A typical day for me is a mix of data, modelling and discussions. I start by checking and cleaning methane measurements from oil and gas sites, then use computer tools to see how the gas would move and spread in the air under different weather conditions. I test “what if” scenarios to see how reliable the numbers are and where the biggest leaks might be. Later in the day I meet with industry partners and other researchers, write up results, and support students and early-career engineers so that our work leads to real reductions in methane emissions and meaningful climate benefits.

“I’d tell my 15-year-old self that it’s completely fine not to have everything planned, as long as you stay curious and keep moving. The subjects you enjoy now – maths, science, solving little puzzles – are not “weird”; they’re the start of a career where you really can help the planet.

Don’t shrink yourself to make other people comfortable. Speak up in class, ask the “awkward” questions and put your hand up for opportunities even if you feel under-qualified. The boys in the room are not smarter than you; they’re just louder.

You don’t have to be perfect to belong in engineering. You will make mistakes, change direction and sometimes feel out of place, and none of that means you should quit. Look after your health, protect your sleep, and don’t treat stress as a normal way of living. Choose people who respect your boundaries and your ambitions. You are allowed to want a big, meaningful life – and you are more capable than you think.”

I’ve always loved mysteries and maths, and engineering felt like the place where those two things meet. What excites me most is taking a complex, messy problem and slowly working out the logic until it makes sense – that moment when the “answer” appears gives me a real sense of achievement. I’m not the kind of person who can memorise pages of information, but I’m very comfortable building things from first principles and deriving equations rather than recalling them. As a more introverted person, I’ve always enjoyed the quiet focus of sitting with an engineering problem, exploring different approaches, and seeing how a small idea on paper can grow into something useful in the real world. That combination of mystery, maths and thoughtful problem-solving is what drew me into engineering and has kept me there.

“The best part of my job is the feeling that the work actually matters. When I manage to turn confusing measurements into a clear picture of where methane is leaking and how much we can realistically cut, it feels like solving a big puzzle that has real impact on climate and on how companies operate. I enjoy the mix of maths, modelling and collaboration, and I like seeing industry partners change their decisions because of results we produced.

The hardest part is the uncertainty and pressure around it. Climate work can be emotionally heavy, and progress is often slower than the science suggests it should be. There is also a lot of time spent on funding applications, reporting and deadlines, which can be stressful and takes energy away from the actual research. Sometimes it is challenging to explain complex uncertainty to non-specialists who just want a single number. Even with these pressures, I still feel the positives outweigh the negatives, because the work is meaningful and keeps opening new ways to make a difference.”

I started as a chemical engineering researcher in Egypt, working on reaction engineering and gasification, then did a PhD at the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology on photocatalysis and a postdoc at Kyoto University on fuel cells. After that I moved to the UK to focus on methane emissions from oil and gas, which led to my current postdoctoral role on quantifying and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Over the next 25–50 years I expect energy and heavy industry to look very different from today. The default will be low-carbon by design: fossil fuels will be used much less, and where they are still needed, methane and CO₂ emissions will be tightly measured, independently verified and priced into decisions rather than treated as an external cost. Instead of a few occasional surveys, sites will have continuous monitoring with networks of smart sensors, satellites and drones feeding into real-time “digital twins” that operators use to spot problems, fix leaks quickly and optimise performance. Engineers will spend less time doing routine calculations and more time making decisions with the help of advanced models and AI. I also expect engineering teams themselves to be more diverse, more global and more interdisciplinary, with chemical engineers working side by side with data scientists, ecologists and social scientists to design solutions that are not only technically sound, but fair, affordable and trusted by the public.

My work directly supports several of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially Climate Action. Methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas, so improving how we measure and reduce methane leaks from oil and gas sites is one of the fastest ways to slow global warming (SDG 13). By helping companies and regulators get more accurate emission numbers and showing where the biggest leaks are, my research also improves the efficiency of energy systems and supports a more careful use of resources (SDG 7 and SDG 12). I work closely with industry partners to turn methods into practical tools and guidelines, which contributes to more innovative, lower-carbon infrastructure (SDG 9) and builds stronger collaboration between academia, industry and policy.