Members
SUSMAT Lab is home to a dedicated group of MSc, PhD, and postdoctoral researchers exploring the frontier of sustainable materials.
Assistant Professor
Nonlinear finite element analysis, composite materials
Dr. Md Abdullah al Bari is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia, and serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the laboratory. He received his M.Sc. from Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP), France, through the KIC InnoEnergy program, and earned his Ph.D. from The University of Tokyo, Japan. Prior to joining KFUPM, he worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Calgary, Canada.
His research focuses on the development and valorization of carbon-based materials (hard carbon, carbon fibers, and activated carbon) for energy storage applications, particularly batteries. He also works on techno-economic and life-cycle assessment of sustainable materials and energy systems, as well as additive manufacturing and mechanical behavior of advanced materials.
Dr. Abdullah has published more than 25 peer-reviewed journal articles, including publications in leading journals such as Advanced Materials, Science Advances, and ACS Energy Letters. He has also contributed a book chapter and presented his research at more than 20 international conferences.
He has received several competitive fellowships, scholarships, and awards, including the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) Fellowship at the University of Calgary, the School of Engineering Fellowship from The University of Tokyo, the KIC InnoEnergy Scholarship for the European Master’s in Nuclear Energy, and an Early Career Award at the 24th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (SMiRT-24).
Fracture mechanics of additively manufactured polymers; mechanical anisotropy in FFF; bioinspired architected materials; structure-processing-property relationships in thermoplastics
Nonlinear finite element analysis, composite materials
Renewable energy systems analysis with a focus on techno-economic feasibility and data-driven performance modeling; techno-economic and environmental assessment of hydrogen-based steel decarbonization pathways in Saudi Arabia
Hydrogen production and utilization pathways, techno-economic analysis of emerging energy systems, life-cycle assessment for industrial decarbonization, materials performance and durability in environments
Hard carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries: optimizing initial coulombic efficiency, reversible capacity, and cycling stability through pre- and post-treatment strategies
Hard carbonanodes, sodium-ion batteries, petroleum-derived carbon precursors, precursor engineering, pre-treatment & post-treatment optimization, microstructure tuning, defect engineering, porosity control, surface functionalization, solid electrolyte interphase stabilization, electrolyte compatibility, initial coulombic efficiency improvement, reversible capacity enhancement, long-term cycling stability
Physics-informed machine learning for structural health monitoring, damage detection, and remaining-life prediction of composite structures
Machine learning, deep learning, physics-informed neural network, structural health monitoring, composite materials
Upcycling low-value petrochemical by-products into high-value carbon materials (hard carbon, graphene, graphite) for next-generation sodium-ion battery applications, supporting net-zero goals
Energy storage materials, composite materials, finite element analysis, additive manufacturing
Synthesis of anode materials for energy storage, especially in sodium-ion batteries; several synthesis technologies, characterization, pre & post processing, techno-economic and life cycle analysis
Energy storage materials, sodium-ion batteries, materials characterization, process optimization of materials synthesis, hydrogen carriers & delivery, green hydrogen production using renewable sources, techno-economic analysis, life cycle analysis, composite materials, failure analysis of materials
