People

Principal Investigator

Mohtada Sadrzadeh 

Ph.D., P.Eng.
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University Of Alberta

     

Water Research Thrust - MECE-UofA


Postdoctoral Fellow

Pooria Karamai

Bio: I completed my PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Alberta in August 2022, with a specialization in the development of highly permeable and thermally resistant thin film composite (TFC) membranes for water treatment. At AWRL, my current research focuses on applying a systematic design approach and selecting suitable materials to create and evaluate these membranes. Areas that greatly interest me include membrane separation, water treatment, polymer processing, and polymeric matrix composites. Prior to my doctoral studies, I obtained a Master's degree in Polymer Engineering from the Sharif University of Technology in Iran in 2016, followed by a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Iran University of Science and Technology in 2013. Currently, I am working as a Postdoctoral Fellow at AWRL, continuing my research in membrane technology and its applications.
Project Title: Fabrication of thermally stable nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for water treatment.
Email: pkarami@ualberta.ca

Mehrasa Yassari

Bio: I received my Ph.D. degree in Polymer Chemistry from the University of Tehran in 2023. During my doctoral studies, I dedicated my research to exploring novel materials for preparing Thin Film Composite (TFC) forward osmosis membranes. These membranes held immense potential in mitigating fouling phenomena. Before that, I completed my Master’s studies in the same major at Shahid Beheshti University, where I gained valuable experience in smart Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) and their application for the selective detection of organic molecules. This research area captivated my interest as it offered intriguing possibilities for designing advanced sensing technologies. In April 2023, I joined AWRL as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Project Title: Fabricating fouling-resistant thin film composite membranes for nanofiltration and reverse osmosis.
Email: yassari@ualberta.ca


Ph.D. Students

Amir Aghaei

Bio: I obtained both my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Chemical Engineering from the Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). Throughout my Master's studies, I conducted research on the removal of sulfur compounds from fossil fuels, employing various separation techniques such as extraction, adsorption, and distillation. After completing my M.Sc., I gained valuable industry experience as a paint engineer at Saipa automotive manufacturing company, where I worked for three years. This experience provided me with practical insights into the field. In September 2022, I embarked on my Ph.D. studies in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta. My Ph.D. research primarily revolves around the application of membrane separation technology for extracting precious metals from water resources, with a specific focus on lithium recovery. This area of research holds great importance, given the increasing demand for lithium and its significance in various industries.
Project Title: Lithium recovery from water resources.
Email: aaghaei@ualberta.ca

Sadegh Aghapour

Bio: I received my M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering (Separation Processes) from Babol Noshirvani University of Technology in 2016. My previous experience focused on nanocomposite membranes, forward osmosis process, membrane bioreactors (MBRs), ultrafiltration membranes, as well as antibiofouling membranes. As a researcher, my goals are to find innovative research solutions that will immediately impact the industrial sector, and to solve environmental problems.
Project Title: Development of thermally-stable nanocomposite membranes for oil sands produced water treatment
Email: aghapour@ualberta.ca

Nazanin Chitgar

Bio: I received my M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Iran University of Science and Technology (2021). During my Master's program, my research activities revolved around designing and developing sustainable energy systems based on SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) to desalinate water and produce hydrogen simultaneously. My research also involved implementing optimization procedures to obtain optimal designs. Presently, I am a first-year Ph.D. student at AWRL. My research interests focus on intelligent energy management strategies using deep learning methods in RO systems powered by renewable resources.
Project Title: Sustainable and reliable design of reverse osmosis desalination with hybrid renewable energy systems by implementing deep learning methods
Email: chitgar@ualberta.ca

Elham Jashni

Bio: I received my M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from Arak University. During my Master's program, my research focused on the fabrication and modification of ion exchange membranes used in Electrodialysis system. I started my Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta and joined AWRL in September 2023.
Project Title: Development of advanced membrane materials and processes for lithium extraction from brine.
Email: jashni@ualberta.ca

Aria Khalili

Bio: I received my Master’s degree in Materials and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Western Ontario in 2017. My background is in the mechanical properties, corrosion, and protection of materials. In 2022, I began my PhD, shifting my research focus toward the characterization of soft materials, including polymers, biomaterials, and membranes.
Project Title: Developing Microscopy Methods for Hydrogel Characterization: Case Studies in Drug Delivery and Separation Membranes.
Email: akhalili@ualberta.ca

