Fantahun M. Defersha

Fantahun M. Defersha is a Full Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Concordia University (2006) and has over 28 years of academic experience, including roles as Area Head in Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on manufacturing systems optimization, cellular manufacturing, supply chain modeling, meta-heuristics, and parallel computing applications.

Education:

• B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering (1995), Addis Ababa University
• MEng. Mechanical Engineering (2000), University of Roorkee (IIT Roorkee)
• PhD Mechanical Engineering (2006), Concordia University

Research Interests: Manufacturing system analysis, flexible/cellular manufacturing systems, reconfigurable manufacturing systems, supply chain optimization, meta-heuristics, parallel computing, and additive manufacturing sustainability. His work integrates computational methods like genetic algorithms and machine learning to solve complex industrial problems.

Publications: Over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles, emphasizing sustainable manufacturing, optimization algorithms, and industrial systems. Recent work includes hybrid machine learning approaches for additive manufacturing and cloud-based digital twin systems.

Honors:

• Campaign for a New Millennium Graduate Scholarship (2004–2005)
• Concordia University International Tuition Fees Remission Award (2004–2005)
• Concordia University Graduate Fellowship (2004–2005)

Teaching & Advising: Taught over 25 courses, including Optimization in Engineering, Discrete Event Simulation, and Manufacturing Systems Design. Actively advises graduate students in mechanical and industrial engineering. Current research funding includes NSERC grants for Industry 4.0 integration and digital twin technologies.

Labs/Teams: Leads research on smart manufacturing systems, digital twins, and sustainable production processes through collaborations with industry partners like AVL Manufacturing Inc.