An-Najah Civil Engineering Graduate Omar Al-Najjar Achieves Distinction in Civil Engineering and Nuclear Physics at Paris-Saclay University
In a remarkable milestone for An-Najah National University’s global alumni network, Eng. Omar Al-Najjar, a graduate of the Department of Civil Engineering, has achieved outstanding academic and research success in the fields of civil engineering and nuclear physics at Paris-Saclay University, one of France’s most prestigious research institutions.
After earning his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from An-Najah in 2018, Al-Najjar began his academic journey as a research and teaching assistant at the university’s Civil Engineering Department—an experience that helped shape his scientific and research skills.
In 2019, he was selected for the ERASMUS student exchange program, made possible through a cooperation agreement between An-Najah and Paris-Saclay University. He enrolled in the first Master’s program in Physics and Nuclear Engineering, and then completed a second Master’s in Nuclear Power Plant Design at ENSTA Paris, where he excelled academically and scientifically.
Al-Najjar then pursued his Ph.D. at ENS Paris-Saclay, with support from the French Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (ASNR). His dissertation focused on the development of multiscale modeling approaches to study crack formation in reinforced concrete and its effect on fluid leakage, using advanced techniques such as Finite Element Mothod (FEM), Discrete Element Method (DEM), and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).
His research has gained international recognition through presentations at prestigious scientific conferences, including ECCOMAS in Lisbon and FraMCoS in Vienna. He also co-organized the AUGC Conference in Paris, where he presented papers on airflow behavior through cracks in reinforced concrete. His work earned him Best Scientific Poster Awards at the LMPS PhD Days at ENS Paris-Saclay in both 2022 and 2024, underscoring his academic excellence.
In addition, Al-Najjar participated in a specialized summer school on Localised Inelastic Deformation in Prague, Czech Republic. He also worked at the IJCLab in Orsay, analyzing X-ray diffraction (XRD) data on radiation-exposed materials and contributed to a peer-reviewed scientific publication, further enriching his research portfolio.
He is now preparing to begin his postdoctoral research at ENS Paris-Saclay, focusing on the impact of temperature on crack formation in reinforced concrete and how it influences air permeability.
Looking ahead, Eng. Al-Najjar aspires to bring his extensive expertise in research and development back to Palestine, contributing to the advancement of civil engineering and scientific research at An-Najah, and making a lasting impact on the country’s engineering sector.
