Profiles

Postdoctoral research fellow at Photonics Laboratory in the Division of Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences & Engineering (CEMSE) at King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST).

Sofiane Ben Mbarek received his B.S. degree in Electronic Signals and Systems from Toulon University, Toulon, France, in 2006 and his M.S. degree in Telecommunications and Microelectronics from Nice-Sophia-Antipolis University, Nice, France, in 2007. He obtained his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences and Microsystems from Franche-Comté University, Besançon, France, in 2011. Before joining KAUST, he was a postdoc at the Centre for Quantum Materials and Technologies, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK. He has research and teaching experience in various universities and companies. His research and interests include magnetic sensors, electromagnetic compatibility, multiphysics modeling, and nanofabrication.

• Magnetic Sensors 
• Electromagnetic Compatibility
• Multiphysics Modeling
• Micro and Nanofabrication

Wahyu Hendra Gunawan currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Photonics Laboratory in the Division of Computer Electrical and Mathematical Sciences & Engineering (CEMSE) at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). He earned his B.S. and M.S in Physics at Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Indonesia, in 2012 and 2014, respectively. In December 2022, he earned his P.hD. from Department of Photonics at National Yang-Ming Chiao-Tung University (NYCU), Taiwan, with research focus on Enabling Techniques for Optical Wireless Communication and Optical Fiber Communication Systems. He has over 15 authored/co-authored publication in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He also serving the scientific community as reviewers for several international journals, such as: Drones, Applied Sciences, Sensors, IEEE System Journal, IEEE Access and Photonics.

Optical Systems and Communications, Wireless Optical Sensing

Dr. Xiaowen is a Postdoc Fellow at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, he received his B.E. degree in Material Science from South China University of Technology in 2013. He received the Ph.D. degree from the South China University of Technology in 2017 and completed 2-year postdoctoral research in Zhejiang University. He previously published 15 SCI journals (8 first author), including Nano Lett., Nano Res., Chem. Mater., etc. His current research focus towards the integration of 2D materials on silicon-photonics and the nonlinear optics of optical waveguides. His work aims to explore the unique properties of these materials and their potential applications in the field of integrated photonics.

Dr. Xiaowen’s research interests are 2D integrated silicon photonics, nonlinear optics.

Dr. Teng's primary research interests lie in the field of antenna theory and technology, with a specific focus on the design of millimeter-wave high-gain antennas, phased array antennas, and endfire antennas. Her designed antennas can be applied in various advanced systems, including 5G phased array communication systems, 77GHz automotive radar systems, and shipborne communication systems.

• GNSS Localization.
• Attitude Determination.

Dr. Ying is a Postdoc Fellow at the Integrated Photonics Laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Yating Wan at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Before joining KAUST, he received his B.E. degree in Communication Engineering from Lanzhou University in 2017 with some honors such as the First Price Scholarship, School Outstanding Graduates Awards. He received the Ph.D. degree from the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2022. His Ph.D. doctoral research focuses on polymer waveguide technology for high-speed optical circuit board application. He previously published 16 journals and conference papers, including the first author's 3 OE, 1 OL, OFC, OECC, etc. He now pivots himself towards the silicon photonics integrated circuit platform and its applications.

Dr. Ying’s research interests are optical interconnects, silicon photonics.

Abdelrahman Fatouh is an electrical and computer engineering master’s student at KAUST started in 2025, specializing in embedded systems, AI, and IoT. He holds a B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from King Saud University (2024) and has industry experience developing robotics and intelligent systems at multiple technology start-ups. His recent work includes EEG-based humanoid robot control for disabled people.

• Embedded systems
• AI
• TinyMl,
• IoT
• Digital hardware design

Abdullah Alquwayzani is a Ph.D. student at the Photonics Lab in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST.) He received his M.S. degree from KAUST in 2022 with a thesis in characterizing the power consumption of a flexible system-on-chip. He recieved his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2020.

Optoelectronics

Abdullah Alshehri is a Ph.D. candidate in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department at the Integrated Circuit and System (ICS) Research Group at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). 

Alshehri received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom in 2014. In 2016, he earned his master's degree in Electrical Engineering (Electro-physics) from KAUST in Saudi Arabia.

Alshehri's research focuses on designing low-power, high-speed CMOS interface circuits for sensors. He has published over 10 papers and obtained a patent. Throughout his academic and professional journey, Alshehri has gained valuable experience from positions at companies such as STC, Digital Network, ARAMCO, SEMC, Umm Al Qura University, and KAUST.

