CURRENT GROUP MEMBERS
Principle Investigator
Seth Dworkin, Ph.D., P.Eng., FCSME
Professor, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Energy Modelling and Simulation
Toronto Metropolitan University
seth.dworkin@torontomu.ca
Education:
B.Eng. – McMaster University, 2003
M.Sc. – Yale University, 2004
M.Phil. – Yale University, 2005
Ph.D. – Yale University, 2009
Selected Awards:
2023 – Toronto Metropolitan University Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science Dean’s Service Award.
2020 – Research Excellence Award of The Combustion Institute, recognizing Institute members who have made contributions of innovative and prolific research.
2017 – McMaster University Alumni Association Arch Award, recognizing the achievements of McMaster alumni within fifteen years of graduation.
2015 – Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO), Engineering Medal – Young Engineer, for exceptional achievements in career, community and professional participation before the age of 35.
2013 – Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) “I. W. Smith Award,” for outstanding achievement in creative mechanical engineering within ten years of undergraduate graduation.
2008 – Bernard Lewis Fellowship, The International Combustion Institute, recognizing research achievements and potential.
Post-Doctoral Fellows
Mohammadamin Ahmadfard
ahmadfard@torontomu.ca
Dr. Mohammadamin Ahmadfard is a Mechanical Engineering PhD graduate from Polytechnique Montreal, where he specialized in renewable energies with a focus on geothermal science under the supervision of Prof. Michel Bernier. With several years of experience, Mohammadamin has a strong background in designing HVAC systems incorporating heat pumps connected to solar panels and borehole thermal energy storage. His expertise also includes designing boreholes, problem optimization, simulating analytical and numerical models, and fluid and heat transfer.
Andisheh Khanehzar
andisheh.khanehzar@torontomu.ca
Dr. Andisheh Khanehzar completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Shiraz University in 2015, her Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering at Sharif University of Technology in 2018, and her PhD at TMU in 2024. In her PhD thesis, she worked on the application of Machine Learning algorithms to combustion simulation and soot formation. Her work has resulted in numerous accolades, including an Ontario Graduate Scholarship.
PhD Students
Charaka Beragama Jathunge
charakalakshanjayath@ucalgary.ca
Charaka completed his B.Sc. Eng. (Hons.) degree in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka in 2020 and obtained his M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Calgary in 2024. He is currently reading for his Ph.D. at the University of Calgary, co-supervised by Drs. Dworkin and Mwesigye. Charaka’s research focuses on modelling shallow ground source heat pump systems for space conditioning applications. He is currently investigating system hybridization by integrating alternative energy sources and energy storage to enhance the performance of ground source heat pump systems in cold climate applications.
Oytun Oner
oytun.oner@torontomu.ca
Oytun is a Mechanical Engineer who obtained his BSc degree from Istanbul Technical University in 2019, his Master of Professional Engineering (MPEng) from the University of Technology Sydney in 2021, and his MASc from Ontario Tech University in 2022. During his master’s studies, his research focused on hydrogen production methods and integrated energy systems, including energy and exergy analyses. He is currently pursuing a PhD at Toronto Metropolitan University under the co-supervision of Dr. Dworkin and Dr. Karataş. His research mainly focuses on particulate formation in combustion environments, involving both experimental and modeling investigations. To date, his work has included international collaborations and has been recognized with an Ontario Graduate Scholarship.
Ibrahim Ghalayini
ighalayini@torontomu.ca
Ibrahim completed his bachelor’s and MASc degrees in Mechanical Engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2020 and 2021, respectively. His research focused on numerically modelling nanofluids and investigating single-phase and two-phase models. Due to the effects of nanoparticle sedimentation on heat extraction, his thesis focused on employing Buongiorno’s two-phase model to develop an understanding on the effects of Brownian motion as well as thermophoretic effects on the hydrothermal properties of nanofluids. He re-joined the Mechanical/Industrial Engineering Department at Toronto Metropolitan University as a PhD student in 2022, focusing his research on numerically modelling ground source heat pump systems in steel helical piles.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Gael Garcia (currently on internship)
gael.garcia@torontomu.ca
Andrew Kaseb (currently on internship)
akaseb@torontomu.ca
Mattias Cheung (currently on internship)
mattias.cheung@torontomu.ca