Md Mizanul Haque Mizan

Bio: I received my B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering and Polymer Science from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Bangladesh). After that, I did my Masters under the Erasmus Mundus Masters in Membrane Engineering (EM3E4SW) program from Europe. During my master's program, I studied and worked on membrane science and technology at the University of Montpellier (France), the University of Chemistry and Technology (Czech Republic), and the University of Twente (Netherlands). I started my Ph.D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta in January 2021.
Project Title: Sustainable membrane production using modified phase separation approach for water treatment.
Email: mizan@ualberta.ca

Farah Rahman Omi

Bio: I have completed my BSc.(Civil and Environmental Engineering) from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh. Right after my graduation, I joined as an Assistant Engineer in the Emergency Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project led by the Local Government Engineering Division(LGED). In 2013, I started my MASc.(Civil Engineering) in Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, and graduated in June 2015. During my Master's I was working on developing an electrically conductive ultrafiltration membrane via vacuum filtration assisted layer-by-layer technique. Then I joined Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh as a Lecturer in December 2015 and was promoted to an Assistant Professor in February 2018. I have started my Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering) at the University of Alberta in September 2020. My current research focuses on the removal of emerging contaminants using membrane filtration and advanced oxidation technologies.
Project Title: Removal Efficiency of Emerging Contaminants via Membrane filtration and Advanced Oxidation
Email: omi@ualberta.ca

Fatima Seyedpour Taji

Bio: I received my B.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Iran. Subsequently, I pursued my master's degree in polymer science and engineering at Razi University, Iran. I started my Ph.D. at the University of Alberta, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in September 2021. My research project focuses on the development of advanced thermally stable thin film nanocomposite membranes.
Project Title: Advanced thermally stable nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) thin film nanocomposite membranes: harnessing clean water and clean energy from Alberta’s oil sands
Email: seyedpou@ualberta.ca

Amirhossein Taghipour

Bio: I am a graduated Master’s from Babol Noshirvani University of Technology, Iran, in Chemical Engineering (2016). Before that, I completed my B.Sc. in the same major at the University of Mazandaran (2013). I started my Ph.D. and joined AWRL in September 2020.
Project Title: Investigation of novel techniques for fabrication of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes.
Email: Taghipour@ualberta.ca

Xinyu Wang

Bio: I graduated with my bachelor's degree in Bioengineering at McGill University, Canada, in May 2023. I joined AWRL and started a fast-track Ph.D. in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta in September 2023. I will mainly work on the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) project in close collaboration with NRC-NANO.
Project Title: Advanced nanocomposite membranes for low-cost CO2 capture and conversion.
Email: yxinyu@ualberta.ca

Afrouz Yousefi

Bio: I received my M.Sc. degree in Chemical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology. Prior to that, I completed my B.Sc. in the same major from Isfahan University. During my Master's program, my research focused on the desalination of seawater through membrane distillation, as well as the mitigation and control of membrane surface fouling using magnetic water treatment. Additionally, I implemented optimization procedures to determine optimal operational conditions. I started my Ph.D. and joined AWRL in the Fall of 2021.
Project Title: PFAS removal via Membrane Filtration and Advanced Oxidation.
Email: Afrouz@ualberta.ca


M.Sc. Students

Arura Hu

Bio: After completing my undergraduate studies in Chemical Engineering at the University of Alberta, I joined AWRL to pursue a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. My research focuses on the material development and implementation of hydrogel in removing metal contaminants from industrial effluent and designing solar desalination evaporators.
Project Title: Synthesis and utilization of hydrogel for metal ion adsorption.
Email: xh1@ualberta.ca

Taposh Saha

Bio: I received my BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology (Bangladesh). After that, I worked with several reputed companies in Bangladesh related to mechanical engineering fields. I also completed my MBA (Management Information Systems) from the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh). I am continuing my MSc (Thesis) in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta from September 2021.
Project Title: Cellulose extraction from fallen or discarded tree or plant leaves, and later use for membrane fabrication
Email: taposh@ualberta.ca


