Saleem Akhtar Farooqui holds a bachelor's degree in petrochemical engineering from Aligarh Muslim University and a Master's in Chemical Engineering from IIT Kanpur. He has submitted his PhD Thesis on " Hydroconversion of vegetable oil to fuels" at IIT Delhi. He works as a Principal Scientist at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP). He has made significant contributions to chemical engineering, particularly in areas related to biofuels, petroleum research, and related fields.

Saleem Akhtar Farooqui has authored/co-authored numerous research papers, articles, and publications in renowned journals and conferences. He has recently published a book chapter, Progress and Trends in Renewable Jet Fuels and Green Diesel Production by Hydroprocessing Technology. He is involved in an Indian defense project for sustainable aviation fuel development. He is deeply involved in commercializing CSIR-IIP SAF technology at one Indian refinery.