoukhi, M. (2023). “A French residential retrofit toward achieving net-zero energy target in a Mediterranean climate.” Buildings.

Abdullah, A. K., Darsaleh, A., Abdelbaqi, S., & Khoukhi, M. (2022). “Thermal performance evaluation of window shutters for residential buildings: a case study of Abu Dhabi, UAE.” Energies.

Mohammad, A. F., Dar Saleh, A. F., Khoukhi, M., & Al-Marzouqi, A. H. (2022). “A new method for capturing CO₂ from effluent gases using a rice-based product.” Energies.