PhD Comprehensive Examination
(Attendance is at the discretion of the supervisor and student who hold the exam)
Berkay Yuksel - Wednesday, January 14, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Title: A Study on 7xxx Aluminum Hot Stamping: Forming, Aging and Application
Supervisor: Cliff Butcher
Ehsan Tahvilian - Friday, January 30, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Title: Human Motor Optimality for Lowerlimb Exoskeleton Control: A Personalized Approach to Gait Rehabilitation
Supervisor: Arash Arami
Ebadi Rajoli Jafar - Monday, March 2, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EC4-1104
Title: Coupled Crystal Plasticity Finite Element Model with Cellular Automata Approach to Simulate Dynamic Recrystallization and Particle Break-up in AA3104 Aluminium Alloy
Supervisor: kana Inal
Pengcheng Zhao - Wednesday, March 25, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM ERC - 3012
Title: Intermediate-Temperature Proton-Conducting Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Energy Conversion and Storage
Supervisor: XiaoYu Wu
Geoffrey Hanks - Thursday, June 11, 2026 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM E5 - 3052
Title: Data-Efficient Multi-Modal Reinforcement Learning Of Deformable Objects for Robot Manipulators
Supervisor: Yue Hu
Julia Goyal - Monday July 20, 2026 from 10:00 AM -1:00 PM E3 - 4117
Title: What Care Carries: Toward a Multimodal Framework for Understanding Occupational Stress in Ontario's Home Care Workforce
Supervisors: Arash Arami / Phil Bigelow
Silas Ifeanyi - Monday, July 20, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM E5 - 2103
Title: Real-Time Inspection of Large-Area Thin Films
Supervisors: Kevin Musselman / Simarjeet Saini
Yufeng Huang - Friday, July 24, 2026 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 AM Remote
Title: Design, Implementation, and Control of a Magnetic Levitation-Based Conveyor System
Supervisor: Behrad Khamesee
Yuyi Liu - Thursday, July 30, 2026, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM E3 - 4117
Title: Modularized Active Droplet Microfluidic System
Supervisor: Carolyn Ren
Yiren Xu - Friday, August 7, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Remote
Title: A Multi-Model Control Framework for Autonomous Off-Road Vehicles
Supervisor: Amir Khajepour
Reyhaneh Goodarzi - Wednesday, August 12, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM E5 - 3052
Title: UV/Plasma-Assisted Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition for Sustainable Packaging
Supervisor: Kevin Musselman
Antara Chakraborty - Wednesday, August 12, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Title: Investigating Non-pyrophric Precursors for depositing alumina using Atmospheric Pressure
Supervisor: Kevin Musselman
Hisham Khalil - Thursday, August 13, 2026 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM E5-3052
Title: Towards Interactive Imitation Learning Frameworks for Robust Contact-Rich Robot Manipulation
Supervisor: Yue Hu
Mahdi Rahmani - Friday, August 14, 2026 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E3 - 4117
Title: Cognitively Inspired Motion Planning and Control for Autonomous Driving
Supervisors: Amir Khajepour / Sun Chen
PhD Defense
Hossein Rajabzadeh - Thursday, January 8, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Remote
Title: Efficient Learning for Large Language Models
Supervisor: H. J. Kwon
JiUng Kim - Friday, January 16, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM PSE 7363
Title: Determination of Liquid Metal Embrittlement Crack Propagation Kinetics During Resistance Spot Using In-Situ Monitoring
Supervisor: Elliot Biro
Joel Pennings - Friday, January 23, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Title: Tailoring Native and Transition Metal Catalytic Sites in Gra
phitic Carbon Nitride for Sustainable Material Design
Supervisors: Mustafa Yavuz /Michael Pope
Farinaz Jeyranpourkhameneh - Thursday, February 5, 2026 from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM E5 - 3006
Title: Fracture Characterization and Damage Accumulation Modelling of DP1180 Steel under Proportional and Non-Proportional Loading
Supervisor: Cliff Butcher
Dilaver Singh - Friday, February 6, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EC4 - 1104
Title: In Silico Multi-Scale Investigation on Lung Tissue Mechanics and Injury
Supervisors: Duane Cronin / Arthur S. Slutsky
Miguel A Corrales Fabre - Thursday, Febrary 12, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EC4 - 1104 Hybrid
Supervisor: Duane Cronin
Title: THORAX RESPONSE IN YOUNG AND AGED SMALL FEMALES UNDER SIDE IMPACT, A COMPUTATIONAL STUDY
shadab Sarmast - Friday, March 27, 2026 from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisors: Norman Zhou / Michael Benoit
Title: Multiscale Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Copper–Iron Alloys in Steel Weld-Brazing
