Research Interests

Professor Szekely's research focuses on sustainable separations through the synergistic combination of materials science and chemical engineering. Sustainable production of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and clean water is largely impacted by the efficiency of separation processes in product supply chains. The conventional separation processes can account for as much as 80% of the total manufacturing costs, contributing ~10% of the world's energy consumption. In particular, the group's research investigates the potential of advanced membranes and imprinted materials for efficient purification and sustainable processing of fine chemicals and water.

Selected Publications

  • C. Yang, F. Topuz, S.-H. Park, G. Szekely, Biobased thin-film composite membranes comprising priamine–genipin selective layer on nanofibrous biodegradable polylactic acid support for oil and solvent-resistant nanofiltration, Green Chemistry, 2022, 24, 5291–5303.
  • A. Alammar, R. Hardian, G. Szekely, Upcycling agricultural waste into membranes: from date seed biomass to oil and solvent-resistant nanofiltration, Green Chemistry, 2022, 24, 365–374.
  • S.-H. Park, C. Yang, N. Ayaril, G. Szekely, Solvent-resistant Thin Film Composite Membranes from Biomass-derived Building Blocks: Chitosan and 2,5-Furandicarboxaldehyde, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2022, 10, 998–1007.
  • G. Ignacz, G. Szekely, Deep learning meets quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) for leveraging structure-based prediction of solute rejection in organic solvent nanofiltration, Journal of Membrane Science, 2022, 646, 120268.
  • L. Cseri, R. Hardian, S. Anan, H. Vovusha, U. Schwingenschlogl, P.M. Budd, K. Sada, K. Kokado, G. Szekely, Bridging the interfacial gap in mixed-matrix membranes by nature-inspired design: Precise molecular sieving with polymer-grafted metal–organic frameworks, Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2021, 9, 23793–23801.

Education

  • Ph.D., Chemistry, Technical University of Dortmund, Germany, 2009–2012
  • MEng, Chemical Engineering, Technical University of Budapest, Hungary, 2004–2009

Professional Profile

  • ​2019-present: Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
  • 2019-preset: Visiting Academic, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom
  • 2014-2019: Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester, United Kingdom
  • 2016-2018: Adjunct Faculty, Saveetha University, India
  • 2012-2014: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Imperial College London, United Kingdom
  • 2009-2012: Early Stage Researcher, Hovione PharmaScience Ltd, Portugal

Scientific and Professional Membership

  • ​Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
  • Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC)
  • Member of the American Chemical Society
  • Academic Editor for Advances in Polymer Technology by Wiley-Hindawi Publishers
  • Academic Editor for Advanced Materials Letters by VBRI Press
  • Academic Editor for Current Nanomaterials by Bentham Science Publisher
  • Member of the Society for Molecular Imprinting
  • Member of the International Society for Molecular Recognition
  • Member of the International Separation Science Society
  • Member of the Hungarian Chemical Society

KAUST Affiliations