Research team
Current personnel
Kyle Daun
Professor, Director of WatLIT
PhD (Mech. Eng.) University of Texas at Austin
MASc (Mech. Eng.) University of Waterloo
Professor Daun is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering and the Director of WatLIT. A more detailed biography is available here.
Sina Talebi Moghaddam
Postdoctoral Fellow
PhD (Mech. Eng.) University of Waterloo
MSc (Mech. Eng.) Boğaziçi University
Sina’s research focuses on spectroscopic modeling of laser-nanoparticle interactions, such as plasma emission and nanoparticle photoluminescence. Sina is also developing diagnostics to measure emissions from oil and gas flares. Further information about Sina’s research can be found on his Research Gate page.
Stanislav Musikhin
PhD Candidate
MSc (Mech. Eng.) Bauman Moscow State Technical University
Gas-phase synthesis of graphene is a promising way to produce high-quality graphene in large quantities, but little is known about the graphene formation and growth processes. Stanislav is developing optical diagnostics to characterize graphene nanoparticles and investigate its formation kinetics in situ. Stanislav is a student of a cotutelle PhD program between the University of Waterloo and the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Fatima Suleiman
PhD Candidate
MEng (Mech. Eng.) University of Waterloo
Errors in the pyrometrically-inferred temperature used to control annealing furnaces have been known to produce substandard mechanical properties in advanced high strength steels (AHSS). Fatima's research focuses on developing robust pyrometry algorithms by applying inverse analysis techniques to explore the connection between the evolving AHSS surface state, spectral emissivity, and thus the pyrometrically-inferred temperature for the annealing AHSS.
Rodrigo Miguel
PhD Candidate
MSc (Mech. Eng.) Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Rodrigo is developing diagnostics techniques based on imaging Fourier transform spectroscopy to estimate the mass flow of combustion products and unburned fuel from flares, and consequently, estimate the flare carbon conversion efficiency.. This project is part of the Flarenet Strategic Network.
Stephen Robinson-Enebeli
PhD Candidate
MASc (Mech. Eng.) University of Waterloo
Time-resolved laser induced incandescence (TiRe-LII) was developed to measure the volume fraction and volume fraction of gas-borne nanoparticles, but it is increasingly used as a tool for fundamental scientific inquiry, e.g. to characterize gas-surface scattering. Stephen’s research involves applying this diagnostic to a range of synthetic nanoparticles to understand how the laser interacts with the nanoparticle and various nanoscale transport processes.
Cameron Klassen
MASc Candidate
BASc (Mech. Eng.) University of Waterloo
Hot stamping of aluminized steel is a mainstay technique in automotive manufacturing. Cameron uses optical diagnostics to understand how the Al-Si coating transforms into an Al-Si-Fe intermetallic layer within the furnace. This data will be used to produce furnace parameters to mitigate the damage caused by the coating, increasing the productivity and profitability of the hot stamping process.
Michael Nagorski
MASc Candidate
BASc (Mech. Eng.) University of Waterloo
Quantitative optical gas imaging can be used to measure methane emissions from upstream oil and gas activities, although uncertainties about the gas and background temperatures introduce large errors in this technique. Michael’s research focuses on using multispectral midwavelength infrared cameras to mitigate these uncertainties.
Boxuan (Tom) Zhao
MASc Candidate
BASc (Mech. Eng.) University of Waterloo
In hot forming die quenching (HFDQ) steel blanks are austenitized in a roller hearth furnace and then formed and quenched into martensitic components. Tom is developing a coupled thermo-metallurgical model to predict the blank heating and austenitization process within the roller hearth furnace, which also accounts for coating transformation.
Arpan Singh
MASc Candidate
BASc (Mech. Eng.) University of Manitoba
In hot forming die quenching (HFDQ), austenitized blanks are simultaneously formed and quenched into fully martensitic parts. Transforming austenite into martensite requires a cooling rate that exceeds a critical value. Heat transfer from the part to the die depends on the heat transfer coefficient, which varies as the microsaperities deform under pressre. Apran is experimentally-characterizing the HTC using inverse heat conduction analysis, and interpreting the results with deformation theory.
Nishant Narayanan
MASc Candidate
BSc (Mech. Eng.) Florida Institute of Technology
Nishant is working on developing experimental and numberical techniques to correlate the spectral reflectance of advanced high strength steel at visible wavelengths with the spectral emissivity at pyrometric wavelengths in the near infrared spectrum.
Ned Zhou
BASc candidate, University of Waterloo
Imaging Fourier transform spectrometers (IFTSs) are promising tools for quantifying flare combustion efficiency. Ned is developing simulated IFTS images of a flare in cross-flow from a CFD large eddy simulation. Ned also helps with the website and is the master-of-ceremonies at WatLIT Friday Fun activities
Paule Lapeyre
PhD (Mech. Eng.) Perpignan Via Domitia University
MSc (Fluid Dynamics, Energetics and Transfers) Paul Sabatier University
Paule’s research focuses on using hyperspectral imaging to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from Canada’s oil and gas sector, as well as statistical techniques for quantifying the uncertainty of emission estimates obtained from a range of diagnostics.