BEN CHIEKH MAHER

Professor

Name : BEN CHIEKH MAHER

Assignment establishment : ENIM

Email : maher.benchiekh@enim.rnu.tn

Function: Director of the laboratory LESTE

Level: 0009-0009-3033-1103

Orcid : 0009-0009-3033-1103

Biography

Maher Ben Chiekh is a Full Professor at the National Engineering School of Monastir (ENIM), University of Monastir, Tunisia. He has more than 20 years of experience in teaching and research in the fields of fluid mechanics, thermal sciences, and energy systems. Since 2021, he has served as Director of the Laboratory for the Study of Thermal and Energy Systems (LESTE, LR99ES31), where he leads the laboratory's scientific strategy and coordinates multidisciplinary research activities.

His research interests include advanced energy systems, renewable energy technologies, green hydrogen production and utilization, energy system modelling and optimization, experimental and computational fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and biomedical engineering applications.

Prof. Ben Chiekh has coordinated and participated in several national and international research projects funded by the European Union and the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. He is the Coordinator of the Tunisian National Research Consortium "Technology and Economics of Green Hydrogen for an Energy and Ecological Transition in Tunisia (TEC-H2)" and the Coordinator of the Tunisian Hop-On project within the Horizon Europe OpenMod4Africa initiative, which focuses on open-source energy system modelling for Africa's energy transition.

He has authored more than 200 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters. He serves as a reviewer and editorial board member for several international journals and has actively contributed to the organization of international conferences and scientific committees. He has successfully supervised numerous PhD and Master's students and continues to mentor early-career researchers in the fields of sustainable energy and thermal engineering.

Prof. Ben Chiekh has also completed several specialized training programmes in energy transition and green hydrogen technologies through international collaborations, including study visits to leading research laboratories and industrial facilities dedicated to renewable hydrogen production and energy system modelling.

Activities

Doctoral Supervision

PhD Theses Successfully Defended

Rafika Ben Haj Slama (2018)  Cotutelle PhD
Title: Flow Generated in a Fluid Medium by a Focused Ultrasound Wave: Acoustic Streaming and Solid Particle Transport
Co-supervised with Prof. Jean-Christophe Béra, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France.
Thesis: https://www.theses.fr/226213293

Ameni Trigui (2021)
Title: Study of Flows in Stenosed Arteries
University of Monastir, Tunisia.

Mouna Guizani (2026) Cotutelle PhD
Title: High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Control of Flows in a Pipe
Co-supervised with Prof. Jean-Christophe Béra, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France.
Thesis: https://theses.hal.science/tel-05543663v1

PhD Thesis in Progress

Marwa Bedoui (2022–present)
Title: Numerical Investigation of Large-Scale Coherent Structures Between Two Parallel Fins

Wiem Yahmadi (2024–present) Cotutelle PhD
Title: Pulsatile Flow in a Curved Blood Vessel: Flow Modification by Focused Acoustic Streaming.
Co-supervised with Prof. Jean-Christophe Béra, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France.

Hajer Abid (2025–present) Cotutelle PhD
Title: Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Water Mist–Flame Interaction: Application to Hydrocarbon and Wood Crib Fires.
International cotutelle with Prof. Khaled Chetehouna, INSA Centre Val de Loire, France.

Research Grants and International Projects

2025–2027 – Coordinator, Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education Project H2skillsMED (Project No. 101237911), Green Hydrogen Skills for Mediterranean Higher Education, University of Monastir.

2025–2027 – Coordinator, Interreg NEXT Italy–Tunisia Cross-Border Cooperation Project LAB-PtH2, Laboratory of Excellence for Green Hydrogen Energy Conversion and Utilization.

2024–2027 – Coordinator, National Research Consortium CDR2024ES03 (TEC-H2), Technology and Economics of Green Hydrogen for an Energy and Ecological Transition in Tunisia.

2024–2025 – Coordinator, Horizon Europe Hop-On Facility Project OM4A-Tunisia, Open Modelling Toolbox for Long-Term Energy Pathways in Tunisia, under the OpenMod4Africa initiative.

2022–2025 – Co-Investigator, PHC UTIQUE Tunisia–France Project, Ultrasonic Mixing in Stenotic Flow: Feasibility for Iliac Artery Treatment, in collaboration with Prof. Jean-Christophe Béra (INSERM, Lyon, France).