King Saud University, College of Engineering

The College of Engineering, King Saud University (KSU) is a leading center for learning and research in the Middle East, and home to groundbreaking research in valorizing date palm byproducts. KSU is located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has one of the largest populations of date palms globally, with a total 31 million palms. Annually generating more than 600 thousand tons of byproducts of pruning, which represent an abundant source of sustainable materials. Which could be one of the country’s future competitive advantages and help in achieving the Kingdom’s environmental sustainability Vision 2030 .

International Association for Palm Byproducts (ByPalma Assoc)

ByPalma Association is the first association of its kind solely focusing on the byproducts of palm plantations around the globe. Established as a private research and consulting organization to guarantee the continuation of the endeavors to support the use of palm byproducts on the international level for sustainable development. Its activities include the organization of world conferences, workshops, exhibitions, and seminars as well as the conduction of transformational research projects devoted to propagating the rational utilization of palm byproducts for the satisfaction of basic needs on the international level.

Conference Chairman

Dr. Majid Lafi Altamimi, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Majid Lafi Altamimi is the dean of the college of Engineering, King Saud University, before which he served as the Vice Dean for Development and Quality. Dr Altamimi joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, King Saud University, in 2015, as an Assistant Professor. He served as a Teaching Assistant with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, in 2013, and the Department of Electrical Engineering, King Saud University, from 2004 to 2006. Dr. Majid Altamimi received his B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2004, M.A.Sc. degree, in 2010, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Waterloo,Waterloo, ON, Canada, in 2014.

Conference Co-Chair

Prof. Dr. Hamed El-Mously, Ain Shams University, Egypt

The Legendary Professor Dr. Hamed El-Mously, is an Emeritus Professor at the Faculty of Engineering – Ain Shams University, Egypt and co-founder and chairman of the International Association for Palm By-products (ByPalma). Dr. El-Mously is recognized as the founding father of Date Palm byproducts research and development, and one of the warriors of sustainable development of local communities. He received numerous prestigious awards for his work, such as Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agriculture Innovation 2013. El-Mously has been working in projects aiming at developing local communities in all villages of Egypt, by applying developing projects using their local resources since 1995. Projects include production of blockboard, parquet, and arabesque from palm midribs, production of non-traditional animal feed from agricultural residues, production of organic fertilizers from pruning-products of date palms, doum palms, and mango trees, and production of fig jam. El-Mously contributed in the foundation of several research societies and member in several strategic consulting and scientific committees.

Conference Co-Chairs

Dr. Mohamad Midani, German University in Cairo, Egypt

Dr. Mohamad Midani is an Assistant Professor at the Materials Engineering Department, German University Cairo, Egypt and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Wilson College of Textiles NC State University. He is also the managing partner of inTEXive consulting, Secretary General of the International Association of Palm Byproducts, and member of the Advisory Board of Middle East Company for Textiles. Dr. Midani has long experience in the textile industry, with a focus on technical textiles and composites, with an ongoing research collaboration and consulting to the industry. His research mostly focuses on natural fibers and fiber reinforced composites, and he is the co-inventor of the long textile fibers from the midribs of date palm (PalmFil). He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites as well as New Product development and Innovation Management. In 2016, Dr. Midani received a recognition for excellence in teaching from NC State University, and in 2020 from the American University in Cairo. Dr. Midani has his BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Ain Shams University (2006), MT in Textiles & Apparel Technology and Management (2012), and Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from the College of Textiles NC State University (2016). Dr. Midani is a certified New Product Development Professional (NPDP) and a member of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) and co-founder and member of the board of PDMA Egypt chapter.

Conference Co-Chairs

Dr. Aidah Jumahat, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

Dr. Jumahat A is an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia. She has been giving lectures on Composite Materials, Finite Element Method, Mechanics of Materials, Manufacturing Processes, Mechanical Engineering Design and Advanced Materials, which happens to be her areas of research interest, since 2001. She also currently serves as Director of Community of Research for Frontier Materials and Industrial Applications at the Deputy Vice Chancellor Office UiTM since 2016. She received her MSc degree (2002) and B.Eng. (Hons.) degree in Mechanical and Materials Engineering (1999) from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She received her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield United Kingdom in 2011. She has published more than 200 technical papers in journals, chapters in book and conference proceedings locally and internationally in materials and mechanical engineering research areas.