• Biomass (agricultural, forestry, algal, supply, conditioning, fractionation)
• biofuels
• bioenergy
• circular bioeconomy
• Cohabitation approach
• strategy for valorizing co-products
• college-university synergy
• proximity to the municipal environment

Dr. Lopes obtained his PhD from McGill University in 1996. He was an Associate Professor at Federal University of Para, Brazil, from 1996-2001. In 2002, he joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2002 at the rank of Associate Professor and has been a Professor since 2013. His present research interests are power electronics and distributed power generation.
He was a member of the NSERC Solar Buildings Research Network, leading subproject 3.2.a entitled “Development of Interconnection Technologies for Grid-Connected PV Systems”. He was a technical representative for Canada in Task 11 “PV Hybrid Systems within Mini-grids” of IEA-PVPS and the lead author of the report “PV Hybrid Mini-grids: Applicable control Methods for Various Situations.”
Dr. Lopes is a Member of the international advisory board of Efficacity, French Urban Energy Transition Institute, since February 2018. He is also a member of the Administration Board and of the Academic Committee of the Institut en Génie de l’Énergie Électrique (IGEE).
Dr. Lopes has supervised to completion 9 PhD students, 31 Master of Applied Science students and 95 Bachelor (final year capstone project) students. He has published about 40 journal papers and more than 130 conference papers.Dr. Lopes is a member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ) and a senior member of the IEEE.

My long-term research objective is the development of new techniques for assessing and improving the energy performance of mixed-use buildings, centered around information management through a BIM-BEM-BOM concept (Building Information Model – Building Energy Model – Building Operation Model). This includes, among other things, developing new solutions for building-integrated agricultural spaces (eAIB), evaluating energy and GHG profiles for effective energy management, and proposing valuable synergies between different types of use to minimize environmental impacts.

Sasan Sattarpanah Karganroudi is a research professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and assigned to the Drummondville campus. A specialist in smart manufacturing, he conducts research based on strategies specific to Industry 4.0, including non-destructive evaluation and 3D metrology of mechanical components and structures. Also involved in R&D, he used experimental approaches to develop methods for engineering, precision and material processing and laser welding. Computer-aided design, manufacturing and inspection, optimization processes and artificial intelligence, finite element analysis, augmented reality and numerical simulation are frequently used in his work.

Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnological Engineering, University of Sherbrooke, Canada.

Pre. Inès E. Achouri, P.Eng., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biotechnological Engineering and has held the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Process Intensification for Advanced Catalysts and Sustainable Energy since April 2021. She is the Deputy Director of the Technology and Process Research Group (TSRG) and Chair of the Energy Division of the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC). Its expertise in process intensification covers both the chemical and pharmaceutical fields for optimal efficiency.

Louis Gosselin’s research focuses on energy efficiency, particularly in buildings and the industrial sector. In buildings, his work centers on heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and cooling (HVAC-R) systems, building envelopes and fenestration, as well as intelligent system control. Recently, he has explored the energy impacts of occupant behavior, the development of predictive models using artificial intelligence, in-situ monitoring, and the use of bio-based materials. In the industrial sector, his work focuses on process and equipment modeling and optimization, energy data measurement and analysis, and operational and tactical planning to better manage energy and power in the primary aluminum and lumber industries. Louis Gosselin is also interested in the use of renewable energy sources, such as geothermal and solar energy. He is involved in several projects related to the Arctic, including high-performance buildings in the region, the integration of new energy sources, seasonal heat storage, the development of culturally and socially appropriate solutions, and co-design.

Khaled Ziane holds a PhD in Industrial Safety and Environment with a focus on renewable energy. He works as a researcher at the Centre for Research and Innovation in Energy Intelligence (CR2ie) at Cégep de Sept-Îles, and he is heavily involved in projects related mainly to energy storage, industry 4.0, predictive maintenance and health management of multi-physical systems. His current research interests focus mainly on the following areas:

• Optimizing the range of electric vehicles
• Battery Management Systems (BMS)
• Artificial intelligence
• Embedded systems

