Mohammad Mehdi Kermani is a dedicated Master's student in Quality Systems Engineering at Concordia University, the Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE). With a solid educational background in Information Technology Engineering, he has engaged in diverse research areas, including Information Technology, Management Information Systems, Video Game Optimization, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning. At present, Mohammad Mehdi is immersed in a research project focused on the analysis of Google Engine data to identify building characteristics for the purpose of enhancing energy optimization. His passion lies in harnessing technology to drive innovation and sustainability, aiming to contribute to a brighter and more environmentally friendly future.
Master's students
Mehdi Shamshirband is a Master's student of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received his M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering - Power Systems at Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran. His main research interests include Power System Operation and Planning, Electric Vehicles, Demand Response, Smart Grids, Renewable Energy integration studies, and CO2 Reduction. Mehdi has three years of experience in the industry and electrical distribution network by completing various projects, including development and establishment, maintenance, and equipping the electrical distribution networks.
Ankit Kumar is currently pursuing MASc Building Engineering. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia University, India in 2023. He has acquired a versatile skill set and extensive expertise through diverse experiences. His main interest includes materials engineering focusing on High Strength Concrete and innovative materials, AutoCAD, STAAD.Pro, Rejuvenation planning, GIS and 3D modelling. His contributions to research projects in landslide mapping and structural retrofitting, reflect his commitment to advancing the field. These experiences collectively highlight a comprehensive skill set that spans research, technical expertise and project management.
Kian Nejadshamsi is currently pursuing a Master's degree at Concordia University, where he brings a unique international perspective to the field of sustainable urban developoment, having completed his Bachelor's in Computer Science in Tehran, Iran. His expertise in coding is now being utilized in a pioneering research project focused on the use of simulation to study agent behaviors and transportation dynamics in zero-carbon zones. This project not only showcases Kian's technical proficiency but alo his commitment to innovative solutions for eco-friendly urban planning. His work aims to make a significant contribution to the understanding of sustainable city development, merging his strong coding background with a passion for creating smarter, greener urban environments.
Aurean Guimaraes is currently a Master's student with a focus on Power Electronics. He has a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from the University of the State of Amazonas, Brazil. His notable contribution to the field involves a comparative study of commercial inverter topologies, particularly in the realm of solar energy. He stands out for his dedication to exploring Pareto-Optimal solutions to determine the best inverter designs, considering factors such as efficiency and power density. With research interests spanning Power Electronics, Microgrids, Uninterruptible Power Supplies, and DC-DC and DC-AC converters, he currently holds a position as Research Intern at Concordia University, funded by the MITACS GRI Program. His ongoing research project at the Building Engineering Department delves into the study of microgrid control, showcasing his commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation in the field of electrical engineering.
Nasim Fani is a Master's student in Quality Systems Engineering with a background in computer engineering. Within CERC, Nasim focuses on applying OpenAI's advanced Language Models to enhance Natural Language Processing (NLP) for Origin-Destination (OD) surveys. Additionally, she refines anomaly algorithms to seamlessly integrate with OD databases, showcasing her technical expertise and dedication to advancing technology in data analytics for urban systems.
Alireza Lorestani is a dedicated Master's student in the field of Quality Systems Engineering. His academic journey began in Iran, where he pursued his undergraduate degree in computer engineering. Currently, Alireza is furthering his education at Concordia University. His research focus revolves around the application of Machine Learning and Large Language Models (LLMs) in the context of the CERC. Specifically, his work contributes to advancing urban urban sustainability and planning through the utilization of cutting-edge technologies.
Former master's students
Bahador Samadzadegan was a Master’s Student of Building Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. He has a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's in Energy Systems Engineering. After gaining 3 years of experience in HVAC and engineering firms, he is pursuing his second master's in Building Engineering with a focus on Energy Systems and Sustainability. His current research topic is dedicated to preparing autonomous energy systems modeling workflow to promote using Heat Pumps in Zero Carbon Districts.
Behnam Farsi Balouch was a Master's Student of Quality Systems Engineering in the Concordia University Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE). He received his Bachelor's degree in the Electrical Engineering from Ferdowsi University, Iran in 2019. His research interests include machine learning, neural networks, load forecasting, occupancy modeling, and remaining useful life prediction. He currently works as a staff member for the CERC Team developing codes for the urban platform.
Sahar Javadian was a Master's student of Building Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. She was focused on analyzing the energy and weather data and deployment of machine and deep learning for load forecasting in institutional buildings. The result of this work is useful for building managers to adapt and optimize the schedule of energy systems, and to give recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the building.
Soudabeh Tabarsaii was a Master’s student of Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She received her B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Iran. Her research is focused on developing machine learning in the field of Non-intrusive Load Monitoring. Her research interests are machine learning, data science and signal processing techniques.
