Mr. Oussama El Gharras | Sustainable Engineering | Innovative Research Award

Mr. Oussama El Gharras | National Institute for Agricultural Research | Morocco

Mr. Oussama El Gharras is a distinguished agricultural engineering specialist with extensive expertise in mechanization, conservation agriculture, and the development of farm machinery, supported by a research record featuring 57 citations by 55 documents, 8 published documents, and an h-index of 4. Born on 22 November 1962 in Marrakech, he earned his Ingénieur d’application degree from IAV Hassan II, followed by a Master of Science in Agricultural Engineering from Oklahoma State University and PHD coursework at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, later strengthening his managerial background through the Cycle Supérieur de Gestion at ENCG Settat. His career at INRA encompasses major contributions to small farm mechanization, animal traction, food legume production mechanisation, and the design and industrial development of No-Till seed drills and feed block units. He managed the INRA agricultural engineering laboratory and coordinated several national and international initiatives, including the INRA-IAV-DERD No-Till project, AAAID-CRRA Settat program, AusAID-ACIAR-INRA collaboration, and ConServeTerra. As Vice President of AGENDA and an active member of AMAC and the National Commission of Agricultural Mechanization, he continues to play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable agriculture in North Africa. His scientific publications address conservation agriculture, weed dynamics, and resilient farming systems in semi-arid regions.

Profile: Scopus

Featured Publications

El Gharras, O. (2024). Perceptions and sociocultural factors underlying adoption of conservation agriculture in the Mediterranean. Agriculture and Human Values.

El Gharras, O., El Mourid, M., & Boulal, H. (2016). Conservation agriculture in North Africa: Experiences, achievements and challenges. In A. Kassam et al. (Eds.), Conservation agriculture for Africa: Building resilient farming systems in changing climate. CAB International.

Tanji, A., El Gharras, O., Mayfield, A., & El Mourid, M. (2017). On-farm evaluation of integrated weed management in no-till rainfed crops in semi-arid Morocco. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 12(16), 1404–1410.

Tanji, A., El Gharras, O., Ouabbou, H., & Mladen, T. (2017). Weed dynamics in no-till rainfed crops in Chaouia, semi-arid Morocco. Journal of Agricultural Science, 9(11).

El Gharras, O., El Brahli, A., & El Mourid, M. (2009). No-till system applied to Northern Africa rainfed agriculture: Case of Morocco. In Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture (pp. xx–xx). New Delhi, India.

El Gharras, O., & Idrissi, M. (2006). Contraintes technologiques au développement du semis direct au Maroc. Options Méditerranéennes, Série A: Séminaires Méditerranéens, 69, 121–124.

El Gharras, O., Ait Lhaj, A., & Idrissi, M. (2004). Développement d’un semoir non labour industriel. In Deuxièmes Rencontres Méditerranéennes sur le Semis Direct (pp. 74–81). FERT/RCM; AGER.

Mr. Ahmad Usman | Sustainable Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Mr. Ahmad Usman | Cranfield University | United Kingdom

Mr. Ahmad Usman is a dedicated PhD student at Cranfield University specializing in coating and corrosion science, with a strong focus on developing advanced materials to protect critical components in power plants under demanding conditions. His research encompasses the fireside-corrosion behavior of thermally sprayed and Ni-based coatings in challenging environments, including chlorine-rich combustion atmospheres, and investigates oxidation, erosion, and wear mechanisms at the microscopic level. Mr. Usman has contributed to advancing knowledge on thermal spray coatings through both academic and industry projects, including his role as Group Innovation Engineer at Welding Alloys Group, UK, and collaborations with the National High Temperature Surface Engineering Centre. He has co-authored book chapters on self-healing elastomers and polymeric paints and coatings, highlighting his expertise in functional polymers. His research interests include real-time monitoring of coating degradation, modeling corrosion kinetics in waste-to-energy (WtE) environments, and optimizing thermal spray coatings to resist high-temperature corrosion, erosion, and wear damage. With a growing citation record and an h-index of 2, Mr. Usman is an active member of the Institute of Corrosion and the Pakistan Engineering Council, demonstrating his commitment to both academic excellence and industrial innovation, while consistently exploring innovative solutions to extend the lifespan and reliability of critical energy infrastructure.

Profile: Orcid

Featured Publications

Usman, A., Syed, A., Isern Arrom, L., Nicholls, J., & Cordero, M. (2024, September 5). Degradation of novel coating systems for heat exchanger materials for WtE power plant applications [Conference poster]. EUROCORR 2024, Cranfield University.

Rehan, Z. A., & Usman, A. (2023). Polymeric paints and coatings. In Advanced Functional Polymers. Springer.

Zubair, Z., Usman, A., & Hafeez, A. (2023). Self-healing elastomers. In Advanced Functional Polymers. Springer.

Usman, A. (2021, December 8). Fabrication of low emissivity paint thermal/NIR radiation insulation for domestic applications [Conference poster]. 1st International Conference of Polymers and Composites (ICPC-2021).

Usman, A., Isern Arrom, L., Nicholls, J., Cordero, M., & Syed, A. U. (2025). Fireside corrosion behavior of thermally sprayed coatings for waste-to-energy power plant applications. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance.