September 23-25, 2025 | Houston, TX

Speaker Name
Dr. Omar Abdelrahman
Job Title
Assistant Professor
Bio

Dr. Omar Abdelrahman grew up in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates), where he received his BSc in Chemical Engineering (American University of Sharjah, 2011), before moving to Syracuse University for his PhD in Chemical Engineering (2016), followed by a postdoctoral position at the University of Minnesota. In 2018, Omar joined the University of Massachusetts Amherst as an assistant professor and is now an incoming associate professor at the University of Houston department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The Abdelrahman lab’s focus is in heterogeneous catalysis, with an emphasis on understanding and controlling non-ideal thermodynamic environments for renewable chemical transformations. The group recently demonstrated the transformative concept of programmable catalysis, achieving resonance with the catalytic kinetics of formic acid oxidation over metal catalysts. The group is also committed to advancing accessible and affordable science, through developing and disseminating experimental designs aimed at lowering the barrier to entry in catalysis research.

Company
University of Massachusetts Amherst