Hi, I'm Manhal Alhilali,

About Me

I am a computational atmospheric scientist with an engineering background, specializing in high-performance computing (HPC)-scale numerical cloud modeling. My primary focus is on Large Eddy Simulation (LES) with the Super-Droplet Method (SDM), enabling detailed exploration of cloud microphysics and their role in severe weather and climate. Currently, I serve as an Assistant Professor at the University of Hyogo, actively contributing to the Shima Research Group's efforts under Moonshot Project Goal 8, which aims to advance severe weather control technologies. My research involves running SDM-LES simulations on the Fugaku supercomputer, often executing large-scale CPU jobs across tens of thousands of nodes. My expertise spans algorithm design, performance tuning, and running large-scale simulations, balancing microphysical fidelity, computational performance, and operational readiness is central to my work. I am also passionate about integrating data-driven and AI-assisted approaches to further accelerate scientific workflows and model development.

Lab: Shima Research Group (University of Hyogo)

Outside the lab: drip coffee | technology | cinema | cultural traditions | photography

Education & Experience

For more information, have a look at my curriculum vitae .

University of Hyogo May 2023 - Present

Specially Appointed Assistant Professor

Specially Appointed Assistant Professor in the Graduate School of Information Science and member of the Shima Research Group, contributing to Moonshot Goal 8 and the Innovative Atmospheric Model Project. I use SCALE-RM, WRF to reproduce real mixed-phase clouds, run HPCI-scale simulations on Fugaku, and evaluate severe-weather intervention scenarios with physically detailed cloud microphysics.

MOONSHOT Fugaku NWP SDM Mixed-Phase Microphysics Severe Weather
Omar Al-Mukhtar University Feb 2022 - Apr 2023

Senior Lecturer

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Engineering, delivering courses across databases, networks, computer design, microprocessors, embedded systems, IoT, and machine learning. I also served as Faculty Representative for Quality Assurance and Accreditation and supervised five undergraduate capstone projects.

DBMS CCN Embedded Systems MPs IoT ML
Botho University Nov 2022 - Mar 2023

Adjunct Lecturer (Part-time, Remote)

Adjunct Lecturer delivering remote instruction in Infrastructure Management and Advanced Database Systems for professional learners. Developed online materials and assessments focused on enterprise IT infrastructure, data-intensive systems, and performance-aware database design.

Infrastructure Management DBMS Education
Universiti Kuala Lumpur Sep 2019 - Sep 2021

Contract Researcher (Postdoctoral)

Postdoctoral researcher in the Advanced Telecommunication Research Cluster working on multicast satellite systems for 5G communications. Secured a Ministry of Higher Education research grant while also leading and teaching digital electronics, electronics fundamentals, and engineering mathematics with strong student evaluations.

5G SatCom Digital Electronics Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Aug 2015 - Jul 2019

Part-time Researcher

Part-time researcher at the Wireless Communication Centre in collaboration with Joanneum Research and the European Space Agency. Contributed to a five-year Ka-band propagation project on second-order satellite-channel statistics, dual-site diversity experiments, and tropical rain attenuation analysis.

ESA SatCom Tropical Attenuation
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Jun 2016 - Nov 2017

Part-time Research Assistant

Research Assistant on an HICoE-funded project investigating electromagnetic scattering from raindrop size distributions for 5G networks. Worked on mmWave link characterization in tropical climates using DSD measurements and attenuation modeling.

HICoE mmWave 5G DSD Scattering Tropical
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Sep 2014 - Oct 2018

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering

Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering focused on rain attenuation prediction from raindrop size distributions in Malaysia. The work, linked to an ESA-supported tropical SatCom collaboration, examined rain microphysics and its impact on high-frequency wireless communications.

Attenuation Microphysics DSD Tropical Telecom ESA
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Sep 2012 - Aug 2014

M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering

M.Eng. research on ultra wide-band antenna design for on-body communication systems, motivated by medical applications and safe electromagnetic exposure. Built a strong foundation in antennas, wearable systems, and applied electromagnetics.

