Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University, 2021
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University, 2019
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Connecticut, 2016
Licenses & Certifications
  • Professional Engineer Mechanical, California, #M 42023
  • Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
Professional Honors
  • The Sibley School Excellence in Graduate Teaching Assistance Award, 2021
  • NSF Honorable Mention, 2018
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
  • National Associations of Fire Investigators — NAFI
Languages
  • Arabic
  • French (France)

Khaled Hashad's expertise is in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), heat transfer, aerosol science, air quality, atmospheric science, statistical analysis, and machine learning. He applies his expertise in areas including thermal management of consumer electronics, failure analysis, and root cause investigations of fires.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Hashad was a PhD Candidate in the Mechanical and Aerospace Department at Cornell University. There he worked on optimizing urban green designs (vegetation) to mitigate traffic-related air pollution. He used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to assess the pollutant reduction of novel urban green designs by analyzing the physical mechanisms by which the vegetation barriers reduce pollutants and provided guidelines for optimal barrier designs. He created machine learning models trained on CFD data to capture the effects of vegetation on pollutant behavior downwind of the barrier. Dr. Hashad also developed the first dispersion model that parameterizes the Gaussian plume equations to describe the impact of vegetation on near-road pollutant deposition and dispersion. Leveraging his expertise in aerosol science and CFD, Dr. Hashad also studied airborne virus transmission to help understand the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in indoor environments. He helped develop a validated CFD model that captures the intricate behavior of droplets and aerosols in indoor environments such as deposition, evaporation, and interaction with the air flow. Dr. Hashad also has experience evaluating the heat transfer of photovoltaic solar panels and how they affect the local microclimate and utilizing CFD to model the thermal management of batteries for electric vehicles using phase changing material.