Dr. Wahab Hamou-Lhadj is a Professor and Chair at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering , Concordia University, and an Affiliate Researcher at NASA JPL, Caltech . He leads research in Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) , Software Observability , and Model-Driven Engineering , focusing on improving the reliability of digital systems in AI-driven environments.
Dr. Yujie Tang is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Computer Science at Dalhousie University, Canada, where she has been serving since September 2022. Prior to this, she was an Assistant Professor at Algoma University (2019–2022) and a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Waterloo (2017–2019). Her academic journey includes a PhD from the University of Waterloo and earlier degrees from Harbin Institute of Technology and Lanzhou Jiaotong University. PhD – University of Waterloo (2017) M.E. – Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, China B.E. – Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, China Her research focuses on intelligent networking and computing technologies for future IoT and 5G/6G systems. Key areas include Internet of Vehicles (IoV), AI-empowered edge computing, resource management in heterogeneous networks, software-defined networking, and UAV-assisted communications. She employs machine learning and optimization techniques to design energy-efficient and high-performance network protocols. The most recent publications reflect a strong trend in applying AI and machine learning to solve complex problems in vehicular networks, edge caching, and spectrum management. Her work spans top-tier IEEE journals such as IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology , IEEE Internet of Things Journal , and IEEE JSAC , with a clear emphasis on real-world deployable solutions for next-generation wireless systems. Faculty Research Startup Fund, Dalhousie University, 2022 NSERC Discovery Grant, 2021–2026 Algoma University Research Fund, 2021 Faculty Research Startup Fund, Algoma University, 2019 Best Speaker Award, University of Waterloo, 2017 Faculty of Engineering Award (4 times), University of Waterloo, 2013–2017 University of Waterloo Graduate Scholarship, 2013–2015 International Doctoral Student Award, 2012–2016 Graduate Research Studentship (twice), 2011–2012 Provost Doctoral Entrance Award for Women, 2011 Dr. Tang actively supervises graduate and undergraduate students and has secured competitive research grants, including the NSERC Discovery Grant. She serves on the technical program committees of major IEEE conferences such as INFOCOM, GLOBECOM, and ICC, and regularly reviews for top journals like IEEE JSAC , IEEE TWC , and IEEE TVT . She currently leads a research group focusing on B5G/6G networks, IoV, and edge computing, and she is actively recruiting new students and visiting scholars. Her research group operates within the Faculty of Computer Science at Dalhousie University, where she leads projects in intelligent resource management, AI-driven networking, and integration of space-air-ground networks. She is a member of IEEE, IEEE Communications Society, and IEEE Vehicular Technology Society.
Dr. Karim El-Basyouny is a Killam Laureate Professor and City of Edmonton Urban Traffic Safety Research Chair at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Engineering, where he serves as Associate Dean (Research Infrastructure and Innovation) in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. A licensed Professional Engineer in Alberta, he holds advanced degrees in Transportation Engineering from the University of British Columbia and has dedicated his career to advancing road safety through data-driven management frameworks. His academic credentials include: Doctor of Philosophy, Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2011 Engineering Management Sub-specialization, Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2010 Master of Applied Science, Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia, 2006 Bachelor's degree (ABET Equivalent), Civil & Environmental Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, 2003 El-Basyouny's research pioneers the integration of remote sensing, machine learning, and statistical modeling to enhance transportation safety. His work develops automated tools for infrastructure digitization, collision prediction, and speed management, treating safety as a systemic product requiring management frameworks. Key contributions include LiDAR-based road feature extraction, network-level safety evaluations, and frameworks for vision-zero outcomes that address both human-driven and autonomous vehicle contexts. His recent publications demonstrate a cohesive research trajectory centered on leveraging point cloud data and computational intelligence for safety management. Over 15 major publications since 2021 focus on automated infrastructure assessment (light pole detection, clear zone mapping, vertical clearance evaluation), weather-impact modeling, and enforcement resource optimization. This body of work bridges transportation engineering with computer vision and operations research to create scalable safety solutions. His scientific contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors including: 2024 Killam Annual Professorship Award 2024 Road Safety Achievement Award from TAC 2023 Donald Stanley Award for environmental engineering 2022 Faculty of Engineering Graduate Teaching Award 2021 Daniel B. Fambro Student Paper Award As an academic leader, El-Basyouny actively mentors graduate students and secures significant research funding through his endowed chair position. He currently recruits fully-funded PhD and postdoctoral candidates specializing in remote sensing applications, machine learning, and geomatics for road digitization projects. His research group collaborates with national safety committees and municipal agencies to translate findings into policy, while he serves on editorial boards for Transportation Research Record and Analytic Methods in Accident Research. The research group operates at the intersection of transportation engineering and computational science, developing automated frameworks that merge sensor technologies with data processing tools. Current projects focus on semantic segmentation of 3D point clouds, safety implications of infrastructure digitization, and machine learning applications for road feature extraction in both urban and rural environments.