Loïc Boulon received the master degree in electrical and automatic control engineering from the University of Lille (France), in 2006. Then, he obtained a PhD in electrical engineering from University of Franche-Comté (France). Since 2010, he is a Professor at UQTR and he works into the Hydrogen Research Institute (Full Professor since 2016).
His work deals with modeling, control and energy management of multiphysics systems. His research interests include hybrid electric vehicles, energy and power sources (fuel cell systems, batteries and ultracapacitors). He has published more than 120 scientific papers in peer-reviewed international journals and international conferences and given over 35 invited conferences all over the word. Since 2019, he is the world most cited authors of the topic “Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC); Fuel cells; Cell stack” in Elsevier SciVal.
In 2015, Loïc Boulon was general chair of the IEEE-Vehicular Power and Propulsion Conference in Montréal (QC, Canada). Prof. Loïc Boulon is now VP-Motor Vehicles of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society and he found the “International Summer School on Energetic Efficiency of Connected Vehicles” and the “IEEE VTS Motor Vehicle Challenge”. He is the holder of the Canada Research Chair in Energy Sources for the Vehicles of the future.

Kamal Al-Haddad is a Canadian electrical engineer, currently holding a Canada Research Chair at the Université de Montréal.

Professor Guay’s research focuses on the development of new materials for the energy and environmental sectors. Professor Guay is interested in nanomaterials and metastable materials produced by mechanical grinding and pulsed laser ablation. He is particularly interested in the phenomena that occur at the surface of these materials and govern their reactivity at solid-liquid and solid-gas interfaces. These fields of interest are applied electrocatalysis, whether for fuel cells or electrolysis, and hydrogen storage. Professor Guay has extensive expertise in the field of materials characterization, and is behind a number of experimental developments enabling in situ characterization of electrode materials.

Research interests:

Nanomaterials;
Electrochemistry;

Pragasen Pillay (F’05) received the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Durban, South Africa, in 1981 and 1983, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA, in 1987.,He is currently a Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, where he is the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada/Hydro-Québec Senior Industrial Research Chair, Montreal, QC, Canada. In 2017, he was an Honorary Professor with the University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.,Dr. Pillay was a recipient of the 2015 IEEE IAS Outstanding Achievement Award.

Geza Joos (M.Eng., Ph.D, McGill University, Canada) is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University, since 2001, where he holds the NSERC/Hydro-Quebec Industrial Research Chair on the Integration of Renewable Energies and Distributed Generation into the Electric Distribution Grid since 2009, and the Canada Research Chair in Powering Information Technologies since 2004. His research activities are in the application of high-power electronics to electric power systems and power conversion, including distributed generation and renewable energy (wind energy). He held positions in industry (ABB Canada), and academia (Concordia University, École de technologie supérieure, Canada). His professional activities include consulting work in power electronics applications and power system operation. He is active in CIGRE, where he is Secretary of Study Committee C6, Active Distribution Systems and Distributed Energy Resources since 2017, and in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Power and Energy Society, where is involved in standards activities since 2011, mostly related to microgrids controllers and DER management systems. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, Fellow of CIGRE, and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Engineering Institute of Canada.

My research interests include hydrogen storage in metal hydrides, hydrogen embrittlement, and battery materials. The research is diverse, encompassing both materials and synthesis and preparation techniques. Most research projects are conducted in collaboration with international universities and laboratories (France, Norway, Germany, Italy, Israel, South Korea, China, Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico, Colombia, and India).
Research on metal hydrides is primarily focused on two areas: the development of new alloys and the application of new synthesis and preparation techniques. Several types of alloys are currently being studied, including magnesium- or titanium-based alloys, TiFe alloys, high-entropy alloys, titanium-based alloys with a body-centered cubic structure, and lava-structured alloys. Regarding synthesis and preparation methods, we are specifically investigating mechanical milling, cold rolling, arc furnace synthesis, or combinations thereof. Our research is both fundamental and applied. We maintain constant interaction with industry to understand the specific needs that will improve the competitiveness of metal hydrides as a hydrogen storage medium.
Our activities on hydrogen embrittlement are conducted in collaboration with the Quebec Metallurgy Centre (CMQ). This research focuses primarily on the embrittlement of industrially used materials.
Our research on battery materials focuses mainly on the use of metal hydrides as negative electrodes.

Researcher in energy and process engineering.

