Dr. Ingo Pinnau is a professor of chemical engineering at KAUST with specialization in membrane-based separation systems, honed from extensive experience working in both academia and the industry. From 2009-2017 he was the founding director of KAUST’s former Advanced Membranes and Porous Materials Center, a premiere membrane and adsorption-based process facility. Prior to joining the university, Pinnau served as the director of materials and membrane development at Membrane Technology and Research, Inc., USA for 18 years, and as a consulting professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University. Professor Pinnau holds 54 granted U.S. patents and is the author of more than 220 publications and co-editor of four books on membrane science. Since 1985 he has been a member of the North American Membrane Society (NAMS) in different roles, from board member to vice-president to president, and in 2020 as an elected fellow.​

Professor Pinnau's research interests are in membrane processes for the separation of gasesand liquids: natural gas treatment, CO2 sequestration, hydrogen recovery, olefin/paraffinseparations and water purification. His research focuses on synthesis of high-performancepolymers; development of high-performance membranes for gas and liquid separations; hybridorganic/inorganic membranes; nanostructured microporous polymer membranes; thin-filmtechnology; and membrane modifications (surface coatings/fouling resistance). Current projectsinclude improving the transport properties and long-term stability of advanced membranes forenergy-intensive applications such as water desalination systems, products for large-scalecommercial use in gas and vapor separations, and environmental remediation.​