Alumni

Name Degree Thesis title
Zahra Zandi M.Sc. Development of electro-responsive membranes (ERM’s) for enhanced dye separation and antifouling performance in water treatment applications (2023)
Kazem Moradi M.Sc. Development of thermo-osmotic energy conversion for simultaneous water treatment and energy harvesting (2023)
Pooria Karami Ph.D. Fabrication of thermally stable nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for water treatment (2023)
Mohammad Amin Soleimanzadeh M.Sc. Water and energy management and optimization in oil sands industry (2021)
Asad Ahmad Asad Asad Ph.D. Preparation and characterization of micropatterned membranes using a modified phase inversion technique for water and waste-water applications (2021)
Laleh Shamaei Ph.D. Studying the application of lignin for the fabrication of high-performance membranes (2021)
Ali Mohammadtabar Ph.D. Numerical Investigation of Thermal-driven Thin Film Instabilities (2021)
Arian Enayat M.Sc. Fabrication of multi-layered organic/inorganic water desalination membranes via flame spray coating (2020)
Sadaf Noamani M.Sc. Development of Graphene-based nanocomposite membranes for water treatment (2020)
Kavya Suresh M.Sc. Development of super hydrophilic and superoleophobic membranes for oily wastewater treatment (2020)
Farhad Ismail Ph.D. Characterizing roughness and surface charge of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes by contact angle measurement (2020)
Adham Riad M.Sc. Micropatterning using modified thermal induced phase separation method (TIPS) (2020)
Nusrat Helali M.Sc. Fabrication of Graphene Oxide nanocomposite microfiltration membranes for oily wastewater treatment (2020)
Amin Karkooti Ph.D. Fabrication of graphene-based nanocomposite ultrafiltration (UF) membranes for pre-treatment of SAGD-produced water (2019)
Nandini Debnath Ph.D. Flocculation strategies to reduce membrane fouling (2019)
Maryam Razi Ph.D. Adsorption at Oil/Water Interface: Application in SAGD Operation (2019)
Farshad Mohammadtabar M.Sc. An integrated chemical/membrane process for the treatment of oil sands produced water (2018)
Ishita Biswas Ph.D. Impact of bacterial streamers on biofouling of microfluidic filtration systems (2018) co-supervised by Dr. Kumar (Indian Institute of Science, Department of Mechanical Engineering)
Debanik Bhattacharjee M.Sc. Droplet spreading on rough, permeable membranes: Numerical and Experimental Studies (2018)
Zayed Almansoori M.Sc. Synthesis of conductive ITO-based nanocomposite membranes (2017)
Behnam Khorshidi Ph.D. Advanced Thin Film Composite and Nanocomposite Polyamide Membrane for Water Treatment (2017), co-supervised by Dr. Thundat( University of Alberta, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering)
Hadi Nazaripoor Ph.D. Electrohydrodynamic and Thermocapillary Instability of Thin Liquid Films (2016), co-supervised by Dr. Koch (University of Alberta, Department of Mechanical Engineering).
Amrit Bhinder M.Sc. Forward Osmosis for the Treatment of Oil Sands Produced Water (2016)
Behnam Gheshlaghi M.Sc. Rotation Effects on Dynamics of Fluid Flow through Microchannels (2016), co-supervised by Dr. Kumar (Indian Institute of Science, Department of Mechanical Engineering).
Javad Hajinassiri M.Sc. Treatment of steam assisted gravity drainage praoduced water using polymeric membranes (2015)

Past Postdoctoral Fellows

 

Name Last Degree Projects Current Position
Masoud Rastgar PhD Fabrication of forward osmosis membrane laminated by graphene and investigation of its antifouling property under the electric field R&D Manager at Recion Technologies, Inc
Amirul Islam PhD Synthesis and self-assembly of star block copolymers to generate resilient anti-fouling coatings on water filtration membrane Research Officer at NRC Nanotechnology Research Centre
Hassan Hosseini PhD Experimental evaluation of surface and deep filtration sand control solution (2019-2021)
Mirjavad (Emad) Geramian PhD Development of green ceramic formulations, testing and manufacturing process from Alberta oil sands tailings (2020-2022)
Hafez Balavi PhD Cold cracking by resonance energy for sustainable technologies (2020-2022) Advanced Energy Technologies Canada
Ali Habibi Ph.D. Unplugging Standalone Sand-Control Screens Using High-Power Shock Waves (2019-2021)
Behnam Khorshidi Ph.D. Fabrication of advanced thin film composite (TFC) and thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane for water treatment processes (2018 - 2020) Fibracast Ltd.
Amirreza Sohrabi Ph.D. Elimination of Emerging Contaminants in Wastewater by Electrical Plasma-Membrane Technologies Hybridization Method (2018 - 2020) CEO and Co-founder, Roshan Water Solutions
Parmiss Mojir Shaibani Ph.D. Handheld sensor for E.coli detection (2017 - 2019) CTO and Co-founder, Roshan Water Solutions
Hadi Nazaripoor Ph.D. Thermally and electrically micro-patterning of polymeric membranes (2016 - 2018) Shawcor

Past Research Assistants

 

