PhD Comprehensive Exams and Defences

PhD Comprehensive Examination 

(Attendance is at the discretion of the supervisor and student who hold the exam)

JaeEun Shin - Wednesday, February 26, 2025 from  1:00 PM to 4:00PM E3 - 4117

Title: Studying Privacy Risks in Human-Robot Interactions:Toward Privacy-Safe Domestic Social Robots

Supervisors: Yue Hu / Leah Zhang-Kennedy

Ali Mohammadnejad - Tuesday, March 4, 2025 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM E3 - 4117

Title: Additive Manufacturing of Tungsten and TiAl alloys: Investigating Printability and Experimental and Modeling Analysis

Supervisor: Ehsan Toyserkani

Hossein Rajabzadeh - Friday, March 14, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM  online

Title: Efficient Learning in Foundation Models

Supervisor: Hyock Ju Kwon

Cheong Kenneth - Wednesday, April 2, 2025  from :9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EC4-1104 in person

Title: Kinematic Hardening Characterization and Springback Prediction of 6xxx-series Aluminum Alloys

Supervisor: Cliff Butcher

Jialin Wang - Thursday, April 3, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Online

Title: Riblet Design and Turbulence Modeling for Efficient Drag Reduction in Aviation

Supervisors: Fue-Sang Lien / Eugene Yee

Li-Hsin Chen - Friday, April 4, 2025  from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM online

Title: Advancing Aircraft Icing Research: Integrating Experiments, Computational Modeling, and Machine Learning for Improved Prediction and Scaling

Supervisors: Fue-Sang Lien

Dogu  Ozyigit - Monday, April 14, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM EC4-1104 Hybrid

Title: Advanced Metal-Insulator-Metal Diodes for Terahertz Applications and Graphene FET Fabrication for Biosensing Applications

Supervisors: Mustafa Yavuz  / Michael Bajcsy

Connor Jacob MacRobbie -  Monday, April 14, 2025  from 11:00 AM to 2:00PM E5 - 3052 in-person

Title: Combustion of Lunar and Martian Regolith Simulant for Sustainable Space Infrastructure Development

Supervisors: John Wen / Jean-Pierre Hickey

Zohreh Mohammadi - Wednesday, April 23, 2025 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM in EC4-1104

Title: Characterizing and modelling the temperature-dependent nonlinear friction behaviour of unidirectional non-crimp fabrics to support the development of a high-fidelity macroscopic forming simulation model

Supervisor: John Montesano


PhD Defense


Kaiping Zhang - Thursday, February 27, 2025 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM E3-4117 in person

Title: Microstructure control and property enhancement of  NiTi-stainless steel dissimilar joint

Supervisors: Peng Peng / Norman Zhou


Manyou Sun - Tuesday, March 11, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM  E5 - 3052 Hybrid

Title: Development of Novel Surface Finishing Processes for Additively Manufactured Metal Parts

Supervisor: Ehsan Toyserkani


Fatima Suleiman - Friday, April 4, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5-2004 Hybrid

Title: Improving Pyrometry of Advanced High Strength Steels during Intercritical Annealing 

Supervisor: Kyle Daun


Nadia Azizi - Monday, April 7, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Online

Title: Laser powder bed fusion of copper alloys: From process parameter optimization to oxidation analysis  

Supervisor: Ehsan Toyserkani


Sahar Toorandaz Kenari - Thursday, April 10, 2025 from 9 AM to 12:00 PM  E5 - 3052 Hybrid

Title: Novel Machine Learning-Driven Platforms for In-Situ Prediction of Vertical and Top Surface Roughness in Laser Powder-Bed Fusion

Supervisor: Ehsan Toyserkani


Maziar ShafieiDarabi  - Thursday, April 10, 2025 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM online

Title: Development of Microwave-Microfluidic Sensors for Plastic Detection in Environmental Samples

Supervisor: Carolyn Ren


Zuolong Chen - Friday, April 18, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Online

Title: Model Materials and Reactor Systems for Artificial Leaves in Solar Energy Conversion Applications

Supervisor: Yimin Wu

Sante DiCecco - Tuesday, April 22, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EC4 - 1104 Hybrid

Title: Elevated Temperature Formability of Precipitation Hardenable Sheet Aluminum Alloy

Supervisors: Mike Worswick / Cliff Butcher

Shima  Akbarian  - Wednesday, April 30, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM  E5 - 3052  in person

Title: Advance Laser Weld Brazing of Zinc-Coated Automotive Steels: Process Optimization of AI-Enhanced Inspection, Tailored Intermetallic Formation, and the Evolution of Mechanical Behaviour

Supervisor: Elliot Biro

Ahmed Saieed - Thursday, May 1, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052  Hybrid

Title: Kinematic and Thermodynamic Effects on Particle Clustering in Turbulent Flows

Supervisor:  Jean-Pierre Hickey

Qiaoyun Chen  - Thursday, August 14, 2025 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM E5 - 3052 Hybrid

Title: Interface engineering and additive engineering toward high-performance perovskite solar cells

Supervisors: Kevin Musselman / Bo Song