Faculty Accolades - February

Elias Bou Harb, who is doing a PhD thesis on fingerprinting probing activities, supervised by Mourad Debbabi and Chadi Assi in the Concordia Institute of Information Systems Engineering and has been awarded an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship. This is a very competitive and prestigious competition with usually only about 10 scholarships granted annually nationwide. Through his research, Elias is implementing and evaluating next generation efficient big data analytics and correlation engines for the acquisition, storing and processing of such raw real-time cyber security data, tailoring the generated threat intelligence towards the Canadian critical infrastructure, and providing a front-end service where various entities, corporations and researchers can benefit from real time cyber intelligence information.

Ali Dolatabadi, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, has been named president of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME). He was previously senior vice president. Dolatabadi is the holder of a patent on “High efficiency nozzle for thermal spray of high quality, low oxide content coatings”. His patented nozzle considerably expands the capabilities of HVOF process and widens its applications. He is the founder and co-director of Multiphase Flow and Thermal spray Laboratories, and was recently was awarded membership in the Provost’s Circle of Distinction for accomplishments in research, teaching and service to the society.

Javad Dargahi, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, has been the subject of a Concordia press release for his NSERC-funded project developing simulation software that can be used in the oil and gas industry. With his colleagues, Dargahi is working to develop a simulation software that will help designers test drilling equipment before subjecting it to the rigours of the field. The application of this research is to the increasingly common practice of directional drilling (as opposed to conventional vertical drilling), when the wellhead and the well are separated often by several kilometres. Read more.

The laboratory and research of Ted Stathopoulos from the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering has been featured in La Presse in an extensive article about innovative partnerships between universities and industry. La Presse reports on the Wind Tunnel laboratory, where the effects of wind on buildings can be examined. 

Mehdi Sabzalian, a student from Space Concordia and studying in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering has just been chosen to participate in the prestigious CalTech Space Challenge in Pasadena, California. This is the second Concordia student to participate, the first being Nick Sweet two years ago, who was also the time the only Canadian in the competition. The CalTech Space Challenge takes place March 22 to 28.