Name Last Degree Projects
Adham Riad  M.Sc. High-temperature reverse osmosis for SAGD produced water treatment (2021)
Arash Malekpour Koupaei  M.Sc. Online monitoring and visualization of membrane patterning during the electrohydrodynamic process (2018)
Faezeh Rasimarzabadi  Ph.D. Numerical simulation of fouling on porous membranes (2018)
Maryam Mohseni M.Sc. Thermal characterization of thin film composite and phase inversion membranes by TGA, DSC, and DMTA analyses (2017)
Roohi Shokri Ph.D. Development of super-hydrophilic membranes for the oil spill recovery from the marine environment (2016)
Babak Vajdi Hokmabad M.Sc. Applying 3D-printed microfluidic cells to study emulsion stability and its characterization as well as surfactant adsorption dynamics at liquid-liquid interfaces (2016)
Behnam Sadri M.Sc. Micro/nanoscale interaction of solid/liquid particles, Thin liquid film (TLF) dynamics for applications on separation of W/O and O/W emulsions, Preparation of stable metal oxide NPs and embed them into membranes (2015-2016)

Past Visiting Scholars

  • Prof. Ahmad Rahimpour, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Babol Noshirvani University of Technology (2021-2022)
  • Dr. Shirin Niroomand, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Saskatchewan (2018-2019)
    Project: membrane fabrication for membrane-based energy exchangers
  • Masoud Rastgar, Ph.D. Candidate of Applied Chemistry at the University of Tehran (2018-2019)
    Project: Fabrication of forward osmosis membrane laminated by graphene and investigation of its antifouling property under the electric field
  • Prof. Ali Tehrani, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bahaa and Walid Bassatne Department of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Energy, American University of Beirut (2018)
    Project: Nanocomposite membranes for water treatment by membrane distillation
  • Hassan Hosseini, Ph.D. Candidate of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology (2017).
    Project: Synthesis and characterization of high-performance electrospun nanofibrous membranes for water treatment

Past Undergraduate Students/Summer Interns

Joel Fleck (Summer 2021), Project: Smart harvesting and in-situ application of piezoelectricity in membrane filtration systems

Robin Peppone Graessner (Summer 2021, UARE Program), Project: Smart harvesting and in-situ application of piezoelectricity in membrane filtration systems

Naushin Yasmin (Summer 2021, Mitacs Globalink), Project: Thermo-responsive polymers: Structure and design of smart materials

Anshika Shristi (Summer 2021, Mitacs Globalink), Project: Application of star-shape block copolymers for membrane fabrication: Critical review

Victor Zamora Castaneda (Winter 2020, UARE Program), Project: Using Star Block Copolymers to Synthesize New Generation of Water Treatment

Camila Saenz Velasquez (Winter 2020, UARE Program), Project: Harvesting Clean Energy from Alberta’s Oil Sands by the Development of Advanced

Isabelle Aparecida de Sousa (Winter 2020, UARE Program), Project: Using Star Block Copolymers to Synthesize New Generation of Water Treatment

Isabela Silva Guimaraes Winter 2020, UARE Program), Project: Harvesting Clean Energy from Alberta’s Oil Sands by the Development of Advanced

Eric Beaulieu (Summer 2019), Project: High-temperature testing of commercial TFC membranes

Sanhita Pal (Summer 2019, Mitacs Globalink), Project: Development of membrane distillation membranes by thermal spraying method

Edson Jair Flores Davila (Winter 2019), Project: Development of high-performance thin film nanocomposite membranes

Julio Hector Ojeda Velarde (Winter 2019), Project: Development of high-performance thin film composite membranes

Huang Yuyang (Summer 2018), Project: Development of phase inversion membranes by polyamide-imide (PAI)

Yixuan Chen (Fall 2017 and Winter 2018, Dean's Research Award), Project: Synthesis of phase inversion membranes by various polymers

Huthaifa Abu Saris (Summer 2017, NSERC USRA Fellow), Project: Design and automation of bench-scale membrane manufacturing process

Guan Chen (Fall 2016 and Winter 2017, CICan Fellow), Project: synthesis of advanced nanocomposite membranes

Evans Kwak (Summer 2015 and Summer 2016), Project: (i) Testing phase separation membranes by bench-scale setup, (ii) Running and troubleshooting the pilot scale UF setup

Muhammed Tekin (Summer 2015), Project: non-Newtonian thin film perturbation in electrical field

Olisaemeka Osolu (Summer 2015), Project: Making porous phase separation membranes