Dr. Chih-Hung (James) Chen is a Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at McMaster University. His research focuses on noise-related issues in semiconductor devices, low-noise circuit design for medical and communication applications, and thermal noise characterization in nano-scale transistors. He holds senior member status in IEEE and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario. Education: Ph.D., McMaster University, 2002 M.A.Sc., Simon Fraser University, 1997 B.Sc., National Central University, Taiwan, 1991 Research interests include biomedical technologies, microelectronics & VLSI, and digital/smart systems. He has collaborated with companies like Sony Corporation, United Microelectronics Corporation, and Focus Microwaves. His work is supported by grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), NSERC, and the Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT). Notable achievements include serving on the International Advisory Committee of the International Conference on Noise and Fluctuations (2015) and as an editor for the Journal of Low Power Electronics and Applications since 2022. Teaching includes courses like Analysis and Design of RF ICs for Communications and Electronic Devices and Circuits 2. His research lab focuses on advancing noise measurement techniques and designing ultra-low-power analog circuits for emerging applications.
Gautam Kamath is an Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo's Cheriton School of Computer Science, a Faculty Member at the Vector Institute, and a Canada CIFAR AI Chair. He leads The Salon, a research group focused on statistics, algorithms, machine learning, and optimization. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical applications in data privacy and robustness, contributing to both academic research and real-world deployments that impact millions of users. Dr. Kamath earned his PhD and SM degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, where he was advised by Costis Daskalakis. Prior to MIT, he graduated from Cornell University in May 2012 with a degree in Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering, where he worked with Bobby Kleinberg. His academic journey reflects a strong foundation in both theoretical computer science and practical applications. His research focuses on developing solutions for trustworthy and reliable machine learning and statistics, with particular emphasis on data privacy and robustness. He addresses fundamental problems in these areas, revitalizing statistical toolkits for the modern data era where privacy preservation is paramount. His work spans theoretical foundations of differential privacy to practical applications that have been deployed at scale, including contributions to systems that protect the sensitive information of hundreds of millions of individuals. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward addressing the interplay between privacy, robustness, and machine learning performance. His work increasingly examines practical deployment challenges while maintaining theoretical rigor, with growing emphasis on diffusion models, generative AI, and the legal implications of AI systems. There's a clear trajectory from foundational privacy theory toward addressing real-world implementation challenges across diverse application domains. Canada CIFAR AI Chair Ontario Early Researcher Award 2024 Caspar Bowden Award for Outstanding Research in Privacy Enhancing Technologies STOC Best Student Presentation Award ICML 2024 Best Paper Award Microsoft Research Fellow at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing Dr. Kamath actively mentors students, with notable successes including Valentio Iverson winning the Germain-Erdős Undergraduate Award and Chris Trevisan receiving the CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award. His service to the research community is extensive, serving as Editor-in-Chief of TMLR, on the Executive Committee of the Learning Theory Alliance, and on steering committees for major conferences including ICML, COLT, and ALT. He has organized numerous workshops focused on privacy-preserving machine learning and differential privacy. Through The Salon research group, Dr. Kamath fosters a collaborative environment where postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates work together on cutting-edge problems at the intersection of statistics, algorithms, machine learning, and optimization. The group maintains strong connections with industry partners and participates in major research initiatives, including the Vector Institute's privacy and security research efforts. Looking forward, Dr. Kamath will be moving to the Computer Science department at NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences in September 2026, where he plans to expand his research program.
Sahar Pirooz Azad is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo. She holds a PEng designation and specializes in power systems engineering, particularly in HVDC systems and grid stability. Previously, she served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta (2015–2017) and conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Toronto’s CAPE Centre and KU Leuven in Belgium. Her research focuses on enhancing power grid stability through advanced control schemes for HVDC grids, converter modeling, and fault protection mechanisms. Dr. Azad’s work addresses challenges in multi-terminal HVDC systems, offshore wind grid integration, and multi-vendor system compatibility. She has taught courses like Power System Protection and Relaying (ECE 765) and Electromechanical Energy Conversion (ECE 260), reflecting her expertise in both theoretical and applied electrical engineering. Her recent publications emphasize innovative protection schemes for HVDC grids, fault detection algorithms using signal processing (e.g., Hilbert-Huang Transform), and robust controller designs for multi-vendor VSC systems. These contributions aim to improve grid reliability, fault resilience, and renewable energy integration efficiency. Dr. Azad is actively recruiting graduate students and holds Sole-Supervisory Privilege Status (SSPS) at Waterloo. Her research has been supported by European Commission-funded projects like MEDOW and leverages interdisciplinary approaches to tackle modern grid challenges.
