Fazeel Mahmood Khan
Research Associate
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: PhD University of Heidelberg
Research Websites: Galaxy Formation Group
Research Areas: Stellar dynamics, Galactic nuclei, SMBHs, Gravitational waves
Fazeel Mahmood Khan is a computational astrophysicist in the Galaxy Formation Group at New York University Abu Dhabi. He received his PhD in 2012 from the International Max Planck Research School at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, where his doctoral research focused on the dynamics and evolution of supermassive black hole binaries in merging galaxies. In 2019, he conducted postdoctoral research at Vanderbilt University, USA, on black hole dynamics in galactic nuclei as part of a NASA-funded project. Before joining NYU Abu Dhabi, he served from 2013 to 2024 in the Department of Space Science at the Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, where he contributed extensively to teaching, research supervision, and the development of astronomical research infrastructure.
Khan’s research focuses on stellar dynamics, massive and intermediate-mass black holes in galactic nuclei, black hole merger timescales, and gravitational-wave emission. His recent work uses high-resolution, GPU-accelerated N-body simulations to study the dynamical evolution of black holes in galactic environments and to inform predictions for gravitational-wave event rates relevant to LISA. LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, is an ESA-led mission in partnership with NASA that will use a constellation of three spacecraft to detect gravitational waves from space, including signals from merging massive black holes and compact binary systems. As the first space-based gravitational-wave observatory, LISA will open a new window on the low-frequency gravitational-wave universe. Khan is a core member of the LISA Astrophysics Working Group, contributing expertise on massive black hole mergers and galactic nuclei.
In addition to his research, Khan has a strong record of mentoring, teaching, outreach, and institutional development. He has supervised undergraduate final-year projects, Master’s theses, and graduate-level research, and has contributed to public astronomy outreach through talks and online lectures. At the Institute of Space Technology, he helped establish key research facilities, including an optical observatory and a GPU-accelerated modeling and simulation laboratory.