Dynamic and enthusiastic, I love taking on challenges as part of a team!

Specialties:

• Experimental trials: from material to process; from small scale to industrial prototype
• Simulation of complex energy systems
• Application au stockage d’énergie thermique, au solaire thermodynamique et à la serriculture

  Pour une liste de mes publications et travaux, veuillez consulter cette page:
  https://www.etsmtl.ca/recherche/professeurs-chercheurs/dhaillot/#Publications

Bruno Georges Pollet BSc(Hons) MSc PhD FRSC (born 1969), is a French chemist and electrochemist, Fellow of the UK Royal Society of Chemistry, Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Green Hydrogen Lab, Co-Director of the Institute for Hydrogen Research at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières in Canada and Associate Professor of Renewable Energy at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Norway. He has worked on hydrogen energy in the UK, Japan, South Africa, Norway and Canada, and has industrial and academic experience. He is considered one of the world’s foremost hydrogen experts.

Professor Ana Tavares’ research activities focus on fuel cells, in particular on the development of direct methanol cell membranes. Its activities also include the study of the mass transport phenomenon (diffusion of methanol, water, etc.) and electrode optimization (triple phase boundary).

Professor Tavares has extensive experience in:

• The development of non-fluorinated polymeric materials for fuel cells and their characterizations (structure, morphology, transport)
• Manufacturing and evaluation of PEM & DMFC batteries
• The synthesis and characterization of oxide-based electrocatalysts used in the fields of SOFCs, water electrolysis and the chloroalkali industry

Dr. Samaneh Shahgaldi is an Associate Professor at the University of Quebec and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. She holds the Canada Research Chair (CRC) at proton exchange membrane (PEM), fuel cells and electrolyzers. She is a member of The Institute of Innovations in Ecomaterials, Ecoproducts and Ecoenergy, based on biomass (I2E3) and Hydrogen Research Institute (HRI) of the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). She is an award-winning researcher, Chair of the scientific committee, and a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Green Energy. She was also a Senior Research Scientist at Cummins/ Hydrogenics, dealing with different Fuel Cell and Water electrolyzer projects. She is leveraging all her industrial experiences and academic knowledge to improve clean energy technologies.

• Renewable energies: photovoltaic and wind
• Power electronic converters
• Electric machines and variable speed drives
• Electrical power quality

Nahi Kandil has been a Professor with the Engineering School, University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue since 2000. He has worked on research dealing with neural networks and their applications to wireless communications and power systems. He is now working mainly with localization and channel modeling in confined areas and mine environments.

Intelligent control and smart energy management techniques combined with technological advances have enabled the deployment of new operating systems in many engineering applications, especially in the domain of transport and renewable resources. Indeed, the control and energy management of transportation and renewable resources are shifting towards autonomous reasoning, learning, planning and operating. As a result, these techniques also referred to as autonomous control and energy management will become practically ubiquitous soon.

Power electronics
Instrumentation and industrial electronics
Renewable energy and energy efficiency
Decentralized generation and energy storage
Intelligent management of hybrid systems
Smart grid

Katherine D’Avignon is a professor in the construction department at the École de technologie supérieure. She studies the energy efficiency of buildings and infrastructure with the aim of improving their energy profile and resilience. Her research focuses on thermal energy storage technologies, energy-efficient HVAC systems, and their control.

Sylvain Coulombe is a physicist-engineer, full professor of chemical engineering, and Gerald Hatch Fellow at McGill University. He specializes in non-equilibrium plasma processes for applications in energy, materials, and medicine.

Conversion of electrical energy to chemical energy:

• New process for the synthesis of green ammonia by plasma-catalysis (N2+H2 ≤ > > NH3) for hydrogen storage and transport
• Dry reforming of methane (CO2+CH4) for the production of synthesis gas (CO+H2)

Dry synthesis of nanomaterials for catalysis:

• Heterogeneous structure of basic nanomaterial – nanostructured deposit
• Rapid synthesis and validation platform
• Life cycle assessment

Development of new plasma sources

• Nanosecond/pulsed power supply
• High-pressure plasmas (< > >1 atm) and process intensification
• Mini-jet for medical applications