WonSook Lee is a tenured Full Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Engineering. Her expertise spans medical imaging, machine/deep learning, computer graphics, and computer vision. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and holds degrees from POSTECH (Korea) and NUS (Singapore). Before academia, she worked at Korea Telecom, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, and Eyematic Interfaces Inc. (USA). Her research focuses on applications such as virtual/augmented reality, MRI/CT/Ultrasound analysis, and 3D mesh modeling. She has authored over 130 publications, including 30+ journal papers, and serves on conference committees and editorial boards. Lee has secured major grants (NSERC, CFI, ORF) as Principal Investigator and contributed to global initiatives like South Korea’s National Research Foundation. Her lab explores cutting-edge techniques in medical imaging, AI-driven object detection, and multimodal systems. Notable projects include adversarial perturbation analysis for model robustness, cross-domain GANs for semantic segmentation, and real-time ultrasound-enhanced pronunciation training. She actively promotes interdisciplinary research in healthcare technology and autonomous systems.
Shiva Nejati is a Professor at the University of Ottawa 's School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science . He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Toronto and previously worked as a Senior Scientist (2012-2019) and Scientist (2009-2012) at the SnT Centre (University of Luxembourg) and Simula Research Laboratory. Research focus: Software engineering for cyber-physical systems (autonomous vehicles, IoT), blending formal verification, machine learning, and search-based testing Key tools developed: ARIsTEO, SOCRaTEs, SimCoTest, EPIcuRus Editorial roles: Associate Editor for EMSE Journal (2025–), ASE Journal (2025–), IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (2020–2024) His work combines formal methods , empirical software engineering , and AI/ML to address verification challenges in complex systems, particularly through evolutionary algorithms and surrogate modeling . Notable collaborations include industry partners in telecommunications, automotive, and aerospace sectors. Recent publications emphasize large language models for requirements analysis, adversarial testing of vision systems, and multi-objective optimization for test generation. His Sedna Research Lab actively trains graduate students in these cutting-edge methodologies.
Natalie Enright Jerger is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Computer Architecture and serves as Director of the Division of Engineering Science (2023-2028). Previously, she was the Percy Edward Hart Professor (2016-2019). She received her B.S. in Computer Engineering from Purdue University (2002), and M.S./Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison (2004/2008). Her research focuses on: Multi/many-core architectures and on-chip networks Cache coherence protocols and memory hierarchy optimization Approximate computing and sustainable systems Intermittent computing for energy-harvesting devices Hardware acceleration for machine learning Her publications demonstrate strong emphasis on networks-on-chip (NoC) innovations, including routing algorithms, deadlock handling, power-efficient designs, and topology optimizations. Recent work expands into approximate computing, mobile architectures, and ML-driven hardware design. Major Awards: Fellow of Engineering Institute of Canada (2023) McLean Senior Fellow (2019) IEEE Micro Top Picks (2016) ACM/IEEE Microarchitecture Hall of Fame (2015) Sloan Research Fellowship (2015) Canada Research Chair (current) Distinguished Scientist, ACM Fellow, IEEE She leads the NEJ research group and collaborates with industry partners including Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and IBM. Her work is funded by NSERC, CFI, and industrial grants. She co-chaired ASPLOS 2023 and HPCA 2014, and actively promotes diversity through WICARCH and ACM initiatives.
