Our Team

Dr. Sharmarke Mohamed

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Department of Chemistry

Khalifa University of Science and Technology

Education & Experience

2022 - Present:

Associate Professor of Chemistry, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

2021 - Present:

Head of Chemical Crystallography Laboratory, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

2014 - 2022:

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

2012-2013:

Teacher of Advanced Chemistry, London Academic of Excellence, UK.

2011-2012:

Drug Development Chemist, Zentiva – A Sanofi Company, Prague, Czech Republic.

2007-2011:

PhD Chemistry, Crystal Engineering and Computational Materials Modelling, UCL, UK.

2003-2007:

MSci Chemistry (1st Class Honours; Dean’s List), Polymorphism of Organic Crystals, UCL, UK.

Postdoctoral Research
Fellows

Dr. Arif Hassan Dar

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2024-present)

Research Focus

Dr. Arif Hassan Dar completed his BSc (H) and Masters (Chemistry) from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh India. He pursued his PhD from INST/IISER Mohali in 2021. 

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Dr. Xuan Li

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2023-present)

Research Focus

Dr. Xuan Li received her PhD from Khalifa University of Science and Technology, UAE (2022)

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Dr. Thaksen Jadhav

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2022-2024)

Research Focus

Dr. Thaksen Jadhav received his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India (2017).

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Dr Bhausaheb Dhokale

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2018-2022)

Research Focus

Dr. Bhausaheb is a trained organic chemist with interest in photophysics and organic electronics. Dr. Bhausaheb is leading our efforts to develop new synthetic protocols

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Dr. Rue Nyadzayo

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2018-2021)

Research Focus

Dr. Rue was awarded a PhD in Biotechnology/Molecular Biology in December 2013. Dr. Rue is a dynamic researcher with more than 8 years’ experience in Biological Sciences

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Visiting Scholars

Dr. Tamador Alkhidir

Visiting Scholar (2020-present)

Research Focus

Dr. Tamador Alkhidir earned her PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering on “Semiconductor Spintronics and Molecular Electronics Micro-and Nanodevices for Detection of Biologically Relevant Molecules”. She is an expert in the use of DFT and MD methods to probe the structures and properties of 2D and 3D materials.

Graduate Students

Ms. Zeinab M. Saeed

PhD. Chemistry (2021-present)
MSc. Applied Chemistry (2018-2020)

Zeinab earned her BSc in Chemistry at the United Arab Emirates University, with a minor in Environmental Sciences (2018). During the period 2018-2020, she then pursued her MSc Applied Chemistry at Khalifa University under the supervision of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed

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Mr. Mubarak Almehairbi

MSc. Applied Chemistry (2021-2023)
In 2023, Mubarak successfully completed his MSc. Applied Chemistry degree under the joint supervision of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed (Main Supervisor, Chemistry) and Prof. Nayla El Kork (Project PI, Physics) on a thesis titled “Spectral characterization of molecules in the Martian atmosphere”.
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Ms. Eman Abujami

MSc. Applied Chemistry (2020-2022)
In 2019, Eman completed her Batchelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree in Chemistry at the University of Sharjah. In 2020, she joined the group of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed to advance techniques for the use of surfactant-assisted mechanochemical processes for the efficient remediation of pollutants from complex soil matrices.
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Undergraduate Students

  • 2024-2024
  • Mr. Adam Marwan Al-Sharif
  • Role: Main Supervisor
  • Project Type: Project Student
  • Project Title: Photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants using conjugated porous organic polymers
  • Degree: BSc. Chemistry
  • 2022-2023
  • Ms. Aya Abdelhaq
  • Role: Main Supervisor
  • Project Type: Research Assistant Position (KU)
  • Project Title: Ab-initio Molecular Dynamics for Predicting the Mechanical Properties of Molecular Crystals
  • Degree: BSc. Physics
  • 2021-2022
  • Mr. Ahamad Irfan
  • Role: Main Supervisor
  • Project Type: Independent Study Project (KU)
  • Project Title: Computational discovery of super-stiff molecular crystals: correlating the molecular and crystal properties of organic compounds with their mechanical properties
  • Major: BSc. Chemistry (Research ongoing during 2021-2022 academic year. Student project funded from externally funded AARE-2020 grant)
  • 2021-2022
  • Ms. Nada Oriqat
  • Role: Main Supervisor
  • Project Type: Senior Research Project (KU)
  • Project Title: Computationally-assisted discovery of stiff organic molecular crystals for application as waveguides in optical communication devices
  • Degree: BSc. Chemistry (Research ongoing during 2021-2022 academic year. Student project funded from externally funded AARE-2020 grant)
  • 2021-2022
  • Ms. Nadia Rabeh
  • Role: Co-Supervisor (as part of externally funded AARE-2020 project)
  • Project Type: Senior Research Project (New York University Abu Dhabi)
  • Project Title: The Photolytic Mechanoenzymatic Degradation (PMED) of Polyethylene
  • Major: BA. Chemistry (New York University Abu Dhabi)
  • Research Output: Student project part of externally funded AARE-2020 project.
  • 2020-2021
  • Mr. Mubarak Almehairbi
  • Role: Main Supervisor
  • Project Type: Senior Research Project (KU)
  • Project Title: Computational screening of the mechanical properties of compliant and plastically deformable organic crystalline materials
  • Degree: BSc. Chemistry (Graduated with BSc degree in 2021. Currently MSc. Applied Chemistry student at KU)
  • Research Output: 2 manuscripts under preparation. Student project funded from internally funded CIRA-2018 grant.
  • 2019-2020
  • Mr. Mubarak Almehairbi
  • Role: Co-Supervisor (as part of externally funded AARE-2020 project)
  • Project Type: Independent Study Project (KU)
  • Project Title: Assessing the Energetic and Structural Factors that Determine the Crystallization of Ternary Molecular Ionic Cocrystals
  • Degree: BSc. Chemistry
  • 2017-2018
  • Mr. Ahmad Al Masri Al Wan
  • Role: Main Supervisor
  • Project Type: Independent Study Project (KU)
  • Project Title: Mechanochemical synthesis of Ionic Cocrystals with defined stoichiometry and with high purity
  • Degree: BSc. Chemical Engineering (Graduated with BSc degree in 2019. MSc Chemical Engineering student 2019-2021)
  • Research Output: 1 Q1 paper published in 2018.