Youmin Zhang is a Professor at the Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Aerospace Engineering, Concordia University, Canada. His research interests are in the broad areas of monitoring, diagnosis and fault-tolerant control, guidance, navigation and control of unmanned systems and smart grids with integration of wind and solar renewable energies towards smarter (autonomy), safer (safety), more reliable (reliability), and more resilient (security) operations against physical faults and cyber-attacks, and with applications to forest fires and smart cities by combining with remote sensing techniques. He has published 8 books, over 600 journal and conference papers. Dr. Zhang is a Fellow of IEEE and CSME, and has been selected as World’s Top 2% Scientists. He has been an Editor-in-Chief (EIC), Editorial Advisory Board Member and Associate Editor of several journals, including as an Associate Editor of “IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics”, “IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks & Learning Systems”, “IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems – II: Express Briefs”, “IET Cyber-systems and Robotics”, “Unmanned Systems”, a Board Member of Governors and Representatives for Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, and a Deputy EIC for “Guidance, Navigation and Control” etc. He has served as (Honorary) General Chair, Program Chair of several unmanned systems, renewable energies, and smart cities relevant conferences.

Professor Frederico Rosei joined the Centre for Energy Materials Telecommunications in 2002 to develop a research programme in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. He works mainly in the following areas:

• The growth of self-assembled semiconductor nanostructures and their potential applications to nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. Since semiconductors have properties that are important for device applications, it is envisaged to characterize these properties to correlate them with morphological properties;

• The interaction between large organic molecules and metal and semiconductor surfaces, to consider applications to electronics and molecular mechanics.

He has extensive experience in the fields of semiconductor thin film deposition, self-assembly of organic molecules, and material characterization at the nanoscale and atomic scale.

Assistant Professor, Chemical and Materials Engineering

Networked control systems, distributed control, multi-agent control, game theory.
Data security and privacy for smart infrastructures.
Autonomous systems, mobile robotics.

Advanced control via artificial intelligence
Control of complex systems: Control of power systems, synchronization and analysis of systems with multiple interconnected sources on the grid and in standalone mode. Control and management of microgrids. Control of multi-converter and/or multi-machine systems. Control and automation of industrial systems.

Various applications in artificial intelligence: Adaptive and predictive control. Characterization, identification, and modeling of electrical charges. Signal processing and intelligent measurement. Data acquisition, classification, and management. Power quality analysis. Building modeling and energy and power demand management. Communication systems.

Embedded Systems: Implementation of diverse applications using Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) technology, microprocessors, and microcontrollers. Development of embedded applications and systems for real-time signal control, processing, and analysis. Hardware implementation of models, adaptive algorithms, and neural networks using FPGAs. Co-design of hardware and software, including multi-core applications. Real-time co-simulation and emulation.

Electronics: Design and implementation of power, measurement and control circuits for various applications. Design and production of static converters and power interfaces for renewable energy systems and hydrogen technologies (fuel cells).

Expertise and research areas:
Optimization algorithms and optimal control
Real-time optimization of industrial systems and processes
Modeling and dynamics of linear and nonlinear systems
Process control
Extreme control
Applications: real-time power maximization of systems using renewable energy sources (photovoltaic systems, wind turbines, microbial fuel cells, hybrid systems, etc.)

