Hello, I am

Usman Shehu Ahmad

Chemical engineer. I design plants, simulate processes and apply machine learning to energy and agro-processing problems.

See my projects Download CV
President, SPE ABU Zaria 2025/26 Published, SPE-235017-MS Federal Scholarship Board scholar
Portrait of Usman Shehu Ahmad smiling, wearing a terracotta embroidered cap and a cream traditional outfit
0.9585AUC-ROC, ESP fault detection
10,000 TPALithium carbonate plant designed
53 to 740+SPE ABU members under my leadership
3 awardsFrom two undergraduate plant designs

Projects

Final-year work

3D Lithium Carbonate Plant Interactive Layout in Three.js
Design project

10,000 TPA Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate Plant

Production from spodumene by the sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) sulfation route.

  • Interactive 3D plant layout in Three.js

Results: Battery-grade Li₂CO₃ at 10,000 TPA from spodumene via H₂SO₄ sulfation. 3D interactive plant layout in Three.js.

Live 3D layout
ESP Edge AI Surveillance Simulation Dashboard
Published research · Applied AI

Edge-Compute AI Surveillance for ESP Fault Detection

Isolation Forest anomaly detection for electrical submersible pumps, validated on the ESPset real offshore vibration dataset.

  • Paper SPE-235017-MS, SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition, Lagos, August 2026
  • Presented at STSE 2026 (Paper ID 89) and NAICE 2026 (Paper ID 601)
  • FEED-grade cost estimate

Results: AUC-ROC 0.9585, F1 0.921.

Live simulationPaper (DOI)
DFT Cluster Model of Faujasite Zeolite Y Structure from IZA Database
Research thesis · DFT

DFT Investigation into Vanadium Poisoning of Zeolite Y in FCC/RFCC

Supervisor: Prof. A. Y. Atta, PTDF Chair.

  • B3LYP/6-31G(d) in ORCA, with xTB and Avogadro
  • Cluster model from the IZA database FAU structure

Results: B3LYP/6-31G(d) DFT study of V²⁺/V³⁺ poisoning on FAU Zeolite Y Al–O–Si sites. Geometry optimization and binding energy analysis in ORCA with xTB pre-optimization.

GitHub

Design and feasibility

Process flow diagram for 10 TPD Shea Butter Production Plant
Feasibility and design

10 TPD Shea Butter Production Plant, Nigeria

Feasibility analysis and plant design.

  • Mechanical (solvent-free) extraction route

Results: Best Project Award. Selected for presentation at the International Center for Rural Finance and Entrepreneurship (ICERFE).

Process flow diagram for Potato Peel Waste to Activated Carbon Plant
Design

200 L Potato Peel Waste to Activated Carbon Plant

Plant design for converting potato peel waste to activated carbon.

    Results: Best Project Award, Best Presentation Award, ₦50,000 prize.

    FEED and applied projects

    Aspen HYSYS process simulation flowsheet for Cassava Bioethanol Plant FEED
    Korex Energy · Jul to Sep 2026

    26,000 L/h Cassava Bioethanol Plant FEED, Ogun State

    Front-end engineering design report.

    • Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Process Economic Analyzer
    • Separate FEED package: cassava ethanol and starch plant (SIMAJ-BSL, Kebbi State)

    Results: 26,000 L/h fuel-grade bioethanol (99.5% purity). Full FEED package with Aspen HYSYS simulation and APEA cost estimate.

    NSChE 2026 Hackathon Design Challenge

    OleoLens

    Palm oil adulteration and quality detection. Team Sardauna, ABU Zaria, Port Harcourt, 9 to 11 November 2026.

    • Three tiers: phone app (ML on camera image), phone clip-on, standalone handheld
    • DOBI measurement on clip-on and handheld
    • OpenSCAD 3D models

    Results: Three-tier palm oil quality detection system — ML app, clip-on DOBI meter (446 nm + UVC 269 nm), and standalone handheld with ESP32-S3. OpenSCAD 3D models completed. NSChE 2026 Hackathon, Port Harcourt.

    Satellite map and GHG Protocol Scopes 1-3 analysis for Green Zaria Carbon Audit at ABU Zaria
    Sustainability

    Green Zaria Carbon Audit, ABU Zaria

    Campus carbon audit.

    • GHG Protocol Scope 1 to 3
    • Google Earth Engine for green cover

    Results: Full campus GHG inventory across Scopes 1–3. Main sources: diesel generators (Scope 1), grid electricity (Scope 2), transport and procurement (Scope 3). Green cover quantified via Google Earth Engine NDVI.

    MadubiLabs virtual science practical lab screenshot showing the home screen
    Education engineering

    MadubiLabs

    Virtual chemistry practical lab for SSS1 to SSS3, aligned to the WAEC and NECO syllabus.

    • One laptop and projector per school
    • Low-bandwidth web app

    Results: Experiments include titration, qualitative analysis, pendulum, food tests, and more. Aligned to WAEC and NECO syllabi for SSS1–SSS3. Offline-capable, runs on one laptop and projector per school.

