Excellence Awards Winners

2025 Cycle Research Excellence Award

Dr. McKay has almost 40 years of experience in academia and industry. He is presently a professor of Sustainable Development at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Before this, he was a Full Professor and Head of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). During his time in Hong Kong, he was Chairman of the Chemical Engineering Discipline of the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers.

Prior to joining HKUST in 1995, he spent 10 years in the industry. He established his own company, Consultancy Process Engineering and Management Systems, and this company was subcontracted to Project Management (PM) Ltd (Foster Wheeler Ireland), which employs over 600 staff and is Ireland's largest process engineering design company. He was the Senior Process Specialist, specializing in process plant design, environmental impact assessment and process plant safety. From 1971 to 1987, Dr. McKay was a Reader in the Chemical Engineering Department at Queen’s University, Belfast, and he was a Training Consultant to the BP Oil Refinery in Northern Ireland. During this period in 1983 - 1984, he was appointed as Project Manager for a European Commission Technical Assistance project at the University of Jordan. He has over 1000 publications, over 600 in international refereed journals, and has authored twelve books about energy, environment, and process design. He co-authored the second most cited paper (15,000 cites to date) ever in the SCI Chemical Engineering sector and has a Scopus h-index of 101 and a Google Scholar h-index of 116.

2025 Cycle Research Excellence Award

Dr. Bantekas is a Professor of Transnational Law (with an emphasis on sports law, contracts, arbitration and international law) at HBKU and Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London. He has advised international organizations, including the UN, CoE, IDEA, OIC, and UNDP, and is regularly appointed as an arbitrator in international commercial disputes. He was appointed to the list of arbitrators of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2023 and advises private entities and national federations on various regulatory and contractual aspects of sports law. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, including in the American Journal of Int’L; British YB Int’l L; ICLQ; European J Int’l L; Human Rts Quarterly; J Int’l Dispute Settlement; Arbitration Int’l; American Rev Int’l Arbitration; Berkeley J Int’l L; Pennsylvania J Constitutional Law and others. He is the author of 20 books, 13 of which have been published by Oxford and Cambridge University Press.

2025 Cycle Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Tareq Al- Ansari is the executive director of the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute and a professor at the College of Science and Engineering at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He acquired a BEng. in Mechanical Engineering from the University College London, an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD from Imperial College London.

2025 Cycle Service Excellence Award

Dr. Mohammed Ghaly has served in leadership roles, including serving as founding editor-in-chief of the Scopus-indexed Journal of Islamic Ethics and as Conference Chair for the 17th World Congress of Bioethics, the first edition ever held in the Middle East. He also chaired the founding committee for the MA program in Applied Islamic Ethics at HBKU.

His research explores the critical intersection of Islamic ethics with biomedical sciences and artificial intelligence (AI). He is the author of two monographs, Islam and Disability (2009) and Islamic Ethics and Incidental Findings (2024). He has also edited several volumes on key bioethical issues such as genomics and end-of-life care ethics. His work is further disseminated through numerous peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals.

Dr. Ghaly has led several major research projects, most recently focusing on “Transforming Islamic Studies in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence.”

2024 Cycle Research Excellence Award

Prof. Amine Bermak’s research can be best described as being at the crossroads between algorithmic solutions and hardware-friendly VLSI architecture for sensors, microsystems, and Artificial Intelligence applications. He has published 539 papers (230 journals, 8 book chapters, 286 conference papers, and 15 patents), mostly in top-tier venues. Prof. Bermak has delivered 26 invited keynotes and won 7 best paper awards.

He is the recipient of the Best Researcher Award at CSE in 2019, the Best Innovator Award at HBKU in 2022, the Service Excellence Award at HBKU in 2023, and the Research Excellence Award at HBKU in 2024. He is the General Chair of IEEE DELTA 2008, IEEE BioCAS 2009, and ICM 2024. He has also served on multiple editorial boards of IEEE journals. Prof. Bermak is a Fellow of IEEE and an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer. He has been the Chair of the HBKU University Senate since 2024.

