Dr. Nabil Kenan (ph.d.)

Market Research and Logistics Optimization Specialist

  • About ME

    Meet Dr. Nabil Kenan, a passionate, innovative, and dedicated professional who has carved a niche for himself in the digital, trade, and logistics sectors with an accumulated 10 years of experience. Currently leading the Research and Development department in the Digital Cluster at AD Ports Group, Nabil combines his love for cutting-edge technology and efficient systems to drive remarkable results in his work.

     

    An esteemed scholar, Nabil received his Ph.D. in 2017, specializing in optimizing airline logistics, during which he published three esteemed journal papers. His academic journey didn't stop there, as he went on to work as a postdoc at NYU Abu Dhabi, further cementing his expertise with two additional publications.

     

    However, Nabil's heart remained anchored in the dynamic environment of AD Ports Group, leading to his return in 2022 as the lead in Market Research. Recognized as a role model employee, Nabil's profound impact on his team and the company was further highlighted when he was honored in the College of Engineering Hall of Fame at the American University of Sharjah (AUS).

     

    Nabil is driven by core professional values of integrity, innovation, collaboration, and excellence, which underpin his commitment to continuous learning, solution-oriented thinking, resilience, and inspiring leadership. He strongly believes in "doing well by doing good", measuring success not only by profits but by the positive impact he can create in his industry and community.

     

    Away from the professional arena, Nabil is an avid lover of the outdoors, cherishing sunrise kayaking trips, BBQs, and hiking. When indoors, he's immersed in the world of his Playstation 5, particularly enjoying Resident Evil, or engrossed in a good book, podcast, or TV show.

     

    A fun fact about Nabil? He cannot stand blue cheese! A believer in giving back, he serves as the current Abu Dhabi Chapter representative for the AUS Alumni Association. Guided by the philosophy, "It is better to debate than to create", Nabil always comes prepared with a set of slides, fostering fruitful and engaging meetings.

     

    Nabil is living proof that life always gives second chances. He turned his fortunes around after the 11th grade, transforming from a struggling student to a shining beacon of success, showcasing that with hard work, perseverance, and a positive mindset, there's no limit to what one can achieve.

     

    Welcome to his world, where innovation meets passion, and success stories are written every day.

  • work experience

    broken image

    Research and Development

    Digital Cluster at AD Ports Group (2022 - Present)

    1. Hypothesized, researched, and proved the correct IT structure for AD Ports Group to meet their growth ambition.
    2. Identified the established, developing, and growing sectors in the Trade and Logistics landscape with the most potential for successful investments.
    3. Led the benchmarking excercise for best global technological practices for a government-wide center
    4. Managed a high-impact research project that is set to position AD Ports Group as the best-in-class Cold Chains hub.
    5. Delivering a strategy that will foster the innovation culture in the Digital Cluster and AD Ports Group making it a main disruptor in the Trade and Logistics landscape
    broken image

    Post-Doctoral Associate

    NYU Abu Dhabi (2018 - 2022)

    1. Optimizing delivery of blood to patients in the wake of disasters and pandemics.
    2. Optimizing sea-side operations at ports.
    3. Simulating the influence of different emissions reduction schemes on maritime operations.
    broken image

    Researcher and Statistician

    Maqta Gateway (2017 - 2018)

    1. Secretary of the R&D Committee and worked on outreach with local and international universities for collaboration on research projects.
    2. Supervised the customers adoption rates of the port community system (PCS) and ensured that these rates were increasing on a monthly basis.
    3. Created a system for performance bench-marking to measure the performance of the PCS against similar systems internationally.

  • Education

    broken image

    Khalifa University of Science and Technology

    2013-2017

    Doctoral Degree in Interdisciplinary Engineering

    broken image

    Special Student at MIT

    September 2014 - December 2014

    Courses taken:

    1. Introduction to Mathematical Programming
    2. Optimization Methods
    broken image

    Khalifa University of Science and Technology

    2009-2011

    Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering

    broken image

    American University of Sharjah

    2005-2008

    Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

  • Current projects

    broken image

    Studying the effect of different carbon regulatory policies on emissions from sea-side operations

    The effect of implementing carbon taxation and cap-and-trade policies on operations at container terminals is studies in this work. Specifically, the emissions from vessels and quay cranes during loading/discharging processing are calculated for different objectives and system parameters. Accordingly, recommendations will be made.

    broken image

    The Supply Chain of Blood Products

    In the light of the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, blood shortages have been witnessed across many countries because regular donors are now avoiding donations due to quarantine, social distancing, and other prevention measures. We design a supply chain where we facilitate a comfortable environment for donors and ensure that shortages and wasted blood are minimized. Several manuscripts are being worked on considering different variations and solutions for the problem.

  • publications

    List of my works published in peer-reviewed journals

    Computers and Operations Research, 2022

    This paper explores how to manage blood supply during crises like COVID-19. It was found that large, permanent collection sites and planning based on age and blood type reduce shortages. However, attempting to evenly distribute supplies among hospitals can increase overall unmet demand. You can read the paper here.

    Computers and Industrial Engineering, 2022

    This works discusses how to schedule and assign big quay cranes at shipping ports in a more effective way, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions under different emission reduction schemes. As more and more cargo is being transported worldwide, it's important to find new ways to manage these cranes that take into account their impact on the environment. The authors are looking at how to balance the need for speedy cargo handling with the goal of lowering carbon emissions, which is important for fighting climate change. You can read the paper here.

    Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 2018

    Codeshare agreements are one of the many forms of airline alliances. We explore how decisions are made regarding which flight legs to share with other allies in the industry in the work published here.

    Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 2018

    Delays cost the airline industry more than $6.3 B annually and must be taken into account when making aircraft routing decisions. To find out how we ensure profits are maximized while taking into account potential delays and customer demands you can read the paper here.

    Computers and Operations Research, 2018

    Trying to maximize the profits of an airline company while ensuring union requirements are met can be very challenging especially with the high uncertainty in demand for flights. You can read the paper here.

  • Conferences

    International conferences I attended and presented my work

    Conference: Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems, 2017.

    City: Langkawi, Malaysia.

    There has forever been a gap between requirements engineering and mathematical modeling in optimization. We try to explore this gap and how to bridge it in the work published here.

    A Branch-and-Price Algorithm to Solve a Quay Crane Scheduling Problem

    Conference: Complex Adaptive Systems, Procedia Computer Science, 2015.

    City: San Jose, California.

    What's more important for sea-side operations at ports than optimizing their processes is delivering the solutions promptly. We present a branch-and-price algorithm used to solve the quay crane scheduling problem in a few seconds. You can check out this published work here.

    A Closed-Loop Capacitated Warehouse

    Location Model with Risk Pooling

    Conference: Logistics Operations, Supply Chain Management

    and Sustainability, 2014.

    City: Poznan, Poland.

    We explore the benefits of a closed-loop supply chain with risk pooling on the environment in the work published here.

  • Areas of Practice

     

    Market Research

    Corporate Strategy

    Optimization

    Linear Programming

    Integer Programming

    Two-Stage Stochastic Programming

    Logistics

    Supply Chains

    Healthcare

    Sea-Side Port Operations

    Airline Management

    Vehicle/Drone Routing

  • let’s collaborate

    broken image
    Email
    broken image

    Twitter

    broken image

    LinkedIn

    Cookie Use
    We use cookies to ensure a smooth browsing experience. By continuing we assume you accept the use of cookies.
    Learn More