JOSEPH NONSO ORAKWE - Monday, April 6, 2026 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM EC4-1104
Supervisor: Ehsan Toyserkani / Ali Bonakdar
Title: Topology Optimization for Additive Manufacturing: Towards efficient and manufacturable structures for multi-physics applications
Ahmed Fahim Mostafa - Wednesday, April 8, 2026 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisor: Baris Fidan / William Melek
Title: Distributed Bearing-Based Formation Tracking and Self-Localization for Multi-Vehicle Systems Subject to Motion Constraints
Amir Mahdipour Dilmaghani - Wednesday April 8, 2026 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisor: Cecile Devaud
Title: Advancing the Conditional Source-Term Estimation (CSE) Framework for Turbulent Combustion Modeling and Application to Alternative Aviation Fuels
Shaundell Dubay - Wednesday, April 15, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Remote
Supervisor: William Melek / Christopher Nielsen
Title: A Framework for Human-Robot Interaction in Industrial Environments
Jose Rosas-Bustos - Thursday, April 16, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisor: Roydon Fraser / Jesse Van Griensven The
Title: Engineering-Oriented Verification and Probabilistic Modeling of Quantum Devices Under Noise, Finite Resolution, and Adversarial Conditions
Yu Zeng - Tuesday, April 21, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EC4 - 1159
Supervisor: John Montesan
Title: Dual-scale Finite Element and Machine Learning Framework for Predicting Effective Inelastic Deformation of Unidirectional Non-Crimp Fabric Composites Considering Manufacturing Induced Defects
Pramoth Varsan Madhavan - Friday, May 1, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Remote
Supervisor: Xianguo Li
Title: Data-Driven Multiscale Optimization of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: Materials, Components, and Systems
Yiqi Zhang - Tuesday, May 5, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisors: Carolyn Ren / John Wen
Title: Soft and stretchable sensors for soft robotic gloves
Cheolhee Shin - Wednesday, May 6, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisor: John Wen
Title: Combustion of Additive Fuels in Laboratory Nonpremixed Flames
Mercy Ombogo - Thursday, May 7, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisors: Naveen Chandrashekar / Dan Langohr
Title: Development and Biomechanical Evaluation of a Dual-Articulation Concept for Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty
Zhichao Liu - Wednesday, May 13, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisor: John Wen
Title: Atomistic Modeling of Metal Oxides in Nanothermite Reactions and Lunar Water Production
Mingzhang Yang - Friday, May 15, 2026 from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM E5-3052
Supervisor: Mihaela Vlasea
Title: Sinter-based Additive Manufacturing: Densification and Geometrical Control
Hamidreza Aghajani - Thursday, June 11, 2026 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM E5 - 3052 Hybrid
Supervisor: Ehsan Toyserkani
Title: Powder Bed Fusion of Difficult-to-Print Ni-Based Superalloys: Microstructural Evolution and Cracking Behavor
Denys Vidish - Monday, July 6, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5- 3052
Supervisor: Kevin Musselman
Title: Low-Temperature Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition of Metal Oxides and Their Integration
Lanyu Li - Thursday, July 23, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3006
Supervisor: Zhao Pan
Title: A Data-Assimilation Framework for Bubbly Flow Based on AOT-Nudging and Image Velocimetry
Sandip Dayani - Tuesday, August 4, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EC4-1104 Hybrid
Supervisor: Kaan Inal
Title: A new crystal plasticity-based damage evolution framework to predict failure behavior and local temperature effect in HSLA and QP steels
Connor Jacob MacRobbie - Monday, August 10, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052
Supervisors: John Wen / Jean- Pierr Hickey
Title: Lunar Regolith-Based Thermite as an Energetic Material for Lunar ISRU Applications
Minghao Ning - Thursday, August 13, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Remote
Supervisors: Amir Khajepour / Ehsan Hashemi
Title: From Onboard Geometry-Aware Planning to Cooperative Infrastructure Sensing for Robust Autonomous Mobility
Amirhossein Amirsoleymani - Thursday, September 3, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Remote
Supervisors: Xianguo Li / Samaneh Shahgaldi
Title: Numerical Investigation of Compact Flow-Field Designs in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates Using Integrated Flow Rectifiers
Jinhe Zhang - Friday, September 4, 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Remote
Supervisor: XiaoYu Wu
Fabrication, Characterization, and Use of Core-shell Composite Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage