SYDE profs backed by federal research fund

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Systems Design Engineering professors Rodrigo CostaMoojan Ghafurian and Veronika Magdanz received grants from the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) Exploration stream, which fosters bold and innovative Canadian-led projects that cross disciplinary boundaries.

Their funded projects are:

Rodrigo Costa (systems design engineering) and Chul Min Yeum (civil and environmental engineering) – A computer-vision-based approach for retrieving longitudinal disaster recovery data from past events, which uses AI to analyze satellite and street-level imagery from past disasters to inform federal recovery policies.

Moojan Ghafurian (systems design engineering) – Training system for dementia caregivers to gain knowledge on the affective component of interactions, developing a social robotic system to improve daily interactions and quality of life for caregivers and persons with dementia.

Veronika Magdanz (systems design engineering) and Hamed Shahsavan (chemical engineering) – Soft microrobots for assisted reproductive technologies (SMART), exploring innovative methods for improving Assisted Reproductive Technologies using biocompatible, programmable microrobots.

See the full list of Waterloo Engineering recipients.