Dr. Maha Aljuhani
Biography:
Dr. Aljuhani received her bachelor’s degree from Taiba University in 2014. Her thesis was on antioxidants separation. In 2016 she received her master’s degree from KAUST with two publications on atomically-precise metal nano-clusters synthesis under supervision of Prof. Osman Bakr. In 2019 she was awarded a Ph.D. degree with five publications in highly renowned journals focused on catalyst by design using surface organometallic chemistry. Her Ph.D. research was performed under the supervision of Prof Jean-Marie Basset. Dr. Aljuhani is currently pursuing postdoctoral research at MIT under the supervision of Prof. Zachary Smith. Her research is on mixed matrix membrane synthesis. Outside of her research interests, Maha is passionate about art, horse riding and adventure.
Dr. Maha’s PhD research filmed by Jove: https://www.jove.com/author/Maha+A._Aljuhani#
MIT Fellowship Research Abstract:
Dr. Aljuhani’s research focused on PIM membranes for gas separation and mixed matrix membranes for water purification.
Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) provide a unique characteristic for establishing solvent or gas separation systems. In this regard, we showed how these materials are also effective for solvents separation. We focused on four different solvents: water, alcohol, aliphatic hydrocarbon (alkane), and aromatic hydrocarbon (arene), with five functionalized PIM based membranes. These membranes have different functionalities (PIM-1, PIM-NH2, PIM-COOH, PIM-CoMe, and PIM-COEt.), thus we studied their effect on pore volume, permeation, vapor sorption, and surface area results.
Professional Activities at MIT:
Accepted to the Public Policy Executive Program at Harvard Kennedy School and earned a certificate from Harvard Kennedy School in April 2022. This program included courses in Leadership, Negotiation, behavioral science and public policy.
Participated in Gordon Research Conferences (GRC) and Gordon Research Seminars (GRS) (Summer 2022)
Accepted to the MIT Entrepreneurship Development Program (MIT Venture Exploration Program, summer 2022)
International Collaborations or Affiliations:
KAUST
Professional Affiliations:
Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)
Fellowship Sponsored By:
KACST