About Us

Our laboratory, which is based in the Chemistry Department of KU brings together a diverse group of synthetic chemists, crystallographers, materials scientists and computational chemists. We are interested in the development of green mechanochemical methods for the sustainable synthesis of 2D and 3D crystalline and polymeric materials for a range of applications.
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Dr. Arif Hassan Dar

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2024-present)

Research Focus

Dr. Arif Hassan Dar completed his BSc (H) and Masters (Chemistry) from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh India. He pursued his PhD from INST/IISER Mohali in 2021. He has expertise in Organic Materials synthesis, Nanomaterials, Supramolecular Chemistry, Photophysics and Crystallography. Prior to joining Khalifa University, he was working as a Postdoctoral Fellow at IIT-Delhi on the design and application of mechanically flexible emissive organic crystals. Since 2024, he has been serving as a postdoctoral research fellow under the supervision of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed at Khalifa University. Dr. Dar’s research interests span chemical synthesis, chemical crystallography and the application of emissive organic materials for optoelectronic and energy harvesting applications.

Dr. Xuan Li

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2023-present)

Research Focus

Dr. Xuan Li received her PhD from Khalifa University of Science and Technology, UAE (2022), and now is a postdoctoral research fellow in the group of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed. Her research interest are in the design and fabrication of nanomaterials, and photocatalytic applications.

Dr. Thaksen Jadhav

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2022-2024)

Research Focus

Dr. Thaksen Jadhav received his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India (2017). After two consecutive postdocs at McGill University, Montreal, Canada (2017-2019) and at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia (2020-2021), he joined Khalifa University as a postdoctoral research fellow (2022). His research interests are in the areas of green circular economy and mechanochemistry.

Dr Bhausaheb Dhokale

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2018-2021)

Research Focus

Dr. Bhausaheb is a trained organic chemist with interest in photophysics and organic electronics. Dr. Bhausaheb is leading our efforts to develop new synthetic protocols for the functionalization and degradation of organic pollutants/polymers under mechanochemical conditions with the aim of making such organic pollutants easier to degrade.

Dr. Rue Nyadzayo

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2018-2021)

Research Focus

Dr. Rue was awarded a PhD in Biotechnology/Molecular Biology in December 2013. Dr. Rue is a dynamic researcher with more than 8 years’ experience in Biological Sciences research and extensive knowledge in Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology. Dr. Rue has led our microbiology work looking at the remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using UAE-native microbial organisms.

Ms. Zeinab M. Saeed

PhD. Chemistry (2021-present)

MSc. Applied Chemistry (2018-2020)

Zeinab earned her BSc in Chemistry at the United Arab Emirates University, with a minor in Environmental Sciences (2018). During the period 2018-2020, she then pursued her MSc Applied Chemistry at Khalifa University under the supervision of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed, focusing on mechanochemical synthesis of eutectics and ionic cocrystals for applications in environmental remediation. Since 2021, she has been serving as a PhD Chemistry Candidate at Khalifa University under the supervision of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed, delving into the realm of mechanochemical reactions, specifically exploring the upcycling of plastic waste into commercially viable small molecules using a combination of mechanical and light stimuli. Her PhD thesis also looks at the economical mechanosynthesis of porous organic nanocomposite materials for various applications.

Mr. Mubarak Almehairbi

MSc. Applied Chemistry (2021-2023)

In 2023, Mubarak successfully completed his MSc. Applied Chemistry degree under the joint supervision of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed (Main Supervisor, Chemistry) and Prof. Nayla El Kork (Project PI, Physics) on a thesis titled “Spectral characterization of molecules in the Martian atmosphere”. Prior to this, Mubarak completed his independent study and senior undergraduate thesis project under Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed. In both cases, he focused on developing atomistic methods based on dispersion-corrected DFT methods for accurately predicting the facet-specific mechanical properties of molecular crystals. This led to the successful development of the MechaPredict code which is now used by experimental groups working on the design and engineering of crystals with desirable mechanical properties.

Ms. Eman Abujami

MSc. Applied Chemistry (2020-2022)
In 2019, Eman completed her Batchelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree in Chemistry at the University of Sharjah. In 2020, she joined the group of Prof. Sharmarke Mohamed to advance techniques for the use of surfactant-assisted mechanochemical processes for the efficient remediation of pollutants from complex soil matrices. In 2022, she successfully defended and earnt her MSc. Applied Chemistry. Since then, she has been translating her experience and passion for chemistry as a teacher. She has earnt a Diploma in Professional Teaching in 2024 and has since then been working as a Chemistry teacher in Abu Dhabi.