Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Environmental Sciences, Arkansas State University, 2015
  • M.S., Engineering Management, Arkansas State University, 2010
Licenses & Certifications
  • Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
Academic Appointments
  • Assistant Professor of Teaching, ECE, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2018-2022
  • Assistant Professor, Industrial Technology, Fitchburg State University, 2017
  • Instructor, College of Engineering, Arkansas State University, 2016
Professional Honors
  • KEEN Rising Star, 2019
  • Amplify Mass Award Winner, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, 2019
  • Community Catalyst Award Winner, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, 2020
  • IEEE Senior Member, since 2020
Professional Affiliations
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – IEEE (senior member)
  • National Society of Professional Engineer – NSPE (member)
  • International Association of Engineers – IAENG (member)

Dr. Mughal is a licensed professional electrical engineer with expertise in areas including synthesis and characterization of thin film materials (chalcogenides, metal sulfides, metal oxides, etc.), renewable energy and distributed systems integration (RDSI), environment and sustainability, embedded systems and Internet of Things (IoT), data science, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). 

Dr. Mughal also has extensive exposure with modeling and writing software for data analysis, algorithmic processing, and visualization using MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, and Simulink.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Mughal was an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He taught courses including sensors, signals and systems, digital circuit design, electric circuits, microelectronics, microcontrollers and PLC's, embedded systems and engineering design. He is vastly experienced working with both Xilinx/Intel FPGA development and design tools, and related software platforms such as Vivado for timing analysis and simulations. In this role, Dr. Mughal also frequently collaborated with WPI industry partners on projects related to PCB power supply and sensor design to aid both thermal and power management of the electronics devices. He also worked closely with utility companies to develop efficient ways of delivering renewable energy to the grid.

Dr. Mughal received his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences, a multidisciplinary program that cuts across several academic disciplines including science, engineering, physics, and chemistry, from Arkansas State University. During this time, he developed expertise that covers a wide range of experimental and analytical tools. He has in-depth experience with a variety of characterization techniques such as photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, IV characterization, cyclic voltammetry, impedance analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV-VIS Spectrophotometer, profilometer, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Dr. Mughal has worked on nanoscale semiconductor device fabrication using both solution- and vacuum-based deposition techniques including electrochemical deposition (ED), chemical bath deposition (CBD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), e-beam (EB) evaporation, and sputtering.

He holds a PE license in the state of Massachusetts and is also a senior member of IEEE. He is a recipient of Amplify Mass and Community Catalyst Awards awarded by Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. He is also a professional member of NSPE and IAENG, and review papers for Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Environmental Progress and Sustainable Energy, and IEEE Industrial Application Society.