Abdelaziz (Aziz) Khlaifat

A distinguished academic and industry expert with more than 28 years of international experience spanning higher education, research, and the oil and gas sector. Brings deep expertise in unconventional resources, integrated reservoir studies, reservoir modeling and simulation, and multidisciplinary research across petroleum, chemical, and environmental engineering. Has also built a strong academic track record in teaching a wide range of petroleum, chemical, and engineering courses, leading research initiatives, and supervising graduate and applied research projects.

Currently serves as Professor of Petroleum Engineering and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the School of Sciences and Engineering at the American University in Cairo. Previously held academic leadership roles at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, and served as the founding Head of the Petroleum Engineering Department at Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, where he also acted as SPE Student Chapter Advisor.

In addition to academic leadership, has held several senior technical and managerial roles in the oil and gas industry, including Research and Development Manager at the Dhahran Research Center of Weatherford International, Senior Reservoir Engineer specializing in unconventional resources in Saudi Arabia, and Senior Reservoir Engineer in modeling and simulation at Weatherford’s Well Engineering Center of Excellence in Dubai. His industry experience covers tight and shale gas, reservoir engineering, applied research, and technology development.

Holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from the Moscow Institute of Oil and Gas, as well as a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and a PhD in Chemical/Reservoir Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Prior to joining industry, advanced through a number of academic positions and was promoted to Full Professor of Chemical Engineering in 2009.

Has made substantial contributions to academic strategy, curriculum development, and the design and steering of multiple engineering programs. Also serves as an active international expert for ABET as a Program Evaluator, supporting accreditation reviews and compliance assessments for engineering programs worldwide.

Maintains active membership in the Society of Petroleum Engineers and several other professional and technical societies at local, regional, and international levels. Has authored or co-authored more than 110 publications, including journal articles and book chapters, covering topics such as flow through porous media, hydrocarbon reservoir engineering, enhanced oil recovery, carbon capture and sequestration, unconventional tight and shale gas, managed pressure drilling, non-aqueous phase liquid transport, photocatalysis, two-phase flow modeling and simulation, Dead Sea-related research, and water and environmental studies.

A recipient of multiple academic and technical awards, recognized for both scholarly and professional contributions, and noted internationally for achievements in engineering education, research, and applied petroleum engineering.