Professor Mohamed Pourkashanian OBE is the Head of Energy Institute at the University of Sheffield, the Managing Director of the Translational Energy Research Centre and the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Centre, and is also the General Secretary of International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF).

As a Professor of Energy Engineering he has completed numerous major research projects on clean energy technology and has received substantial grants from partners such as the EU, NATO, industrial partners and RCUK-EPSRC. He is a member of several international and national scientific bodies e.g., All Party Parliamentary Renewable Transport Fuels Group, member of ISCF-Industrial Decarbonisation Advisory Group, and is Chair of the International Test Centre Network (ITCN). Professor Pourkashanian led the establishment of the Pilot-scale Advanced Capture Technology (PACT) national facilities in 2012 and has been the Executive Director of PACT for the past 6 years He has published more than 474 refereed research papers and co-authored four books.

At the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Innovation Centre and the Translational Energy Research Centre, Professor Pourkashanian provides expert academic, strategic and operational leadership to the project and its team members. Bringing his significant academic expertise and experience as project lead, Professor Pourkashanian directly contributes to all ongoing activity, including procurement of equipment, building design, research activity, business development and the long-term strategy and innovation directives.

In 2023, Professor Pourkashanian received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Net Zero Research and Innovation.