Dr. Rehan Umer is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Khalifa University (KU), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and a Guest Professor at Linköping University, Sweden. An elected Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, he earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Center for Advanced Composite Materials (CACM), The University of Auckland, New Zealand and worked as postdoctoral research fellow at the Composite Vehicle Research Center (CVRC), Michigan State University, USA. With extensive international experience across academia, research institutes, and industry, Prof. Umer has been instrumental in establishing advanced composites and manufacturing facilities globally. Prof. Umer helped establish the Airbus Helicopter manufacturing site in Brisbane, Australia while working for the Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Composite Structures (CRS-ACS). At KU, he co-founded the Aerospace Engineering Department and Aerospace Research and Innovation Center (ARIC). He currently leads the Composites Manufacturing Lab and cluster at KU.
A global leader in sustainable and digital composites manufacturing, Dr. Umer has secured over USD 12 million in research funding, published extensively in top tier journals, and holds several patents. He serves in the international committee for “Flow Processes in Composite Materials” (FPCM) conference series. He is recognized among the top 2% of most cited scientists worldwide in his field. His research integrates experimental process development using liquid composite molding, permeability measurements, automated fiber placement, digital material twinning, X-ray computed tomography, AI in composites manufacturing, 2D materials, sensing, process monitoring, and additive manufacturing of aerospace, automotive and next-generation hydrogen energy storage structures.
2D materials enhanced fiber reinforced composites for aerospace and defense applications.
Smart manufacturing of smart aircraft skins.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence in aerospace composites manufacturing
