Keynote Title: Additive Manufacturing of Elastomer, Ceramic and Metal Multi-functional Structures.
Prof. Eric McDonald
University of Texas El Paso - USA
Eric MacDonald, Ph.D., is a distinguished professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he holds the Murchison Chair and serves as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies for the College of Engineering. With a doctoral degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. MacDonald has a rich industry background, including roles at IBM and Motorola. He co-founded a CAD software startup later acquired by a Silicon Valley firm.
MacDonald's academic career includes prestigious fellowships at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the US Navy Research, as well as a Fulbright Fellowship in South America. His research focuses on 3D-printed multifunctional applications and process monitoring in additive manufacturing, leveraging instrumentation and computer vision for enhanced quality.
As a co-founding editor of the Elsevier journal Additive Manufacturing, he has contributed to its status as the highest-impact factor journal in manufacturing. Notable projects include the 3D printing of nanosatellites with embedded electronics, one of which orbited in 2013, and patent licensing to Sony and Toshiba from IBM.
With over 100 peer-reviewed publications and numerous patents, MacDonald is a respected member of ASME, ASEE, and IEEE, holding a Professional Engineer registration in Texas.
Keynote Title: New Alloy Development for Metal AM: AMALLOY3D Case Study
Dr. Nesma Aboulkhair
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) – UAE
Dr. Aboulkhair is the Director of the Additive Manufacturing team at the Technology Innovation Institute’s Advanced Materials Research Centre TII-AMRC in the UAE. Formerly an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham, UK, she retains a visiting academic role with the institution. With a background in mechanical engineering and a PhD in Materials Engineering and Materials Design, she specializes in developing new materials and manufacturing processes, particularly in metallurgy and mechanical properties.
Her work focuses on various metal additive manufacturing processes since 2013, with significant achievements including a robust publication record, substantial funding, and numerous invited talks. At (TII), she established a cutting-edge AM laboratory, facilitating collaboration with local industries and training a team of researchers. Dr. Aboulkhair has received prestigious awards, such as the Anne McLaren Fellowship, and actively contributes to scientific journals as an editor and reviewer.
Keynote Title: 3D Printing of Metal-doped Clay Catalysts: Fabrication and Applications
Dr. Mohannad Aljarrah
University of Doha for Science & Technology (UDST)
Dr. Mohannad Aljarrah is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering with over 15 years of experience in academia, industry, and management. Currently serving as the head of Chemical Engineering Department at UDST. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology, a Professional Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Twente, and a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (Material Science and Nanotechnology) from the University of Akron, USA. Dr. Aljarrah has worked as a process development engineer for SABIC Innovative Plastics, USA and as a research scientist for PURAC BioChem, The Netherlands.
His research focuses on synthesis and characterization of novel materials for clean energy and sustainable solutions. He also has significant experience in economic development and entrepreneurship, having led UNICEF's WASH Innovation Center and the Center of Excellence for Innovative Projects. His contributions to improving water, sanitation, and hygiene in underserved communities have earned him the prestigious H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Community Intelligence.
Dr. Aljarrah is a member of several professional organizations, and a passionate advocate for environmental sustainability.
Keynote Title: New Trends in Orthopedic Surgery: Customized and 3D Printed Implants
Dr. Morad Karimpour
University of Tehran – Iran
Dr. Karimpour received his MEng degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Birmingham in 2008 and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London in 2012. He has been a faculty member at the university of Tehran’s school of mechanical engineering since 2013 and was a founding member of the Biomechanical Engineering group at our department. His research focuses on the clinical application of latest engineering technologies such as additive manufacturing, and how these can be utilized to improve the quality of patient care. Additionally, he has been fascinated by the joint kinematics and study of human locomotion which has led to part of his research being GAIT biomechanics and joint kinematics.
In addition to his academic career, Dr. Karimpour founded a company in 2013 specializing in patient specific orthopedic and craniomaxillofacial solutions. These include, but are not limited to, patient-specific analysis of a patient's 3D anatomy, customized surgical guides, and patient-specific, 3D-printed implants.
Keynote Title: Industrial Prospective of Utilizing Metal 3D Printing in Shell
Sheikh Mohammed Thani Al-Thani.
Shell
Sheikh Mohammed Thani Al-Thani has been working at Qatar Shell for 7 years with a strong background in mechanical engineering. He has a wide range of experience ranging from turnaround/shutdown, maintenance planning and execution, management of change, contract management and leading the additive manufacturing in Pearl GTL.
His achievements include executing major turnarounds as a Field Coordinator, Plant Coordinator, and Block Lead in a unit repair on-site safely and ahead of time. He moved to the Reliability Department to work on innovative technology to improve site reliability and was appointed as the Site Lead for additive manufacturing.
He has successfully completed the digital inventory review for the site and is in the process of building the 3D printing inventory. He looks forward to the future and the opportunities that new technologies will bring.
Keynote Title: 3D Printing Pragmatics – the sky is the limit
Dr. Ehab Saleh
University of Doha for Science & Technology (UDST)
For the past ten years, Dr. Saleh has worked on developing digital manufacturing processes for the fourth industrial revolution (IR4.0) utilizing multi-materials to form integrated 3D structures containing metals, polymers and glasses. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Smart Manufacturing at the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) and the Program Lead of its bachelor's degree in Smart Manufacturing program.
Dr. Saleh’s current research activities span across multi-disciplines including the development of manufacturing processes for printed electronics and energy harvesting/ storage applications, 3D printing of RF metamaterials and THz components, bioprinting using medical-grade materials and digitally manufactured controlled release pharmaceutics. He is regularly invited to deliver keynote talks on digital manufacturing at international events such as the IEEE Workshop on Functional Additive Manufacturing in Tokyo, Japan, CoInnovate Flagship in Cardiff, United Kingdom and TCT Summit in Shenzhen, China.