Former Group Members
Former Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Francisco Cepeda
Dr. Sahar Taslimi Taleghani
Dr. Mehdi Jadidi
Dr. Sylvie Antoun
Dr. Aggrey Mwesigye
Dr. Leonardo Zimmer
Dr. Ayman Bayomy
Dr. Meysam Sahafzadeh
Dr. Ali Khosousi
Dr. Armin Veshkini
Former PhD Students
Dr. Andisheh Khanehzar
Thesis: “Detailed Prediction of Soot Particle Properties; Advances in Machine Learning Application” (2024)
Dr. Francisco Cepeda
Thesis: “Computational Studies of Soot Production for Varying Fuels, Pressures, and Flow Conditions” (2023)
Dr. Reza Daneshazarian
Thesis: “Studies in Ground Heat Transfer and Thermal Energy Storage using Phase Change Material and Nanoparticles” (2021)
Dr. Hiep Nguyen
Thesis: “Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Thermal Storage Medium for Ground Source Heat Pump Applications” (2020)
Dr. Jamie Fine
Thesis: “Development of a Hybrid Solar Cascade Heat Pump Heating System” (2018)
Dr. Meysam Sahafzadeh
Thesis: “The Effect of Unsteady Stretch on Laminar Premixed Curved Flames” (2018)
Dr. Nick Eaves
Thesis: “The Effect of Reversibility and High Pressure on Soot Formation” (2016)
Dr. Ali Khosousi
Thesis: “Detailed Numerical Study of Soot Surface Growth and Oxidation in Laminar Diffusion Flames” (2015)
Dr. Armin Veshkini
Thesis: “Understanding Soot Particle Growth Chemistry and Particle Sizing Using a Novel Soot Growth and Formation Model” (2015)
Dr. Sanaz Arabzadeh Esfarjani
Thesis: “A Modeling Framework for the Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes by RF Plasma Technology” (2013)
Former Masters Students
Anthony Di Liddo
Thesis: “Modelling the Thermal Performance of Helical Steel PIles as Ground Heat Exchangers” (2025)
Krystal Henry-Mathieu
Thesis: “Investigation into the Implications of Geothermal Heating and Cooling use on Soil Organic Carbon Decomposition and Contaminant Mobilization” (2023)
Beatrice Adebisi
Thesis: “Development of an Extensive Soot Prediction Methodology using Neural Networks” (2022)
Luke Di Liddo
Thesis: “Exploring Soot Inception with Stochastic Modelling, Machine Learning, and CFD” (2022)
Pedram Hatefraad
Thesis: “Field-scale Experimental Analysis of Helical Steel Piles as In-ground Heat Exchangers for Ground Source Heat Pumps” (2022)
Saunak Shukla
Thesis: “Characterization of a Novel Radiant Floor Panel and a Caisson-Based Geothermal System” (2020)
Sarah Nicholson
Thesis: “Characterization of a Novel In-Ground Heat Exchanger for Applications in Sustainable Building Energy and Maintaining Permafrost” (2020)
Amin Mansousi
Thesis: “Modelling the Effect of Pressure on Soot Formation in Varying-Pressure Coflow Laminar Diffusion Flames” (2020)
Nemanja Ceranic
Thesis: “The Influence of Aliphatics on Soot Inception Modelling” (2018)
Raymond Alexander
Thesis: “Development of a Soot Concentration Estimation Library for Industrial Combustion Applications Using Lagrangian Parcel Tracking” (2017)
Alisha Hunter
Thesis: “Comparative Life Cycle Assessment: Ground Source Heat Pump System Versus Gas Furnace and Air Conditioner System” (2017)
Adam Alaica
Thesis: “The Development of an Off-peak Ground Pre-cool Control Strategy for Hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump Systems” (2016)
Emily Law
Thesis: “Characterization of the Effects of Borehole Layouts in Geo-exchange” (2016)
Bijan Shahriari
Thesis: “Development and Validation of a Partially Coupled Soot Model for Turbulent Kerosene Combustion in Industrial Applications” (2014)
Hiep Nguyen
Thesis: “Analyses of the factors affecting hybrid ground-source heat pump installation potential” (2014)
Sepehr Bozorgzadeh
Thesis: “Development of a Soot Concentration Estimator for Industrial Combustion Applications” (2014)
Michael Di Paolo
Thesis: “Design of a smart manifold for geothermal HVAC installations” (2014)
Levon Larson
Thesis: “Numerical Simulation of Liquid Prechamber Fuel Ignition” (2013)
Kaveh Khalilian
Thesis: “Development and Validation of a Partially Coupled, Two-Equation Soot Model for Industrial Applications” (2013)
Masih Alavy
Thesis: “Optimization of Hybrid Ground Source Heat Pump Systems Design” (2013)
Zannatul Moiet Hasib
Thesis: “Residential Micro Tri-Generation System Based on a Gas Fired Stirling Engine CHP and Thermo Chemical Accumulator (TCA)”(2013)
Navid Ekrami
Thesis: “Feasibility of Residential Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power Generation System in Canadian Cities”(2013)
Nick Eaves
Thesis: “The Effect of Pressure and Conjugate Heat Transfer on Soot Formation Modelling” (2012)
Former Undergraduate Research Assistants
Erica Attard (2021/2022)
Leya Kober (2019/2020/2021)
Alejandro Gonzalez-Ferras (2019/2020)
Stevan Kostic (2018/2019/2020)
Rozhan Ghoreishi (2017/2018/2019)
Bobby Anand (2016/2017)
Talha Ansari (2016/2017/2018)
Akshay Chaudhari (2015)
Mihai Duica (2015)
Sana Askari (2015)
Raymond Alexander (2014/2015)
Nikola Kuzmic (2014/2015)
Vivian Truong (2014)
Emily Law (2013/2014)
Brian Reghelini (2013)
Adam Alaica (2013)
Chloe Zhou (2013)
Pushan Lele (2012)