Graduate Students
Drew Davidson, Ph.D. Student
Contact:
Email: d2davids@uwaterloo.ca
LinkedIn: Drew Davidson
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Drew joined our group as a PhD student with the support of the inaugural Deep Tech Commercialization scholarship. Drew started his career as an undergraduate in the Nanotechnology Engineering program at the University of Waterloo, where he developed a focus on adapting emerging technologies for health and environmental applications. Over the course of his studies, he worked on projects utilizing nanomaterials in the treatment of cancer, and in the reduction of greenhouse gases, culminating in a project aimed at reducing infrastructure damage from ice storms using superhydrophobic coatings. Drew went on to complete a Masters of Engineering in Chemical Engineering, also from the University of Waterloo, while working on a project devoted to using biodegradable polymers to reduce the negative environmental impacts of chemical fertilizers used in agriculture. After graduating, Drew worked for several small technology companies developing health and environmental applications such as Avro Life Science, before starting his own company in 2023.
Research Interests:
Drew is passionate about developing sustainable, non-toxic materials. His current project is the development of a safe material for firefighter PPE.
Shakiba Samsami, Ph.D. Student
Contact:
Email: shakiba.samsami@uwaterloo.ca
LinkedIn: Shakiba Samsami
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Shakiba is a dedicated Ph.D. researcher who has been an integral part of our lab since 2023. Notably, her doctoral thesis has been jointly developed at the University of Waterloo and the University of British Columbia. She holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in chemical engineering, acquired from the University of Tehran. Throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies, her focus was primarily on the synthesis and characterization of MOFs, driven by a passion for water treatment.
Research Interests:
Shakiba's research focus primarily revolves around reticular chemistry, sustainable materials, and additive manufacturing.
Saeed Hadad, Ph.D. Student
Contact:
Email: Shadad@uwaterloo.ca
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Saeed has been the lab's active Ph.D. researcher since 2023. His academic journey commenced with research on the self-assembly of multi-block copolymers for drug delivery while he received his bachelor's degree in 2019. Then, he shifted his focus to synthesizing structured polymers, particularly for use as advanced lithium-ion battery electrolytes, and obtained his master's in 2021, specializing in polymer engineering from Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz, Iran. He is now a Ph.D. candidate in the chemical engineering department at the University of Waterloo.
Research Interests:
Saeed's current research interest lies in the fields of smart materials , bio-based polymers, novel polymerization techniques, and sustainable energy storage systems.
Monica Ho, MASc. Student
Contact:
Email: m8ho@uwaterloo.ca
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Monica is pursuing an MASc. in Chemical Engineering - Nanotechnology at the University of Waterloo, investigating metal-organic frameworks for direct air CO2 capture. She brings with her 7+ years of experience in the North American power industry and a BSc in Mechanical Engineering (with Distinction) from the University of Alberta.
Research Interests:
Monica's current research interest lies in fields such as carbon capture and conversion , sustainable materials, and biomimetic design.
Mahsa Barjinikhabbaz, MASc. Student
Contact:
Email: mahsa.barjinikhabbaz@gmail.com
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Mahsa is a master's researcher who joined the lab in 2023. She completed her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Ferdowsi, Iran. During her studies, she worked on the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to optimize their growth conditions. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo.
Research Interests:
Mahsa's aim and passion for research is to work on laser-induced graphene for different applications such as electromagnetic shielding and biosensors.
Estatira Amirieh, MASc. Student
Contact:
Email: estatiraa@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Estatira Amirieh
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Estatira is currently pursuing a Master's (MASc) degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, having previously completed a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Tehran Azad University South Branch (IAU). Throughout her academic journey, she secured internships in the petrochemical industry, with a primary focus on oil refineries. These experiences equipped her with practical skills in conducting process simulations and safety studies. Driven by a growing interest in sustainability and environmental consciousness, Estatira is currently immersed in research focused on the 3D printing of cellulosic inks. Her work is centered around the creation of sustainable scaffolds applicable in various scientific and industrial domains. The goal is to harness the unique properties of cellulosic inks to promote the development of environmentally friendly structures.
Research Interests:
Her academic pursuits extend to diverse areas, including sustainable materials, additive manufacturing, and carbon capture.
Shayan Ghasemi, MASc. Student
Contact:
Email: shayan.ghsemi@uwaterloo.ca
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Shayan joined our group in 2023, bringing with him a background in chemical engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology, where he concentrated on process design, simulation, and the design of utility units and reactors. Throughout his undergraduate studies, Shayan undertook diverse projects, including an advanced design of a methanol reactor, a pre-feasibility study on methanol production plants, and a market study and plant design for methylamine production. Currently, he is actively engaged in pursuing a master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Waterloo
Research Interests:
Shayan's current research interest lies in fields such as liquid-liquid 3D printing, aerogel, interfacial assembly, electromagnetic interference shielding, carbon capture.