Ashraf Al-bqerat's was a Master’s Student of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research focuses on operating systems and energy storage mechanisms. He published 5 papers thus far in the field of operating systems and low power electronics. He holds prior education in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Hashemite University, Jordan.
Soufia Mohammadi was a Master’s Student of Building Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. Her research focuses on energy recovery from wastewater. She is interested in wastewater management, food-water-energy nexus, and environmental impact topics. She holds prior education in water engineering from Gorgan University, Iran, and agricultural and environmental engineering from Urmia University, Iran.
Azin Sanei was a Master’s Student of Building Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. She is working on urban and building energy modeling, urban radiation analysis, and parametric modeling. Currently, she is completing her Master's thesis and investigating urban typologies and urban morphology’s role on urban energy consumption. She also holds a Master’s in architecture with energy and technology specialty. She currently collaborates with the buildings group and participates in related projects and studies.
Reza Rajaei was a Master’s Student of Building Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and another Master’s degree in structural engineering. Interested in interdisciplinary research fields, his current research studies IoT challenges of integration of smart homes with smart grids. Through implementation of a cluster of smart homes equipped with custom developed smart plugs, his research helps addressing interoperability and resilience issues in smart home energy management systems.
Jingdi Wang was a Master’s Student of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Communication University of China, China. Her research topic is "Fast Acting and Robust Power Electronics Interfaces for Energy Storage Systems in DC Nanogrid."
Narges Rahimi was a Master’s Student of Civil Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. Her background is in chemical engineering; she completed another Master's and a Bachelor's degree in this field. She also worked as a chemical and environmental engineer for a few years prior to starting her education at Concordia University. Currently, she is using different technologies for energy recovery from waste and wastewater especially work on green hydrogen generation technologies and their implementation in the urban and rural environments to decrease the carbon footprint in future cities.
Kendra Griggs was a Master's Student of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy. She previously earned her Bachelor's degree in history and philosophy from Auburn University. Her academic interests include economics, sustainability, human rights, and social justice. Her research focuses on ethics and political philosophy. Specifically, she studies how community representation and bargaining power affect contemporary city planning.
Ali Ahmadi was a Master's student of Quality Systems Engineering at Concordia's Institute for Information Systems Engineering (CIISE). He is currently working on long term forecasting and analysis of transportation behaviours using AI. He was involved as one of the course designers for the CERC Lachine-Est Project. He has a Bachelor's degree in software engineering from IAU. He has a solid background in computer networks and cybersecurity, with almost four and half years of experience as a security analyst in the National Iranian Oil Company. Currently, he works both as a graduate student and IT Administrator of the CERC team.
Sareh Peyman was a Master’s Student of Building Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. Her background is in architecture, and she has B.A in architecture engineering from Shiraz University, Iran. She is working on green roofs and façade and integrating them into buildings and seeing the impact on the indoor environment and building energy consumption and building surfaces and surrounding microclimate. She is in collaboration with the buildings group and the urban greenery group in the CERC team.
Faisal Shennib was a Master’s Student of the Individualized Program. He is Concordia University’s Environmental Specialist, and has led campus waste reduction and greening initiatives for over 10 years. With prior education in Environmental Engineering from Concordia University and Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, he’s returning to the academic world to explore how machine learning and big data can keep materials out of the landfill by automating waste sorting, educating communities, and connecting waste with want. His thesis is titled “Machine learning and big data as accelerators of circular economy opportunities”.
Hadise Rasoulian was a Master’s Student of Building Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. Her research is focused on modelling interdependency and resilience of infrastructures. Her background is in civil engineering. She is proficient in data analysis and visualization. Besides research, she enjoys playing the kamancheh, hiking, and reading.
Simon Habouri was a Master's student of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research topic is on optimal sizing and selection of renewable energy systems for self-powered electric buses and bus stations, and its impact on the distribution network.
Mahdis Shahidi was a Master’s Student of Building Engineering in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. Her current research topic is “Evaluating the relation of BIM and 3D city models for energy demand assessments.” Her background is in Architecture from Iran. Her interests are in the field of sustainable cities and smart buildings.
Danielle Douez was a Master’s Student of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy. Her research lives at the intersection of philosophy of history and memory, postcolonial theory, and environmental ethics. She previously worked as an editor at The Conversation US covering immigration policy, the criminal justice system, and race. She previously obtained a BA from Emory University.
Tayebeh Malmir has a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Engineering from the Gorgan University, Iran, and a Master's degree in Entrepreneurship from Tehran University, Iran. Her research interests are environmental issues, especially food, water, and energy nexus which she believes has a significant role in people’s daily life and should be considered more seriously. Besides research, she has played badminton professionally for more than 15 years.