CURRENT GROUP MEMBERS
Principle Investigator
Seth Dworkin, Ph.D., P.Eng., FCSME
Professor, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Canada Research Chair in High Performance Computing for Sustainable Energy
Ryerson University
seth.dworkin@ryerson.ca
Education:
B.Eng. – McMaster University, 2003
M.Sc. – Yale University, 2004
M.Phil. – Yale University, 2005
Ph.D. – Yale University, 2009
Selected Awards:
2020 – Research Excellence Award of The Combustion Institute, recognizing Institute members who have made contributions of innovative and prolific research.
2017 – McMaster University Alumni Association Arch Award, recognizing the achievements of McMaster alumni within fifteen years of graduation.
2015 – Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO), Engineering Medal – Young Engineer, for exceptional achievements in career, community and professional participation before the age of 35.
2014 – Ryerson University Early Research Career Excellence Award, for research achievements within five years of becoming a faculty member.
2013 – Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) “I. W. Smith Award,” for outstanding achievement in creative mechanical engineering within ten years of undergraduate graduation.
2008 – Bernard Lewis Fellowship, The International Combustion Institute, recognizing research achievements and potential.
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Dr. Sylvie Antoun
sylvie.antoun@ryerson.ca
Dr. Sylvie Antoun is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University. Her research expertise lies in the field of thermofluids, numerical modelling, and nanotechnology. Her work involves the design of clean and cost-effective sustainable energy systems. She is currently leading research on understanding the installation of geothermal pile technology in permafrost regions, and their integration into existing Northern Canadian building practices. She is committed to effective teaching and mentoring, and is currently collaborating with industry partners. At the core of all her work is impact with the community. Impact is what drives her to tackle climate related challenges of remote and vulnerable communities, and their related injustices. She is dedicated to her role in the Tri-council Dimensions Pilot Program at Ryerson, which works to address Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) barriers in research. She is a curiosity-driven person. When not doing work, she is looking for her next adventure in nature, enjoying sports-life, or learning about other cultures. She holds a PhD in Mechanical Eng. from Ryerson University (2019), and received her MSc and a BSc in Mechanical Eng. from the American University of Beirut AUB (2015 and 2011 respectively).
Dr. Mehdi Jadidi
mehdi.jadidi@ryerson.ca
Dr. Jadidi earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) in 2016. His doctoral study on compressible reactive multiphase flows primarily concerned the understanding of physical phenomena involved in suspension thermal spray processes. Following his PhD, he studied at École Polytechnique de Montréal as a post-doctoral fellow. Then, he returned to Concordia University, where he continued his research on thermal spray processes. His research mainly focused on the design and development of liquid accelerated cold spray system. He is now a post-doctoral fellow in the Dworkin group at Ryerson University focusing on simulation of combustion processes.
PhD Students
Reza Daneshazarian
reza.daneshazarian@ryerson.ca
Reza completed his Bachelor degree in chemical engineering at Sharif University of Technology (2012) and his Masters degree in energy engineering in the field of Energy Technology at the University of Tehran (2016). The focus of his research has been on heat transfer enhancement in a parabolic trough collector by use of solar direct absorption and nanofluids. He joined the department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Ryerson University in 2017 to pursue his PhD. Reza’s research focus is on thermal storage in buildings and alternative energy.
Francisco Cepeda
fcepeda@ryerson.ca
Francisco completed his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, followed by his MSc. degree at the same university in 2017. His research focused on understanding how the soot formation and oxidation processes of non-premixed flames are affected by introducing changes in the combustion conditions, such as the oxidizer composition, and by imposing forced oscillations in the fuel stream. He joined the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at Ryerson as a Ph.D. student in 2019, focusing his research on modeling soot formation and combustion processes.
Andisheh Khanehzar
andisheh.khanehzar@ryerson.ca
Andisheh completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Shiraz University in 2015 and her Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering at Sharif University of Technology in 2018. In her M.Sc. thesis, she worked on the numerical investigation of MILD combustion enhancement through plasma injection. She was honoured with the 2020 Best Thesis Award of the Iranian Aerospace Society. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD studies in combustion simulation, with a focus on soot modelling and prediction.
Masters Students
Pedram Hatefraad
pedram.hatefraad@ryerson.ca
Pedram completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University. His passion towards renewable energies along with his work experience in the HVAC industry have developed his ability to work on novel research ideas. Pedram was honoured to receive numerous awards and scholarships during his undergraduate studies such as the Canadian Congress of Applied Mechanics awards in Solid Mechanics, and an NSERC USRA. He is pursuing a Masters in Applied Science with a research focus on sustainable energy.
Luke Di Liddo
ldiliddo@ryerson.ca
Luke completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Ryerson University in 2020, specializing in thermofluids. His energy and passion in his undergraduate studies led him to receive the Mechanical Engineering Alumni Award in 2019. Luke’s interest in thermofluids led him to be a research assistant at Ryerson in his third and fourth years of undergraduate study, where he was honoured to receive Ryerson’s Undergraduate Research Opportunity (URO) award. He is pursuing a Masters in Applied Science focusing on modelling soot formation.