2024 Cycle Research Excellence Award

Dr. Ahmet Aysan’s research contributions have earned him multiple awards, including the Islamic Economics Research Award from IKAM, the Arab Fintech Forum’s Fintech Researcher of the Year Award (2023), and HBKU’s Research Excellence Award (2024). He is also a recipient of the Boğaziçi University Foundation’s Publication and Academic Promotion Awards, as well as the prestigious Ibn Khaldun Prize. Dr. Aysan is a Research Associate at University College London’s Centre for Blockchain Technologies (UCL CBT), a Research Fellow at the Economic Research Forum, and a Non-resident Fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. He also chairs the MENA Chapter Academy of Sustainable Finance, Accounting, Accountability & Governance (ASFAAG). In 2020, Dr. Aysan was listed among the top influencers in Islamic banking and finance by an academic article published in the Pacific-Basin Finance Journal.

2024 Cycle Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Georgios Dimitropoulos is a Professor of Law and the S.J.D. Program Coordinator at the College of Law, as well as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Georgetown University in Qatar.

He is currently the Lead Principal Investigator of the Industrial Policy for Digital Development (IPDD) Project, funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF). He is also an incoming WTO Chairholder of the World Trade Organization Chairs Programme (WCP). He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of World Investment & Trade and the Asia Pacific Law Review and is Vice-Chair of the International Law and Technology Interest Group of the American Society of International Law (ASIL).

Dr. Dimitropoulos has held visiting positions at institutions like NYU, UCL, and SMU. His work has appeared in leading journals such as the Washington Law Review, the World Trade Review, and the Journal of International Economic Law. Some of his recent work includes the books Regulating Blockchain: Techno-Social and Legal Challenges (co-edited with Philipp Hacker, Ioannis Lianos, and Stefan Eich, OUP, 2019) and International Commercial Courts: The Future of Transnational Adjudication (co-edited with Stavros Brekoulakis, CUP, 2022).

2024 Cycle Service Excellence Award

Dr. Evren Tok is the Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Associate Professor at the College of Public Policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University. Dr. Tok is also the regional coordinator for the Executive Master’s Program (Development Policies and Practices) jointly offered by the Graduate Institute of Geneva and Hamad Bin Khalifa University. He is the co-editor of Policy Making in a Transformative State: The Case of Qatar, published by Palgrave Macmillan, in 2016. His recent publications “Global Governance and Muslim Organizations” were published by Palgrave Macmillan, and Innovating South-South Cooperation by the University of Ottawa Press in 2020. He is the director of a QNRF-funded cluster (2021-2026) entitled “SDG Education and Global Citizenship in Qatar”. He has been the Lead Project Investigator for the Qatar National Research Fund Priority Program for 3 years on “Localizing Entrepreneurship Education in Qatar”. He is the founder of the maker space entitled Maker Majlis: Islam in a Global World, which received the Qatar Sustainability Award under Best University Initiative in 2020 and the OIC Shaikh Hasina Award of Best Innovative Idea in 2022. Dr. Tok also received the Best Research Project Award from HBKU in 2022.

2023 Cycle Research Excellence Award

Prof. Omar Albagha led the first and largest study to investigate the genetic architecture of over 40 clinically relevant traits in the Middle East. His study, published in Nature Communications, was the first study that utilized the whole genome sequence data of 14,000 Qatari participants from the Qatar BioBank. He also contributed to many genomic studies performed on the Qatari populations in collaboration with colleagues at Sidra Medicine, QCRI, HBKU, QBB, QGP, Weill-Cornell Medicine-Qatar, and HMC.

He is currently leading two major research projects, one focusing on diabetes aimed at identifying the genetic risk factors in the Qatari population. The second focuses on hypercholesterolemia (raised blood Cholesterol) and aims at developing personalized care for Qatari patients with a genetic predisposition to hypercholesterolemia to achieve better prediction, diagnosis, and management. Furthermore, he is leading a research project, in collaboration with HMC and QBRI, to identify novel biomarkers of stroke.

2023 Cycle Research Excellence Award

Dr. Issa Khalil has developed large-scale systems for generating and sharing cyber threat intelligence, which is utilized by end-users and security operators. The malicious domain scanner that Dr. Khalil contributed to is now part of VirusTotal, a Google-owned antivirus platform, and is used by millions of users every day. Remarkably, four of his patents were licensed to a startup that raised over 4 million euros, indicating the commercial success of the technology.

His works garnered significant attention and coverage from numerous news outlets, including BBC and Qatar TV, and were published in top-tier security venues such as IEEE S&P, USENIX Security, CCS, TOPS, and TDSC.

