Majdi M. Mafarja

Timeline

1. 2005–2012

   Degrees in Jordan and Malaysia

   He receives a B.Sc in Software Engineering in 2005 and an M.Sc in Computer Information Systems in 2007, studying at Philadelphia University and the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences in Jordan. He completes a PhD in Computer Science at the National University of Malaysia in 2012, belongs to the Datamining and Optimization Research Group, and joins Birzeit University's Department of Computer Science.

2. 2017

   Whale optimization for feature selection

   In 2017, he and Seyedali Mirjalili publish “Hybrid Whale Optimization Algorithm with simulated annealing for feature selection” in Neurocomputing and “Whale Optimization Approaches for Wrapper Feature Selection” in Applied Soft Computing.

3. 2018–2020

   Dragonfly and grasshopper optimizers

   In 2018, he co-authors “Binary dragonfly optimization for feature selection using time-varying transfer functions” and “Evolutionary population dynamics and grasshopper optimization approaches for feature selection problems”, both in Knowledge-Based Systems. In 2019, he co-authors “Binary grasshopper optimisation algorithm approaches for feature selection problems” in Expert Systems with Applications. In 2020, he joins Abdelaziz Hammouri, Mohammed Azmi Al-Betar, Mohammed Awadallah and Iyad Abu-Doush on “An improved Dragonfly Algorithm for feature selection”, which proposes Linear-BDA, Quadratic-BDA and Sinusoidal-BDA.

4. 2019

   Harris hawks optimization

   In 2019, he is one of six authors of “Harris hawks optimization: Algorithm and applications” in Future Generation Computer Systems, written with Ali Asghar Heidari, Seyedali Mirjalili, Hossam Faris, Ibrahim Aljarah and Huiling Chen. The paper proposes a population-based optimizer modeled on the cooperative chasing style of Harris' hawks and tests it on 29 benchmark problems and several real-world engineering problems.

5. 2019–2021

   Highly Cited Researcher in 2021

   Birzeit University gives him its Distinguished Research Award in 2019 and recognizes him as a top researcher in the West Bank. He ranks among the 100,000 most-cited scientists in the world in 2020 and 2021, and among the top 2 percent of his sub-field in a Stanford University and Elsevier ranking. In 2021, Clarivate names him a Highly Cited Researcher in computer science, the only Palestinian researcher on that list.

6. By 2021

   Launching the LogesTechs startup

   By 2021, he launches LogesTechs, a startup whose management system uses artificial intelligence algorithms to help delivery and logistics companies improve their performance. The venture grows out of his research on delays and inefficiencies in e-commerce delivery services.

7. 2022–2023

   Top 2% of cited scientists

   In 2022, the Stanford University and Elsevier lists of most-cited scientists place him among the top 2% for 2021 output, and Birzeit's president Beshara Doumani honors him and five colleagues at a ceremony in December 2022. In 2023, he appears on both the list of cumulative research output and the list for 2022 research output.

8. As of October 2026

   Associate professor at Birzeit

   He is an associate professor of computer science at Birzeit University, where his research covers feature selection, machine learning, bio-inspired algorithms and metaheuristics.