Roland Malhamé was a pioneer in the development of physically based electrical load models.
In 1983, his doctoral thesis developed the first models of aggregated thermostatic loads, based on statistical mechanics. These models have since experienced a significant resurgence of interest, particularly given the growing pressure to integrate more renewable energy sources into electrical grids. Indeed, when solar or wind power is heavily utilized in a grid, it creates risks of instability because these energy sources are highly volatile. However, in a grid, it is essential to constantly maintain a balance between electricity generation and demand. While fossil fuel energy sources are controllable but increasingly undesirable, the same cannot be said for intermittent renewable sources. Therefore, energy storage becomes a crucial element in maintaining the generation/demand balance. The approach then becomes one of storing excess energy and using that storage when there is a surge in demand. Thermostatically controlled loads distributed across the grid (electric heating, electric water heaters, air conditioning), as well as the energy storage associated with electric vehicle batteries, are examples of electrical loads linked to forms of storage present in the grid.
One research objective is to identify such loads and create business models that encourage customers to allow an aggregator to coordinate their loads while maintaining comfort and security, thereby enabling greater integration of intermittent renewable energy sources. However, coordinating such a large number of heterogeneous loads, individually small but very numerous (sometimes in the millions), is a challenge requiring unconventional decentralized control methods. For over a decade, Roland Malhamé has been working with other researchers and students on the development and application of mean-field game theory. Indeed, prescriptive game theory (i.e., games where the cost function of agents is defined with a coordination objective) is a prime avenue for synthesizing decentralized control systems, since each agent can focus on a local optimization, but the cost functions are designed in such a way that a collection of local optimizations allows for the achievement of a collective objective. In this context, mean-field games open up very interesting perspectives because they allow us to exploit the existence of a large number of agents with negligible individual weight to obtain decentralized control laws that enable the achievement of collective objectives using very little communication. This is achieved in part thanks to the predictability arising from the law of large numbers. Our applications are primarily focused on energy and collective navigation problems, similar to those encountered by schools of fish. We are also exploring learning problems in this context.

-Energy efficiency
-Refrigeration systems (ejectors, electro- and magnetocaloric refrigeration)
-Heat pumps
-Complex heat transfer fluids (nanofluids, phase-change materials, grouts)
-Renewable energies (tidal turbines, geothermal energy, biomass)
-Energy storage (compressed air, hybrid)
-Advanced numerical modeling
-High-performance computing
-Characterization of the properties of complex materials

Lionel Roué is a professor at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique – Centre Énergie, Matériaux, Télécommunications (INRS-EMT, Canada) since 1998. His research group is focused on the study of electrode materials (especially nanostructured/metastable materials elaborated by high-energy ball milling) for various applications, including Li batteries and Al production. He has also a strong interest in the development of in-situ characterization tools for battery materials such as X-ray tomography, dilatometry and acoustic emission.

Research Interests:

Jocelyn Bouchard earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in materials engineering and metallurgy in 2001 and 2004, respectively, and a doctorate in electrical engineering in 2007. He began his career as a metallurgist in process control at the Niobec Mine in 2005 before joining Xstrata Process Support in 2007 as a process control engineer. In 2010, he became a senior mineral processing and process control engineer at Genivar.

A professor at Université Laval since 2012, he held the Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. and ArcelorMittal Mines Leadership Chair in Mineral Processing Engineering until 2017. His expertise lies in phenomenological modeling and simulation, as well as the control and optimization of mineral and pharmaceutical processes. His research focuses particularly on reducing the energy footprint of mineral processing plants. In recent years, he has distinguished himself through the development of a library of mineral processing simulation models on the Matlab/Simulink platform and its use in designing control systems that streamline the energy required for mineral processing.

Affiliated with the Department of Chemical Engineering, Mr. Bouchard was also a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom in 2019-2020. His industrial collaborators include companies such as Pfizer, Nemaska ​​Lithium, BBA, Canadian Malartic Mine, Corem, InnovExplo, Agnico Eagle Mines and Iamgold, as well as government agencies such as the National Research Council of Canada and CanmetMINES.

Antoine Lesage-Landry is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, QC, Canada. He received his B.Eng. in Engineering Physics from Polytechnique Montréal in 2015 and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, ON, Canada, in 2019. Before joining the faculty at Polytechnique Montréal, he was a postdoctoral researcher with the Energy & Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley from 2019 to 2020. His research interests include optimization and online learning, as well as their applications to renewable energy power grids.

Professor. Specialist in the design, control and engineering of autonomous and non-autonomous hybrid microgrids.

Research interests:
• Microgrids (autonomous and non-autonomous)
• Control
• Power management
• Power electronics
• Energy storage
• Drives of electrical machines
• Electric vehicles
• Power quality
• Artificial intelligence

Pr David Rancourt is an assistant professor at the Université de Sherbrooke since January 2017 in the Createk Design Lab. His research interests focus on aircraft design, electric propulsion and systems engineering. He is Director of the Aerospace Engineering Design and Training Institute of Sherbrooke (AéroUdeS) and member of the NATO AVT-310, a technical committee on hybrid-electric propulsion. Pr Rancourt graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta with a PhD from his research on the development of a new electric propulsion helicopter configuration. Over the last 10 years, he contributed to over 30 publications, and three patents in the field of aircraft design, aircraft dynamics, and rotorcraft aerodynamics. Pr Rancourt uses his extensive airplane flight experience to support aeronautical education and research. He has also been involved in the Canadian Air Cadet Program since 2004 as a flight instructor and tug pilot with over 1100 hrs of flight time.

