A scientist who never stopped teaching

Dr. Shikha A. Ebrahim is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Kuwait University. Her work connects fundamental thermal science with applied engineering challenges in pool boiling and quenching, nanofluids, nuclear thermal hydraulics, desalination, refrigeration, and building-energy performance.

She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Kuwait University, followed by a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University. Her doctoral research examined how surface materials and conditions affect pool-boiling heat transfer during rapid cooling.

Her academic record includes 28 journal publications, 20 conference publications, six U.S. patents, four technical reports, and leadership of ten research projects as principal investigator. Alongside research, she supervises graduate work, reviews for international journals, coordinates academic initiatives, and has chaired an international energy research conference.

Beyond the laboratory, Dr. Ebrahim mentors a growing circle of students and early-career researchers, including Latifa, Halima, Munira, Zaidoun, Besour, Ali Noudiri, Abdal, Alaa Foudari, Ali, and Omar, guiding them from coursework and early research questions toward confident, independent scholarship.

She is the wife of Dr. Scott Pezanowski and the mother of Yousef (7) and Mariam (3), balancing an active research and teaching career with family life.

Grow with Dr. Shikha translates that experience into clear, ethical guidance for students, engineers, and researchers. The goal is not to replace the learner’s work, but to strengthen the judgment, methods, and confidence needed to do it well.