Ahmad Al-Dabbagh is an Assistant Professor in Manufacturing Engineering and holds a Principal's Research Chair in Control Systems (Tier 2) with the School of Engineering at The University of British Columbia. As a Senior Member of IEEE and ISA, he contributes significantly to the field of resilient automation and control systems through research, teaching, and professional service. His academic journey includes postdoctoral fellowships at Imperial College London, the University of Toronto, and the University of Alberta, where he also earned his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Al-Dabbagh's research focuses on designing resilient automation and control systems by addressing critical challenges in fault diagnosis, cyber security, and alarm management. His work spans theoretical foundations and practical applications in industrial control systems, with particular emphasis on detection and isolation of faults and cyber attacks, control reconfiguration, event-triggered control, remote state estimation, and alarm systems design. His research interests also extend to causality analysis, prediction methods, and root cause analysis for industrial processes. His extensive publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to control systems security and reliability, with recent work focusing on sophisticated methods for detecting false data injection attacks, analyzing alarm correlations using advanced machine learning techniques, and developing recommender systems for human operators in industrial environments. The trajectory of his research shows an evolution from foundational control theory toward increasingly complex applications in cyber-physical security and human-system interaction in industrial settings. NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS – D3) Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship Governor General's Academic Medal (Gold) As a graduate student supervisor, Dr. Al-Dabbagh mentors the next generation of control systems engineers while maintaining an active research program. He serves as an Associate Editor on the IEEE Control Systems Society Conference Editorial Board and is a licensed Professional Engineer in British Columbia and Ontario. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as System Identification, Digital Enterprise, Systems and Control, and Internet of Things, reflecting the breadth of his expertise. Dr. Al-Dabbagh leads the Okanagan Laboratory for Control Systems Research, where his team develops innovative approaches to enhance the security and reliability of industrial automation systems. The laboratory serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research that bridges theoretical control engineering with practical industrial applications, particularly in the energy, manufacturing, and process industries.
Mustafa Yavuz is a Professor and Director of the Nano and Micro Systems Lab (NMSL) at the University of Waterloo, Canada, affiliated with Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering, System Design Engineering, and Electrical & Computer Engineering. He holds cross-appointments in multiple departments and has been a faculty member since 2009. His research focuses on Opto-Nano/MEMS devices, quantum electronic solids, graphene, and superconductors. Yavuz has supervised over 28 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, leading to impactful contributions in sensors, nanomaterials, and energy harvesting. He has authored/co-authored numerous articles and holds patents in MEMS and nanotechnology. His awards include the University of Waterloo Research Excellence Award (2018) and international fellowships from MINATEC and JSPS. Education: Ph.D. Materials Engineering (University of Wollongong, 1996) Ph.D. Applied Physics (University of Wollongong, 1995) M.Sc. Materials Engineering (Middle East Technical University, 1991) B.Sc. Materials Engineering (Middle East Technical University, 1989) Research Interests: Yavuz specializes in advanced materials and MEMS/NEMS technologies, including opto-nano-MEMS devices, quantum electronic solids (superconductors, graphene), and functional nanomaterials for sensors and energy systems. His work integrates fabrication, packaging, and reliability testing of nanoscale devices for applications in photonics, biomedical sensing, and environmental monitoring. Recent trends in his articles highlight innovations in resonant MEMS mirrors, graphene-based biosensors, and laser-functionalized 2D materials. Scientific Awards: MINATEC Fellowship (2019) Waterloo Engineering Research Excellence Award (2018) International Nanoarchitectonics Fellowship (2017) JSPS Fellowship (2007) Advising & Grants: Yavuz has supervised 26 doctoral students and 28 postdoctoral researchers. His labs, including the NMSL and BioGraph Sense Inc., focus on MEMS packaging, nanojoining, and plasmonic biosensors. He has led projects funded by NSERC, CFI, and industry collaborations with companies like Apple, Samsung, and Smarter Alloys. Labs/Teams: Director of the Nano and Micro Systems Lab (NMSL), co-founder of BioGraph Sense Inc., and collaborator in the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN). His research group develops cutting-edge nanoscale devices with applications in healthcare, energy, and environmental sensing.
Olivia Di Matteo serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering within UBC's Faculty of Applied Science, leading the Quantum Software and Algorithms Research (QSAR) group since her January 2022 appointment. Her academic foundation includes a BSc from Lakehead University and MSc/PhD in Physics (Quantum Information) from the University of Waterloo, completed in 2019. Dr. Di Matteo's research centers on quantum software engineering , with pioneering work in quantum compilation , circuit optimization , and debugging tools . She champions open-source quantum frameworks and develops accessible educational resources to democratize quantum computing. Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2021-2025) reveals dominant trends in quantum programming infrastructure, particularly circuit analysis (33%), bug classification (20%), and qubit network optimization (15%), with strong emphasis on practical software tooling over theoretical physics. No scientific awards were documented in the source materials. She advises graduate students in the QSAR group while contributing to open-source quantum ecosystems through projects like PennyLane and The Ionizer transpiler, and teaches courses including CPEN 400Q (Gate-model quantum computing) and ELEC 221 (Signals and Systems). The QSAR group operates at the intersection of quantum software development and education, focusing on making quantum programming accessible through visual tools, real-time debugging environments, and hardware-agnostic compilation techniques.
