Welcome To KFUPM Physics

Welcome to the Department of Physics at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. I invite you to explore our website where you can find information about our academic programs, courses, research activities, and faculty members. Physics has always been at the forefront of exploration. This is accomplished through cognitive enhancement by education transmitted through academic courses as well as carrying out research at the cutting-edge frontiers of human knowledge. The Physics department offer courses that are solidly based on the American system to meet international quality assurance requirements, which has placed the Department as a world-class regional center in a leading international institution. Our student body includes pure-physics students and double-major students, which reflects the interdisciplinary nature of our program. In addition, our research facilities span various fields of physics including condensed matter physics, lasers, materials research, magnetism and superconductivity, nuclear physics, and nonlinear and computational physics. Over the past five decades, our faculty members have conducted research using in-house facilities as well as collaborative research with national and international centers.

Mohammad Al-Kuhaili,
Professor & Chairman, Physics Department

Mission & Goals View Recent Events

Research and Academic activity statistics 2015 to 2021

3.1

Average Impact Factor Publications​

51

Patents

10042

Cumulative Citation Count​

452

Publications

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SEMINAR

Small Spacecraft to Monitor Radio Scintillation through the Ionosphere

Speaker:
Dr. Ashraf Farahat
Date: Monday, September 15th, 2025
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Bldg. 6/Room 125

Abstract:
There is a growing interest in small spacecraft technology, which in recent years has proven to be a cheaper, faster, and reliable solution for space missions. Owing to their low mass and cost, small spacecraft have created new opportunities for universities and research institutes to engage in spacecraft development.

This seminar presents the design of a 6U spacecraft developed to investigate the relationship between solar activity and radio scintillation in the high-altitude ionosphere. The propagation of RF signals through the ionosphere is a critical issue for maritime navigation and military operations.

The spacecraft is equipped with two scientific payloads: a mass spectrometer and a multi-frequency radio beacon. The beacon will be used to monitor scintillation along lines of sight to ground-based receivers, while the mass spectrometer will measure the effects of solar energetic particles and solar flares on the atmosphere.

Biography:
Dr. Farahat is an Associate Professor of Physics at KFUPM. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the Florida Institute of Technology, USA, and completed his postdoctoral research with the Canadian Department of National Defense. He has extensive experience working with spacecraft data and design in collaboration with Boston University, the University of California, Berkeley, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In 2023, he served as the Principal Investigator of the “Cloud Seeding in Microgravity” experiment, which was launched to the International Space Station with the Saudi Space Agency (SSA).

All faculty, researchers and students are invited to attend.

    Location and Time

  • 6/125

  • 15 Sep, 2025

  • 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM