Benzhong |Robin| Zhao (email) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at McMaster University. Robin's background is in civil & environmental engineering, specializing in multiphase flow in porous media with applications to low-carbon energy systems. He earned his BASc from the University of Waterloo, SM and PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked on the fluid mechanics of geological carbon dioxide sequestration. He completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Toronto, where he worked on developing more efficient electrochemical devices for renewable energy storage.

Mahtab Masouminia is a PhD student in the lab. Mahtab finished her Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at University of Tehran (2015) in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Multiphase Flow. Then, she obtained her Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology (2019) in CFD and Fluid Solid Interaction. Her current research focuses on the fabrication of microfluidic devices with controlled wettability.

Nima Shakourifar is a PhD student in the lab. Nima got his BSc in petroleum engineering from the University of Tehran in 2015. His interest in numerical modelling led him to complete an MSc program in reservoir engineering at the Sharif University of Technology in 2018, where he worked on implementing high-order finite element methods to simulate multicomponent flow in porous media. Currently, his research is focused on developing numerical models to capture the evolution of oxygen bubbles in PEM water electrolyzers.

Mohammad Salehpour is a PhD student in the lab. Mohammad holds a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from University of Garmsar (2017), followed by a Master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from Shiraz University (2020). His past work focused on geologic CO2 storage at reservoirs using microfluidics. Currently, his research aims to understand the controlling factors of underground hydrogen storage. Check out Mohammad’s Google Scholar profile.

Negar Shahsavar is a PhD student in the lab. She obtained he Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering at Sharif University of Technology (2014). She finished her Master's degree in Petroleum Engineering at Shiraz University (2017). Her current research focuses on studying the interaction of flow and reaction in geologic CO2 storage. Check out Negar’s Google scholar profile.

Alumni

Graduate Students

Michelle Ragany was an MASc student in the lab. She conducted her master’s research on improving the efficiency of the agriculture infrastructure using closed loop systems.

Mohamed El-Morsy was a PhD student in the lab. He conducted his PhD research on using machine learning technologies to predict the properties of digital rocks. Mohamed is currently a consulting engineer. Check out Mohamed’s Google scholar profile.  

Ashkan Irannezhad was a PhD student in the lab. He conducted his PhD research on the impact of mixed wettability on multiphase flow in porous media. Ashkan is currently a postdoctoral associate in the Higgins Lab at McMaster. Check out Ashkan’s Google scholar profile.

Dan Zhao was an MASc student in the lab. He conducted his master’s research on implementing geological carbon sequestration in the Alberta oil sands. Dan is currently a Carbon Analyst at Clearblue Markets.

Undergraduate Students

Endi Hajdari obtained a B.Eng. in Civil Engineering and Society, as well as a concurrent B.Sc. in Mathematical Science from McMaster University. She was the recipient of the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards for her research on gravity-driven infiltration in porous media from 2020-2021.

Jack Rynard is an undergraduate student at McMaster University pursuing a B.Eng in Engineering Physics.

Charlotte Neumann is an undergraduate student at McMaster University in the process of obtaining her B.Eng in Mechatronics Engineering and Society.

Ruby Yee worked as a fourth-year undergraduate thesis student. She completed her B.Sc. in Honours Integrated Science (Physics Concentration). Ruby is currently a PhD student at Dalhousie University studying Arctic ocean mixing.

Marisa Caluori was a final year student in the Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Minor in Business program.

Katelyn Wylie is an undergraduate student at McMaster University, in the process of obtaining her Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering and Society.