UWB HBC Electromagnetic
Omar Al-Mukhtar University Sep 2006 - Aug 2010

B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering

B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in telecommunications, building a foundation in communication systems, signal analysis, and applied electronics.

Telecom DSP Engineering

Coffee Wall of Fame

Stores Stamps

Projects

HPCI Fugaku General Access Project

From Validation to Application: Advancing the Super-Droplet Method and Evaluating Weather Intervention Strategies for Extreme Rainfall Controllability in Japan

FY26 (Period-A)

Project Page

hp260140 Fugaku SDM

HPCI Fugaku General Access Project

Verification of Scale-SDM outputs and examination of weather intervention effects on heavy rainfall in Japan

FY25 (Period-A)

Project Page

hp250099 Fugaku SDM

MS8 T2 Development of a Lagrangian particle-based scheme of cloud microphysics

Highly accurate simulation of cumulonimbus clouds and precipitation by properly representing the diverse morphologies of ice particles and water droplets

FY23 - FY24

Project Page

SDM Fortran Fugaku Tropical

MS8 R&D Project - Heavy Rainfall Control for Living Together with Isolated-Convective Rainstorms and Line-Shaped Rainbands

MS8 R&D initiative focused on severe convective rainfall control.

Subproject: Development of Lagrangian Particle-Based Cloud Microphysics Scheme Using the Super-Droplet Method

FY25 -

Project Page

SDM Microphysics PBCM

ESA/ESTEC Project

Contract 4000106180/12/NL/NR, Euro200,000: Measurement and assessment of second-order statistics of Ka-band SatCom systems in tropical regions

2015 - 2019

Project Page

ESA SatCom Tropical

HICoE Research Grant

R.J130000.7823.4J221, RM 119,910: Electromagnetic scattering from rain drop size distribution measurements for 5G networks

2016 - 2017

Project Page

HICoE DSD Scattering 5G

Selected Publications & Conferences

Top collaborators

Link

Unraveling the Microphysics of Isolated Cumulonimbus Clouds: Advances in Simulation with the Super-Droplet Method (SDM)

6th International Workshop on Nonhydrostatic Models (NHM-WS 2023)

Sapporo, Japan | August 2023

Observations of Anomalously High Concentration of Ice in Arctic Mixed-Phase Clouds

Presenter: A. Korolev

Watch Video

20260326-JC-ICCP-02

ICCP Mar 26, 2026

Zachary Christopher Rowland, Fabian Hoffmann, Franziska Glassmeier, Isabelle Steinke, Herman Russchenberg

Preprint

Open Paper

20260313-JC-PBCM-01

ICCP Jan 12, 2026

Graham Feingold, Franziska Glassmeier, Jianhao Zhang, Fabian Hoffmann

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Open Paper

20250922-JC-PBCM-01

ICCP Sep 8, 2025

Most Contrails Form Within Cirrus Clouds with Uncertain Climate Impact

Presenter: A. Petzolt

Watch Video

20250908-JC-ICCP-02

PBCM Sep 5, 2025

Adaptive time-stepping for the Super-Droplet Method Monte Carlo collision-coalescence scheme

Emma Ware, Piotr Bartman-Szwarc, Adele L. Igel, Sylwester Arabas

arXiv

Open Paper

20250905-JC-PBCM-01

PBCM Aug 11, 2025

On the processes determining the slope of cloud water adjustments in weakly and non-precipitating stratocumulus

Fabian Hoffmann, Yao-Sheng Chen, Graham Feingold

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Open Paper

20250811-JC-PBCM-01

PBCM Aug 1, 2025

Untangling the Broadening of Adiabatic Cloud Droplet Spectra through Eddy Hopping in a High-Resolution Cumulus Congestus Simulation