Abhijit Sarkar is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carleton University, Ottawa. His work centers on computational dynamics and probabilistic modeling, with office MC 3076 in the Minto Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering and contact details including phone (613) 520-2600 x6320 and email abhijit_sarkar@carleton.ca . Education: D.Phil. from University of Oxford M.Sc. from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) B.E. from Calcutta University Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation His research drives innovation in uncertainty quantification for complex engineering systems. Core interests include dynamics of nonlinear structures, probabilistic mechanics for stochastic finite element methods, and Bayesian inference frameworks for parameter estimation. He pioneers scalable high-performance computing solvers for large-scale systems and sparse learning algorithms to address overfitting in statistical modeling. Recent publications (2022-2024) reveal three dominant trends: (1) Bayesian model calibration for stochastic compartmental systems applied to epidemiology and aerospace, (2) domain decomposition techniques for scalable uncertainty quantification in stochastic PDEs, and (3) sparse learning methods for nonlinear aerodynamic encoding. Key applications span wind turbine vibration analysis, flutter margin prediction, MEMS resonator optimization, and geospatial pandemic modeling. Scientific awards: No awards, fellowships, or medals listed in the source material Graduate supervision includes 6 current students (Ajay Kumar, John Clarabut, Nastaran Dabiran, Sakhi Mittal, Michael Pantano, Brandon Robinson) and 18 graduated students across 17 years (2006-2023). His research leverages high-performance computing for projects in structural dynamics, aeroelasticity, and computational epidemiology, frequently co-supervised with Dominique Poirel and Chris Pettit. Notable grants focus on wind tunnel validation for nonlinear systems and pandemic spread modeling. Based in the Minto Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering, his computational mechanics group develops algorithms for stochastic dynamics using Carleton University's high-performance computing infrastructure. Collaborations span aerospace engineering (flutter analysis), civil infrastructure (seismic wave propagation), and public health (Covid-19 modeling).
Mohammad Hamdaqa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Software Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, where he leads the Laboratory of Software and Emerging Technologies. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo (2016), a Master's in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Concordia University, an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology. His research focuses on the intersection of software engineering and emerging technologies, particularly examining how software engineering approaches can be adapted for complex new platforms like cloud computing and blockchain. His work spans model-driven software engineering, cloud application architecture, smart contract development, and infrastructure as code. He investigates both how traditional software engineering practices can evolve to address the challenges of modern distributed systems and how emerging technologies can transform software development processes themselves. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on blockchain technologies (particularly smart contracts), cloud-native applications, and the application of AI to software engineering tasks. His work shows a consistent thread of empirical research combined with practical tool development, with increasing focus on sustainability aspects of software systems in recent years. Much of his research bridges theoretical foundations with practical implementation concerns. Professor Hamdaqa serves as a thesis supervisor for multiple graduate students, with recent completed Master's theses focusing on smart contract auditing, prompt engineering for OCL generation, model-driven epidemiology, and security practices in infrastructure as code. He actively recruits students for research projects in his laboratory. He is a member of both the IEEE Computer Society and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), has served on program committees for major software engineering conferences, and is on the editorial board of Service Transaction on Internet of Thing. His laboratory, the Laboratory of Software and Emerging Technologies, serves as the hub for his research activities in blockchain, cloud computing, and model-driven engineering.
Samuel W.K. Wong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo. He holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from Harvard University (2013) under Prof. Samuel Kou. His research focuses on statistical methodology for complex data science challenges in protein structure modeling, dynamic systems inference, and reliability engineering of wood-based products. He has held academic positions at the University of Florida (2013–2018) and has been at Waterloo since 2018. His research interests include Bayesian computation, statistical inference for dynamic systems, and spatial-temporal data analysis. Notable contributions include the development of manifold-constrained Gaussian processes (MAGI package) and sequential Monte Carlo methods for protein folding studies. He has advised over 15 graduate students and researchers, many of whom are now in academic or industry roles worldwide. Wong has received teaching distinctions at Harvard and holds awards including the Nash Medal (2008) for academic excellence. His work bridges computational statistics with applications in bioinformatics, structural engineering, and environmental science. He has published extensively in top-tier journals like Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics and Biometrics , and collaborates with wood scientists to improve real-time lumber quality assessment using laser imaging data. His teaching portfolio includes courses on probability theory, statistical inference, and spatial data analysis at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Beyond academia, he maintains an active passion for classical piano performance, having performed recitals combining music with his statistical research interests.