Biography

 

Dr. Manzar Sohail
(Electro / Analytical Chemistry)

Phone: +96613860 8367; Email:  manzar.sohail@gmail.com

Postal address: Building 15, Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.

Present Position:
Research Scientist III, Centre of Excellence for Nanotechnology King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Present Projects

1-               Development of nanostructured visible-light-driven silver-based oxides for water decontamination.

2-               Fabrication and characterization of new nanocomposite electrode materials with emphasis on exploring the mechanism of the interface reactions using in-situ and ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Grants and Awards

 

§  Seed grant for ARC, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2012 (AUD 16000)

§  AINSE Travel Grant for ISE conference, Perth, WA, 2012.

§  Monash University Postgraduate Scholarship (2005-2009).

§  Monash University Graduate Scholarship (2005-2009).

§  Monash University Gippsland Department top up scholarship (2006-2008).

§  Monash University Gippsland publication award (2009).

§  Monash Postgraduate Travel Grant: “RACI Electrochemistry Symposium:New Materials and New Methods (2008).

§  Monash University Gippsland Student Union Award for outstanding contributions to post graduate students at the Gippsland Campus (2006).

§  Merit Scholarship, Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan (2001 – 03).

 

Qualifications

PhD (Chemistry) 2005 -2009

Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Thesis: “Fabrication of Composite and Nanocomposite Biosensors for Nitrate Analysis in Environmental Materials.” 

There is a growing need and interest in the development of reliable biosensors for nitrate determination in diverse biological and environmental materials due to the potential health hazards posed by nitrates, their environmental impact and the involvement of nitrates in numerous biological reactions. During this research project, I fabricated several new composite and gold nanoparticle-based nanocomposite nitrate biosensors, which were successfully used for nitrate determinations in a variety of water samples ranging from drinking water to seawater without needing to pre-treat the samples. Nitrate determination by these biosensors offers the possibility of in-field nitrate determination as an alternative to complex spectrophotometric or chromatographic techniques. 

M.Phil (Chemistry) 2001-2003
Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, Pakistan (GPA  3.8) 

Dissertation: “Synthesis and characterization of precursors for chemical vapour deposition”.

 

Metallo-organic Chemical Vapour Deposition (MOCVD) has numerous applications across a diverse range of fields including wear and corrosion resistant coatings, catalysis, the fabrication of integrated circuits and semiconductor devices, ceramic composites, electronics and optoelectronics. The success of the MOCVD process depends on the availability and characteristics of metal-organic precursors. In this context, several homoleptic and bimetallic MOCVD precursors of Sn and Ni were synthesized and structurally characterized by Elemental Analysis, FTIR, Multinuclear NMR and Single Crystal X-ray Analysis.

 

M.Sc. (Chemistry) 1998-2000,

Government College, Lahore, Pakistan 

Bachelor of Science & Education (Honours) 1994-1997

Federal College of Education, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Thesis: Why Students Fail in Science Subjects at Secondary School Level.