Presenter: C. Acquistapace

Watch Video

20240926-JC-ICCP-02

ICCP Aug 29, 2024

Impact of cloud processes on UTLS humidity - A Lagrangian perspective

Presenter: A. Miltenberger

Watch Video

20240829-JC-ICCP-04

ICCP Aug 29, 2024

Sensitivity of Cloud-Radiative Heating to Ice Optical Properties

Presenter: E. Sepulveda Araya

Watch Video

20240829-JC-ICCP-03

PBCM Jul 1, 2024

CCN Activation and Droplet Growth in Pi Chamber Simulations with Lagrangian Particle–Based Microphysics

Wojciech W. Grabowski, Yongjoon Kim, Seong Soo Yum

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Open Paper

20240701-JC-PBCM-02

PBCM Jul 1, 2024

Training Warm‐Rain Bulk Microphysics Schemes Using Super‐Droplet Simulations

Sajjad Azimi, Anna Jaruga, Emily de Jong, Sylwester Arabas, Tapio Schneider

Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems

Open Paper

20240701-JC-PBCM-01

PBCM Jun 1, 2024

Impacts of Stochastic Coalescence Variability on Warm Rain Initiation Using Lagrangian Microphysics in Box and Large-Eddy Simulations

Hugh Morrison, Kamal Kant Chandrakar, Shin-Ichiro Shima, Piotr Dziekan, Wojciech W. Grabowski

Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences

Open Paper

20240601-JC-PBCM-01

ICCP Apr 29, 2024

Exploring the impact of mixed-phase cloud processes on marine stratocumuli

Presenter: A. Possner

Watch Video

20240429-JC-ICCP-02

ICCP Mar 28, 2024

Cloud Botany: Shallow Cumulus Clouds in an Ensemble of Idealized Large‐Domain Large‐Eddy Simulations of the Trades

Fredrik Jansson, Martin Janssens, Johanna H. Grönqvist, A. Pier Siebesma, Franziska Glassmeier, Jisk Attema, Victor Azizi, Masaki Satoh, Yousuke Sato, Hauke Schulz, Tobias Kölling

Sylwester Arabas, Jeffrey H. Curtis, Israel Silber, Ann M. Fridlind, Daniel A. Knopf, Matthew West, Nicole Riemer

arXiv

Open Paper

20230807-JC-PBCM-01

PBCM Mar 2, 2023

Eulerian-Lagrangian particle-based model for diffusional growth for the better parameterization of ISM clouds: A road map for improving climate model through small-scale model using observations

Moumita Bhowmik, Anupam Hazra, Suryachandra A. Rao, Lian-Ping Wang

arXiv

Open Paper

20230302-JC-PBCM-02

PBCM Mar 2, 2023

Optimization and sophistication of the super-droplet method for ultrahigh resolution cloud simulations

Toshiki Matsushima, Seiya Nishizawa, Shin-ichiro Shima

The super‐droplet method for the numerical simulation of clouds and precipitation: a particle‐based and probabilistic microphysics model coupled with a non‐hydrostatic model

S. Shima, K. Kusano, A. Kawano, T. Sugiyama, S. Kawahara

Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society

Open Paper

20090701-JC-PBCM-01

Blog

Notes, experiments, tutorials, thoughts, and things I find interesting !

Comments are available on each individual post page.

Manhal Pinned Mar 20, 2025 2 min read

3D Isolated Cumulonimbus SDM Simulation and Visualization

A high-resolution SDM cloud simulation visualized as CG by us and shared on the JST channel for the Moonshot program.

SDM LES MOONSHOT Cumulonimbus Fugaku

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Manhal Latest Nov 22, 2025 2 min read

Building an ERA5-to-SCALE Workflow for Students

I created a student-friendly workflow to use ERA5 data with SCALE-RM, focusing on reliability, clarity, and reproducibility for realistic case studies.

ERA5 SCALE-RM Education

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Contact

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