Beatrice Adebisi
badebisi@ryerson.ca
Beatrice completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2018. During that time, she also pursued a minor in Industrial Design and worked on a research project developing rapid prototyping methods for people with disabilities. It was through that project she developed a passion for research. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Thermofluids at Ryerson University, with a focus into soot modelling research.
Krystal Henry-Mathieu
krystal.henrymathieu@ryerson.ca
Krystal completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science at McMaster University in 2020. During that time, she participated in sustainability competitions which further developed her passion for research. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Environmental Applied Science and Management with a focus on sustainable energy.
Undergraduate Students
Erica Attard
erica.attard@ryerson.ca
GROUP PHOTOS
Former Group Members
Former Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Aggrey Mwesigye
Dr. Leonardo Zimmer
Dr. Ayman Bayomy
Dr. Meysam Sahafzadeh
Dr. Ali Khosousi
Dr. Armin Veshkini
Former PhD Students
Hiep Nguyen
Thesis: “Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Thermal Storage Medium for Ground Source Heat Pump Applications” (2020)
Jamie Fine
Thesis: “Development of a Hybrid Solar Cascade Heat Pump Heating System” (2018)
Meysam Sahafzadeh
Thesis: “The Effect of Unsteady Stretch on Laminar Premixed Curved Flames” (2018)
Nick Eaves
Thesis: “The Effect of Reversibility and High Pressure on Soot Formation” (2016)
Ali Khosousi
Thesis: “Detailed Numerical Study of Soot Surface Growth and Oxidation in Laminar Diffusion Flames” (2015)
Armin Veshkini
Thesis: “Understanding Soot Particle Growth Chemistry and Particle Sizing Using a Novel Soot Growth and Formation Model” (2015)
Sanaz Arabzadeh Esfarjani
Thesis: “A Modeling Framework for the Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes by RF Plasma Technology” (2013)
Former Masters Students
Saunak Shukla
Thesis: “Characterization of a Novel Radiant Floor Panel and a Caisson-Based Geothermal System” (2020)
Sarah Nicholson
Thesis: “Characterization of a Novel In-Ground Heat Exchanger for Applications in Sustainable Building Energy and Maintaining Permafrost” (2020)
Amin Mansousi
Thesis: “Modelling the Effect of Pressure on Soot Formation in Varying-Pressure Coflow Laminar Diffusion Flames” (2020)
Nemanja Ceranic
Thesis: “The Influence of Aliphatics on Soot Inception Modelling” (2018)
Raymond Alexander
Thesis: “Development of a Soot Concentration Estimation Library for Industrial Combustion Applications Using Lagrangian Parcel Tracking” (2017)
Alisha Hunter
Thesis: “Comparative Life Cycle Assessment: Ground Source Heat Pump System Versus Gas Furnace and Air Conditioner System” (2017)
Adam Alaica
Thesis: “The Development of an Off-peak Ground Pre-cool Control Strategy for Hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump Systems” (2016)
Emily Law
Thesis: “Characterization of the Effects of Borehole Layouts in Geo-exchange” (2016)
Bijan Shahriari
Thesis: “Development and Validation of a Partially Coupled Soot Model for Turbulent Kerosene Combustion in Industrial Applications” (2014)
Hiep Nguyen
Thesis: “Analyses of the factors affecting hybrid ground-source heat pump installation potential” (2014)
Sepehr Bozorgzadeh
Thesis: “Development of a Soot Concentration Estimator for Industrial Combustion Applications” (2014)
Michael Di Paolo
Thesis: “Design of a smart manifold for geothermal HVAC installations” (2014)
Levon Larson
Thesis: “Numerical Simulation of Liquid Prechamber Fuel Ignition” (2013)
Kaveh Khalilian
Thesis: “Development and Validation of a Partially Coupled, Two-Equation Soot Model for Industrial Applications” (2013)
Masih Alavy
Thesis: “Optimization of Hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump Systems Design” (2013)
Zannatul Moiet Hasib
Thesis: “Residential Micro Tri-Generation System Based on a Gas Fired Stirling Engine CHP and Thermo Chemical Accumulator (TCA)”(2013)
Navid Ekrami
Thesis: “Feasibility of Residential Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power Generation System in Canadian Cities”(2013)
Nick Eaves
Thesis: “The Effect of Pressure and Conjugate Heat Transfer on Soot Formation Modelling” (2012)
Former Undergraduate Research Assistants
Leya Kober (2019/2020/2021)
Alejandro Gonzalez-Ferras (2019/2020)
Stevan Kostic (2018/2019/2020)
Rozhan Ghoreishi (2017/2018/2019)
Bobby Anand (2016/2017)
Talha Ansari (2016/2017/2018)
Akshay Chaudhari (2015)
Mihai Duica (2015)
Sana Askari (2015)
Raymond Alexander (2014/2015)
Nikola Kuzmic (2014/2015)
Vivian Truong (2014)
Emily Law (2013/2014)
Brian Reghelini (2013)
Adam Alaica (2013)
Chloe Zhou (2013)
Pushan Lele (2012)