The AUT University computer scientist has been teaching on and off for the better part of a decade, and is currently working on finishing his doctorate. He originally came to New Zealand in 1994, from Kuwait where he was raised and educated.

Mahmoud started his career as a graphic designer, but followed a childhood passion for computers to his current position.

"I have always been a computer geek, even as a little child I remember while the other kids were doing their reports on ancient Egypt using colouring pencils and paper, I did mine using a word processor on my computer," recalls Mahmoud.

Since 2009, Mahmoud and his team at AUT's Institute of Radio Astronomy and Space Research (IRASR) have been working on ways to glean useful information from the enormous quantity of data that is produced by mega-science projects like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA).

IRASR was a part of the joint bid with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to build the SKA radio telescope project in the Australia-New Zealand region.