Research Scholars
Mahyar Panahi Sarmad, Ph.D. Student
Contact:
Email: mahyar13@student.ubc.ca
LinkedIn: Mahyar Panahi Sarmad
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Mahyar is a trainee in material science and engineering, aspiring to lead the cutting-edge field of multi-responsive and intelligent materials. Even as an undergraduate student, he actively pursued a deep understanding of polymer science and engineering, eventually achieving his MSc in January 2018. During his master's studies, Mahyar focused on utilizing conductive nanoparticles in Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (Artificial Muscles) while simultaneously exploring both traditional and modern approaches to Aerogel design and application. As an Elite scholar for nearly two years, he also conducted extensive research on Shape Memory materials. Additionally, Mahyar gained valuable experience in 3D and 4D printing as a research associate at Jiangnan University for two and a half years. His current research at UBC and UW centers around "Journey into Interfacial Assembly: Harnessing Chemistry for Sustainable Functionality."
Research Interests:
Mahyar's research interests are in the fields of additive manufacturing , smart polymer composites (sensors and actuators) , porous structures (aerogels and foams), and EMI shielding or other electrical applications.
Zahra Izadi Kahkeshi, Visiting Ph.D. Researcher
Contact:
Waterloo Email: zizadika@uwaterloo.ca
Personal Email:zahraizadi.68@gmail.com
LinkedIn: Zahra Izadi Kahkeshi
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Zahra is a visiting research graduate student. Currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. research at IPPI, Iran, where she has been engaged in the synthesis of viscosity index (VI) improvers based on polyisobutylene. Her research with us will primarily delve into the rheological behavior and characteristics of these VI improvers. Zahra completed her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Polymer Engineering in 2012 and 2014, respectively, and has acquired comprehensive expertise in various fields, including polymer synthesis and characterization, spectroscopic, thermal and mechanical analysis, catalysis, hydrogels, and simulation.
Research Interests:
Zahra’s research interest mainly focuses in cationic polymerization, catalysis, rheology, simulation and polymer characterization.
Ziyu Zhuge, BSc. Co-op Student
Contact:
Email: z2zhuge@uwaterloo.ca
LinkedIn: Ziyu Zhuge
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Ziyu joined the Multiscale Materials Design Center at the University of Waterloo as an Undergraduate research assistant in 2024. He is studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Besides engineering, he is also interested in calligraphy, and literature and has two published novels
Zahra MonsefKhoshhesab, Visiting Professor
Contact:
Email: yzmonsefk@uwaterloo.ca
Brief Biography and Role in the Lab:
Dr. Monsef serves as an Associate Professor in Analytical Chemistry at Payame Noor University in Iran. Zahra obtained both her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. During her graduate studies, Zahra focused on the complexation reactions of various cations with Crown ethers in binary non-aqueous mixed solvents, examining them from thermodynamic perspectives. Following her Ph.D., she shifted her research focus to the synthesis and application of nanomaterials, including metal oxides, carbon-based nanocomposites, and magnetic nanoparticles such as Ferrites, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), and magnetic graphene oxide, for solid-phase extraction (SPE) and pollutant remediation. Additionally, Zahra has contributed significantly to the development of electrochemical sensors using nanomaterials. Currently, her research interests lie in the development of biomaterial-based nanocomposites for environmental remediation and analytical purposes, particularly in fabricating sensing agents for detecting environmental pollutants and preconcentrating/determining targets in environmental samples.
Research Interests:
Development of biomaterial-based nano composites for environmental applications and abrication of chemical sensors for environmental pollution monitoring.
Alumni:
Hossein Mashhadimoslem - post doc 2022-2023
- Now working as a post doctoral researcher at UWaterloo
Zahra Yadollahi - PhD Visiting Scholar Winter 2024
- Now working as a PhD student at Tomas Bata University, Czech Republic
Shokoofa Dehghani - High School Stundet 2024-2023
- Now BASc student at University of Toronto
Jared Beacom - Co-op Research Assistant Winter 2024
- Now BASc student at UWaterloo
Matthew Roberto - Co-op Research Assistant Winter 2024
- Now BASc student at UWaterloo
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Milad Kamkar, PhD
Department of Chemical Engineering
Milad.kamkar@uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology
E6 3010, 200 University AVE. W., Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1 -
We acknowledge that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. We are situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.