Since 2004, Mohamed Mohamedi has been a Professor at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications. His research interests are in electrochemical technologies that encompass materials, fundamentals, and prototypes for applied research related to energy storage and conversion, including:

– Nanostructured multifunctional catalysts for direct alcohol fuel cells

– Advanced self-supporting catalysts for rechargeable Zn-Air batteries

– Environmentally friendly hybrid supercapacitors using both charge storage mechanisms in double-layer electrochemical capacitors (EDLCs) and metal oxide-based pseudocapacitors.

– Energy sources of implantable enzymatic biological fuel cells for medical applications

– Numerical simulation and fabrication of microfluidic energy systems

-Electrochemical sensors for diabetes detection and monitoring

High-precision calculations of electronic structures

Ab initio (first-principles) calculations involve simulating the atoms and electrons that make up a material and solving the equations of quantum mechanics to predict all its physical properties. These calculations are based on density functional theory (DFT), which allows us to calculate the energy of a system in its ground state as well as the wave function of the electrons. We use DFT to predict the structural parameters of a molecule or material, as well as the energy associated with a chemical reaction or the formation of a material.

Other, more advanced techniques allow for a better description of electron energy levels or a material’s response to an external perturbation. For example, the GW method can predict the energy required to add or remove an electron from a system, and the BSE method can calculate the optical properties of materials.

Energy-efficient materials for a sustainable future

The production and storage of renewable energy is one of the greatest challenges to overcome in addressing the climate crisis. Hydrogen is a particularly suitable energy carrier for green energy. The electrolysis process converts electrical power into chemical energy by separating water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen gas. The hydrogen is then converted into electricity in a fuel cell, and can thus power an electric car.

My research team develops innovative materials to support hydrogen technologies. This includes molecular or solid catalysts for hydrogen production and energy conversion, metal hydrides for hydrogen storage, and electrode materials for electricity storage in batteries or supercapacitors.

Electron-phonon coupling

Phonons describe the vibrational modes of atoms in a solid and are, in a sense, sound particles or quanta of vibration. When electrons move through a solid, they collide with phonons, and this process is at the heart of many phenomena, such as electrical resistivity, superconductivity, and the change in optical properties with temperature. We study these phenomena by ab initio calculation using perturbative density functional theory (PDFT).

Since 2019, Mihaela Cibian has been a professor in the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), and a researcher at the Hydrogen Research Institute (IRH). Her research interests focus on artificial photosynthesis, specifically solar fuels, and energy conversion applications for sustainable development. Her research program proposes the use of Smart (Chemistry) Tools and Strategies (S(C)TS) to develop compounds and molecular and/or hybrid systems, as well as research methods, with pre-integrated regeneration, self-protection, and self-correction characteristics. She is also interested in applying strategic planning to an integrated research-education approach at the university level.

Most important contributions to research or practical applications
Dr. Lekounougou Serge-Thierry’s most important contributions revolve around three themes: the energy valorization of forest biomass, the storage and recovery of heat emitted by electronic servers in data processing centers, the thermal modification of wood, and the preservation of wood and fiber quality.

Energy Valorization of Forest Biomass, Energy Storage and Recovery from Electronic Servers:
Research in this area focuses on fiber quality, energy valorization of biomass, and the open-air bio-drying of wood chips, as well as the storage and recovery of heat emitted by electronic servers in data centers. A design for an open-air bio-drying device made of PVC pipes was developed in the laboratory. The device’s role was to accelerate the drying process of the wood chips. The aim of this study was to reduce the moisture content of the wood chips below 20% for use in the manufacture of pellets for residential heating.
Furthermore, a study on the “Development of a new technique for recovering heat emitted by computer servers in order to convert and store it for heating greenhouses in northern environments” was conducted. This study assessed the potential for utilizing this energy source in the Nordic agri-food sector, specifically by evaluating the appropriate parameters for the heat produced by servers and the recovery processes. The study determined the method for recovering heat from servers, identified suitable equipment, and determined the type of greenhouse best suited for energy recovery. A pilot study in a greenhouse is planned for the future to test the effect of the recovered heat on the growth of vegetables and berries under Nordic conditions before large-scale implementation.