    Live demoGitHub

    Industry Experience

    July to September 2026

    Process Engineering Intern, Korex Energy

    • Worked on the FEED for a 26,000 L/h cassava bioethanol plant in Ogun State
    • Used Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Process Economic Analyzer and FEED reporting
    June to November 2025 · 6 months, SIWES

    Industrial Trainee, Ilera Agro Processing, Achalawa plant

    • Plant processes soya beans and shea nut into crude shea butter, soya oil and palm oil
    • Quality Control lab: sampled the whole process line and ran FFA, peroxide value, iodine value, refractive index, boiling point, oil content and seed quality tests
    • Quality Assurance: tested raw materials for impurities, oil content and adulteration; checked tankers and packaging
    • Solvent extraction plant: safety procedures, extraction, solvent recovery, flakers, expanders, extractors and expellers
    • Refinery: neutralization, gumming and bleaching of shea, soya and palm oil
    • Cosmetic science lab: formulation and QC of creams, lotions, soaps and detergents
    • Wrote a 45,000-word technical report on the training

    Leadership

    2023 to 2026 · SPE ABU Zaria Student Chapter #6350

    Membership Chair, then Vice President, then President

    • Membership Chair 2023/24. Vice President 2024/25, founding the Innovation and Research Training (IRT) program. President 2025/26.
    • Chapter grew from 53 to 740+ members and raised ₦1.8 million for programs and logistics
    • IRT 2.0 trained 87 students and produced 14 papers; 4 were accepted at STSE and 3 at NAICE
    • Student Technical Software Bootcamp 2.0 trained 61 students in Excel, Python and Aspen HYSYS
    • Won the SPE Africa Regional Outstanding Student Chapter award in 2025 and 2026, and secured an OnePetro grant giving ABU access to 1.3 million technical papers
    • Led the 14-person STSE 2026 delegation to Warri, and ran the 5th Anniversary Energy Week and the 2025 Climate Conference (700+ attendees)
    2021 to 2026 · NSChE ABU Zaria

    Senate President, 4th Parliament

    • IELCom member (2021), Public Relations Officer (2022 to 2023), Financial Secretary (2024), Senate President (elected 21 February 2026)
    • First place, NSChE 2026 Departmental Debate Competition
    • Sub-committee Team Lead, ABUSRC Directorate of Innovation, Research and Technology (2024/25)
    Ongoing · UCAF Nigeria

    Core Team, Creative Tech focus area

    • Innovation bootcamps reached 230+ students directly and 1,300+ indirectly

    Engineering Skills

    SkillToolsWhere I used it
    Process simulationAspen HYSYS, Aspen PlusBioethanol FEED at Korex Energy; trained 61 students on these tools through SPE
    Cost estimationAspen Process Economic AnalyzerBioethanol FEED packages; ESP system cost estimate
    Plant design and FEEDFlowsheets, mass balance, FEED reportingLithium carbonate plant, shea butter plant, activated carbon plant, cassava ethanol
    Computational chemistryDFT (B3LYP/6-31G(d)), ORCA, xTB, AvogadroZeolite Y vanadium poisoning thesis
    Machine learning and dataPython, Isolation Forest, ExcelESP fault detection on real vibration data; SPE bootcamp
    Plant QC and refiningFFA, PV, IV, refractive index, solvent extraction, neutralization, bleachingIlera Agro Processing internship; OleoLens
    Device and 3D designOpenSCAD, Three.js plant layoutOleoLens models; lithium plant 3D layout
    Carbon accountingGHG Protocol Scopes 1 to 3, Google Earth EngineGreen Zaria Carbon Audit

    Conferences

    EventWhen and whereMy role
    NAICE 2026August 2026, LagosPresented the ESP paper (Paper ID 601, 7-minute slot), published as SPE-235017-MS
    STSE 202628 to 31 March 2026, WarriPresented (Paper ID 89), and led a 14-person delegation
    SAASC 20253 to 5 April 2025, Bayero University KanoDelegate, SPE Africa Annual Student Congress
    NOG Energy Week 2026Nigerian Oil and Gas WeekAttendee
    EAGx Nigeria 2025Effective Altruism Global conferenceAttendee

    Training and Certificates

    TrainingWhenWhat it covered
    PTDF Computational Catalysis Workshop1 to 4 June 202612 sessions at ABU Chemical Engineering. Foundation for the DFT thesis.
    ProMolSim Program23 Sep to 5 Oct 2024Molecular modelling, design of experiments and process simulation. Pencil Team Initiative, supported by Wavefunction Inc., USA.
    SPE Live CE sessionsDecember 2025AI/ML and quantum computing; automation of drilling systems. 0.05 CEU each.
    SPENC Ethics and Compliance24 to 25 July 20262-hour continuing education course on professional ethics.
    HSE Fire Safety and Emergency Response28 June 2024Federal Fire Service, Zaria.
    OGTAN-TIDE6 July 2026Tech-innovation driven entrepreneurship, Oil and Gas Trainers' Association of Nigeria.
    ICESID 2026 workshop2026Pre-conference workshop, Faculty of Engineering, ABU Zaria.
    Jobberman soft skillsMay 2025With the Mastercard Foundation.
    Women's Entrepreneurship Mindset Toolkit25 December 2025Entrepreneurship mindset course (WET/DBN).