Khalid Rafique
Biography
Khalid Rafique, Ph.D., is a Project Scientist V in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of California, Irvine, where he has served since 2011. He also holds a part-time faculty position at California State University, Long Beach, teaching courses in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat and mass transport, and chemical reactor kinetics. Rafique received his Ph.D. in Transport Phenomenon from Imperial College, University of London, where his doctoral research focused on digital simulation of viscous flow around a solid sphere.
Before returning to academia in 2011, Rafique spent 25 years in the aerospace industry, working as a thermal engineer at Rockwell International (now Boeing), Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. His industry experience included thermal design, analysis, and testing for Department of Defense satellites, the Space Shuttle, and various space-based sensor programs. At Raytheon, he served as Lead Thermal Engineer on multiple programs including the NuVision Calibrator Program and the STSS Acquisition Sensor, receiving several Excellence in Technical Performance awards. He also held a tenure-track position at the University of Bath in England, where he was tenured within three years and founded research on Computational Fluid Mechanics.
At UC Irvine, Rafique works with Ph.D. candidates, develops turbulence CFD models using COMSOL and ANSYS software, and serves as faculty advisor for senior design projects including collaborations with the Air Force Research Laboratory and the UCI CubeSat program. In 2022, he received a NASA SBIR award in collaboration with Ashwin-Ushas Corporation for thermal analysis of lunar rovers using variable emissivity skin technology. He is currently preparing proposals on oxygen production from lunar regolith and thermal control systems for robotic arms, and has secured funding for computer modeling of a supercritical wastewater treatment plant in collaboration with OCSAN and CSULB.
Return to topEducation
- B.S., Imperial College, University of London, 1968
- Ph.D. in Transport Phenomenon, Imperial College, University of London, 1972
Distinctions
- AIChE Professor of the Year Award, 1996
- Raytheon Excellence in Technical Performance Certificate, 2005-2007, 2009
Areas of Expertise
- Spacecraft Thermal Management
- Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling
- Heat Transfer Equipment Fouling
- Two-Phase Cryogenic Boiling
- Lunar Regolith Oxygen Production
- Variable Emissivity Electrochromic Devices
- Supercritical Wastewater Treatment
Recent Publications
- M. Brandy, K. Rafique, “Development and Evaluation Framework of a Tungsten Trioxide and Nickel Oxide Electrochromic Variable Emissivity Device for Satellite Thermal Control”, 2023. Presented at 19th Annual AIAA Southern California Aerospace Systems and Technology (ASAT) Conference, UCI, May 20th, 2023.
- K. Rafique, A Shin, Luis F Trego, Vasilij Shikunov, “Thermal Analysis of Var-E-Skin for Lunar Rover/Lander [Electrochromic Surfaces at Work]”, NASA/Ashwin/UCI, 2022.
- B. Miller, K. Rafique, “Vapor-liquid interfacial dynamics and related liquid nitrogen boiling on perforated plates”, Cryogenics, Elsevier, vol. 39, pp. 389-397, 1999.
- W.G. Perara, K. Rafique, “Optimum Heat Recovery Networks”, Symposium series S-225, 1983. Presented at 21st ASME/AICHE National Heat Transfer Conference, Seattle, Washington, 1983.
- W.G. Perara, K. Rafique, “Coking in a Fired Heater”, The Chemical Engineer, Inst. Chem. Engrs. Britain, no. 306, 1976.
- W.G. Perara, K. Rafique, “The Effect of Coking on Heat Transfer in a Furnace using Synthetic Natural Gas”, 1973. Presented at Symposium on Corrosion in Process Plant 1973, University of Bath, England, UK, 1973.
Contact Information
Email: krafique@uci.edu
Phone: (714) 791-5122
Address: 134 Engineering Laboratory Facility
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Last updated on 8/17/2026.