Dr. Nikhil is a Corporate Fellow in SABIC’s Corporate Technology and Innovation (T&I) division.  He is responsible for their polymer-related activities that include incubating new platforms, market opportunities, and products since 2021, working closely with Aramco on the Non-Metallics initiative, establishing strategic relationships with universities globally with special emphasis in Saudi Arabia, and mentoring the T&I talent pipeline. Since 2020, he is also Adjunct Professor at Rice University’s Department of Material Science and NanoEngineering.

He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Material Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1999, specializing in carbon fiber composites.

He joined SABIC in 2012 after spending 12 years at The Dow Chemical Company, creating and launching FORTEGRATM (rubber-toughened epoxy and epoxy vinylester) and VORAFORCETM (formulated epoxy and polyurethane based systems) for composite manufacturers. At SABIC, he helped establish the Advanced Composites Center of Excellence in Geelen, The Netherlands (2015-2018), and to develop continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic tapes (UDMAXTM) that resulted in “hybrid” composites through the development of the injection over-molding process. He has published 53 journal papers, co-authored some 93 conference presentations, chapters in 4 books, and contributed to 50 patents (filed and granted).

Finally, he serves on the Technical Industry Advisory Board of the Macromolecules Innovation Institute at Virginia Tech and Arizona State University’s Bio design Center for Sustainable Macromolecular Materials and Manufacturing (SM3).