Muhammad Faraz Sheikh
Instructor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: BSc University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Pakistan; Master in Robotics from University of Genova, Italy
Research Areas: Robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), Autopilot design of Drones, Machine Learning
Faraz Afzal is a Roboticist who completed his BSc in Mechatronics and Control Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. He was later appointed as a Lecturer in his Alma Mater until he was awarded a scholarship by the Italian government to complete his Masters in Robotics. Faraz completed his Master from the University of Genova working under the supervision of the Prof. Rezia Molfino and completing a research project with Prof. Renato Zaccaria. During this time, he was also part of the R&D team of Genova Robots.
After completing his Master in Robotics, he was appointed as Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter (Research Fellow), at the Chair of Robotics and Mechanics, Institute of Mechatronics and System Dynamics of University of Duisburg Essen, Germany. During his stay, he worked in a number of funded projects, taught courses, designed Labs, supervised Master students, and implemented washout filters for the virtual rides of Roller Coasters and to train pilots on Robotics Simulator. After spending three years, Faraz was appointed in Khalifa University as a Lab Engineer of Robotics Institute. Faraz was the first hire of the Robotics Institute and built state-of-the-art Robotics Lab in Khalifa University. He was also involved in teaching courses, doing research, and managing the Robotics Institute Lab. Later he was also the Lead Engineer of Biomedical Engineering department and supported Biomedical Labs. Faraz was actively involved in UAVs related research in Khalifa University and was self-trained and the only UAV pilot in Khalifa University. Faraz has been involved to train school students on a five day STEM camps. He was also appointed as a “Chief Expert”, Judge and trainer for the “Emirates Skills 2016” in the Category of Drones; Build and Fly Competition.
Working in NYUAD, Faraz has been involved in the teaching activities and has taught several courses and directed studies related to Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Engineering. He was also part of the Global Hybrid Electric Car Challenge 2018 as a Technical Advisor to the team.
Currently, he is the IEEE elected member holding the office of the Treasurer for the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) UAE Chapter.