By shaking up the way we make things, Ahmed Naufal is helping to improve all our lives
As a process engineer, Ahmed has found himself in some awesome places, like the massive greenhouses at Sundrop Farms that produce tomatoes for Coles! All those buildings need electricity and Ahmed was in charge of the solar thermal plant responsible for powering 20 hectares of greenhouses.
Now, Ahmed is shaping the way we make activated carbon, an essential filter for many things we interact with daily. This carbon is used to purify liquids and gases for drinking water, air purification in public venting systems, refining sugar, and even gold recovery!
To anyone considering entering the process engineering field, Ahmed says one of the most exciting things is working with emerging technologies that are changing the way we make things.
His favourite part of having a STEM career? Working with like-minded people, as well as “learning to observe and analyse everything technically to figure out how things work,” he says.
Ahmed’s study and career path to becoming a process engineer
- Bachelor of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Canterbury
- Graduate Chemical and Process Engineer, Silverfern farms (NZ)
- Energy Consultant, Renewable Energy Maldives
- Engineering Specialist, Sundropfarms Port Augusta
- Process Engineer, Bygen
Ahmed’s top career tip
“Challenge yourself to work on things that have not been done and always think outside the box.”
Fun fact
If you spread out one teaspoon of activated charcoal, there is enough matter to cover an entire football field.
What to study
Solve real-world challenges with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Chemical) from the University of Adelaide. Learn more here.
This article was produced in partnership with the University of Adelaide and first appeared in Careers with STEM: Engineering 2024
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