2020 40 Under 40: Sheikh Rafik Manihar Ahmed, 27

Control Systems Engineer and Innovation Catalyst, Fluor Daniel India Pvt. Ltd., Gurugram, Haryana, India; Bachelor’s, Electronics & Instrumentation, Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University

By Chris Vavra and Amara Rozgus May 14, 2020

Ahmed chose engineering because he believed it was a path that helped solve complex problems with an impact on people’s lives. He has always been curious about how things work and has a keen mind for applying what he learns to solve real-world problems. Thus far, he has worked across the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, supporting instrumentation engineering across all phases of execution at Fluor Daniel. As Innovation Catalyst at Fluor’s New Delhi office, he leads a team of colleagues in developing innovations to improve project execution. Currently working on the Fawley Strategy “FAST” project in the hydrotreater and hydrogen unit, he is responsible for preparation of various instrument datasheets, instrument index updating including vendor packages and mechanical vendor package document review. Ahmed is deeply involved in the field of plant digitization. He is considered a subject matter expert in light-fidelity instrument communication networks and has been recognized by the International Society of Automation-Delhi for his work in this field. In addition to his success in the field, Ahmed was honored with several awards. Ahmed has published and presented 40 research papers and books in the fields of instrumentation, robotics and automation in various academic journals, industrial magazines and at international conferences. Ahmed also has been an active volunteer and champion of various corporate social responsibility activities such as blood donation camps, assisting with “eye camps” for those needing eye care, tree planting drives, education outreach programs and other community outreach programs focused on sustainability, society development, STEM and youth mentorship. Outside of work, he likes listening to music, singing and running and has run several half-marathons. He recently learned how to ski.


Author Bio: Chris Vavra, Associate Editor, and Amara Rozgus, Editor-in-Chief