In his capacity as a principal scientist, he is responsible for spearheading cybersecurity initiatives with critical local stakeholders, including the National Cyber Security Research Agency (NCSA), Qatar Ministry of Interior, and Qatar Central Bank. By virtue of his extensive knowledge and unwavering commitment, he has been able to establish robust research partnerships with renowned researchers from leading universities, including Purdue, Carnegie Mellon, Ohio State, NYU–Poly, and NJIT, along with notable corporate entities such as Crane and Simulex, working on projects such as SmartShip and the Indiana 21st-century sewer overflow detection project.

2023 Cycle Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Yousef Bicer has a track record of impacting students’ lives, which is proven by many prestigious awards received by his students, including Education Excellence Awards in Qatar (2022), Oman’s National Research Award (2020), and Graduate Student Research Awards (QNRF).

Dr. Bicer utilizes active learning techniques, student-centered discussions, and experiential learning activities to help students internalize concepts and apply them to real-world problems, especially in energy production and conversion.

He typically provides animations and videos to the students before the classes to get ready for the fundamentals of the course content. He also provides software tutorials and engages in problem-solving exercises in the classroom with the students.

Moreover, he ensures a supportive and inclusive learning environment where students are encouraged to take risks, learn from their mistakes, and work collaboratively to unlock their potential.

2023 Cycle Service Excellence Award

Prof. Amine Bermak is the founding head of the Information and Computing Technology (ICT) division of the College of Science and Engineering (CSE). Prof. Bermak was instrumental in building the B.Sc. in Computer Engineering, the M.Sc. in Cybersecurity, the M.Sc. in Data Science and Engineering, and the Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering programs. The development of these programs involved major groundwork related to drafting the initial proposals, market analysis, and ministerial approval for the programs.

During his tenure as acting associate provost, he worked on multiple founding initiatives for the university, such as establishing formal policies, processes, and committees for curriculum development, drafting the faculty handbook, and drafting major policies and procedures such as the HBKU promotion policy. Professor Bermak was the chair and founder of multiple university committees, such as the founder and chair of the University Academic Programs and Studies Committee (UAPSC). This committee constitutes the backbone for handling curriculum development within the whole University at a very early stage of development of HBKU. Prof. Bermak was also the chair of the University Senate task force.

For his outstanding service to the profession, Prof. Bermak has been recognized with multiple awards. Prof. Bermak is a Fellow of IEEE (only 3% of all 400,000 IEEE members are recognized with this honor), a Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association AAIA, IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, and a Chair of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Committee on Sensory Systems. He was recently nominated by Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, QF Vice Chairperson and CEO, to join the National Committee for Artificial Intelligence representing Qatar Foundation.

2026 Cycle Research Excellence Award

Dr. Muhammad Imran has published over 80 research papers in top-tier international conferences and journals, including ACL, SIGIR, ICDM, ICWSM, and WWW. Four of his papers received the "Best Paper Award" and two "Best Paper Runner-up Awards." He has been serving as a co-chair of the Social Media Studies track of the ISCRAM international conference since 2014 and has served as Program Committee for many major conferences and workshops.

2026 Cycle Teaching Excellence Award

Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud Abdallah is a Professor and founding faculty member at the College of Science and Engineering and serves as the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Quality Assurance at Hamad Bin Khalifa University. From 2006 to 2016, he held academic positions at Cairo University and Texas A&M University at Qatar.

Dr. Abdallah’s research focuses on leveraging AI in smart cities, wireless networks, and smart grids, with a particular emphasis on network optimization and security. He has received several awards, including the Research Fellow Excellence Award from Texas A&M University at Qatar and multiple Best Paper Awards at IEEE conferences. He also received the Nortel Networks Industrial Fellowship for five consecutive years (1999-2003). Dr. Abdallah has served in key editorial roles for top IEEE journals, such as IEEE Transactions on Communications, and in leadership positions for several major IEEE conferences. He has authored over 220 papers, co-authored four book chapters, and holds four patents.

2026 Cycle Service Excellence Award

Dr. Dena Al-Thani is an Associate Professor, the Co-Founder of A-sense Center of Excellence, and Head of the Information and Computing Technology Division at the College of Science and Engineering.

Dr. Al-Thani actively publishes in top journals and presents at international conferences. Her research on inclusion aims to make a global impact. She is a member of the WHO's technical advisory group on assistive technology and the Arab ICT Accessibility Expert Group, led by Mada.