Abdullah's research interests focus on the design of low-power, high-performance interface circuits for advanced applications. Specific areas of focus include:

1. Low-power, high-speed CMOS interface circuit design:
   • Developing energy-efficient amplifiers, filters, and other analog building blocks
   • Optimizing circuit topologies and techniques to improve power, speed, and linearity
2. High-performance analog comparators:
   • Designing low-offset, low-noise comparator circuits
   • Enhancing comparator speed and resolution for precision applications
3. Energy-efficient digital logic circuits:
   • Implementing compact, low-power digital logic blocks and controllers
   • Exploring circuit techniques to minimize dynamic and static power consumption
4. High-speed, low-power analog-to-digital converters (ADCs):
   • Advancing ADC architectures and circuit designs to improve power consumption and conversion rates
   • Reducing the design complexity of high-performance ADC

• Developing Biosensors to detect biomarkers for cancer and other ailments.
• Studying electrochemical characteristics of various materials, polymers and films.
• Designing wearable, point-of-care, biotech medical devices.
• Utilizing machine learning to aid in sensing and data interpretation.

Abeer Alamoudi received her B.Sc. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Effat University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in 2019. She earned her M.Sc. degree from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2021 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. with the Communications and Computing Systems Laboratory (CCSL) at KAUST.

Abeer Alamoudi’s research centers on Human Body Communications (HBC) and the Internet of Bodies (IoB). Her primary focus is on developing self-sustainable IoB sensor nodes by exploring various communication access schemes and energy harvesting techniques. The goal is to power these systems efficiently while meeting the diverse quality-of-service (QoS) requirements demanded at the application level.

Ahmed Hussain received his B.E. degree in Avionics Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan, in 2014. He earned his M.S. degree in Avionics Engineering from the Aerospace and Aviation Campus, Kamra, Pakistan. During his undergraduate studies, he was awarded the President’s Gold Medal for achieving the highest GPA and the Rector’s Gold Medal for the best project. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. degree at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia.

His research interests include deep learning-enabled near-field communication, digital array signal processing, and wireless communications.

Alejandro Pardo is a final-year Ph.D. student at KAUST, advised by Prof. Bernard Ghanem. His research explores the intersection of computer vision and creativity, with a focus on automating video editing using generative models. He previously earned his M.Sc. under Pablo Arbeláez and has interned at Intel's Embodied AI Lab and Adobe Research. Alejandro is passionate about bridging technology and storytelling.

He is specialized in Image processing and analysis, and interested in topics related to the investigation in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision. Besides that, he’s knowledgeable in machine learning and deep learning.

Amr N. Abdelrahman received his B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Nanotechnology and Nanoelectronics Engineering from the University of Science and Technology, Zewail City, Egypt, in 2021, and his M.Sc. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, in 2023. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at KAUST. In 2024, he was a visiting scholar at Polytechnique Montréal, Canada.

His research focuses on the development of ultra-low-power transceivers for next-generation wearable devices using human body communication (HBC). His work aims to enable wire-free connectivity between low-power wearable sensor nodes without relying on traditional RF or wired links.

Amr's research interests include human body communication, analog and mixed-signal circuit design, and low-power electronics for biomedical applications.

• Robotics
• Self-Assembly
• Control
• 3D Printing
• Modeling

Arturo is a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE) Division of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Following his participation in the KAUST's 2017 Photonics Summer Camp, he started his graduate studies at KAUST in August 2018. Prior to his graduate studies he earned B.Sc. in Engineering Physics from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Mexico) in 2017, and conducted a research intership in the Nuclear Sciences Institute (ICN) of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 2016.

Arturo is the co-founder of Pixeltra Inc., a startup company specializing in multidimensional imaging solutions through metasurfaces. He actively serves as a reviewer for Nature Communications, and has authored ten publications in high-impact factor journals during his Ph.D. He received the Academic Excellence award from KAUST in 2022 and 2023, and was awarded 2nd place at the 2019 Falling Walls international pitching competition.

Arturo's research focuses on the design and fabrication of optical metasurfaces, emphasizing practical applications in remote sensing and hyperspectral imaging.

Aznaur obtained his bachelor's degree in Applied Mathematics and Physics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 2023. He joined KAUST in 2024 to pursue his MS and PhD degrees.

Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Reinforcement Learning.