Thermal Modification of Wood
In this area, Dr. Lekounougou made a significant contribution to the characterization of thermally modified Canadian wood species. This work has improved our understanding of thermally modified Canadian wood species. Mechanical tests (modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity) and dimensional stability tests have allowed us to understand the strength of thermally modified wood and to master the thermowood process in the pilot kiln at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC). One example of this contribution is the effect of thermal modification temperature on the mechanical properties, dimensional stability, and biological durability of black spruce (Picea mariana). This work has been cited three times in scientific journals.
Wood Preservation and Fiber Quality
Wood is a lignocellulosic material susceptible to degradation by a range of microorganisms. The constituents of wood (cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose) represent a source of nutrition for fungi, bacteria, and insects. Research on this topic has primarily led to a deeper understanding of the various mechanisms of wood degradation and the development of a rapid detection method for wood deterioration caused by white, brown, and soft rot fungi. The analysis of the lignocellulosic constituents of wood (cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, and extractives) was carried out using biochemical, microbiological, and physicochemical methods. A new diagnostic methodology was developed to determine fiber quality in an operational context involving the spruce budworm. This research has resulted in eight publications in international journals and five presentations at national and international conferences. One of the contributions of this research has been the identification of the enzymatic activities involved in wood degradation by the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor, which is cited 24 times in the work of other researchers (published in 2009 in Wood Science and Technology).

Professor Dongling Ma is interested in the development of new nanoscale materials and functional structures for biomedical and energy applications, such as the long-term monitoring of biological, photovoltaic or catalysis processes. More specifically, his research focuses on six themes:

• Synthesis, characterization, surface modification and biomedical applications of highly luminescent stable nanoparticles, in particular, near-infrared emitting quantum dots
• Investigating the surface chemistry and surface-property relationships of laser-fabricated nanoparticles
• Development of new nano-complexes for the detection of cellular transport of viruses
• New solar cells based on nano-hybrids of quantum dots and one-dimensional structures with high mobility (such as carbon nanotubes or TiO2 nano-belts)
• Design and production of new catalysts based on high-efficiency and low-cost transition metal nanoparticles
• Synthesis, characterization, surface modification and biomedical applications of multifunctional nanoparticles that integrate superparamagnetic and luminescent components into a unique nano-architecture

Professor Ursula Eicker has been awarded the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Smart, Sustainable and Resilient Communities and Cities at Concordia University in Montreal. She is a German physicist who has coordinated numerous international research projects in the fields of energy efficiency in buildings and green energy supply systems.

Since June 2019, Dr. Eicker has been leading an ambitious research program focused on developing transformative strategies for the decarbonization of cities. This seven-year program is subsidized to the tune of $10,000,000 by the Canadian government; it also receives $10,000,000 in funding from Concordia University. The institution has invested in the formation of a research cluster on cities, with five professorships in building engineering, electrical engineering, biodiversity, philosophy and planning. Analyzing the issues related to urban transformation through a transdisciplinary approach, Concordia’s Next Generation Cities Research Group develops tools and strategies for a sustainable future.

In addition to contributing to 25 books, Dr. Eicker has published seven books, 128 peer-reviewed articles and 335 conference presentations.

Thermal energy systems: My core research area is in thermal-fluids in sustainable and low-carbon energy technologies. Carbon-free thermal energy sources, such as solar and nuclear, paired with technologies using high temperature (>400°C), heat transfer fluids, such as molten salts and synthetic oils, are promising alternatives that could achieve high thermal efficiencies. Examples include molten salt solar receivers, thermal energy storage, Generation IV nuclear reactors, and salt-cooled fusion reactors. Improving thermal-hydraulics analyses and predictions is crucial in order realize major safety, reliability, and economic breakthroughs in these technologies.

I focus on advanced experimental and applied computational methods for radiative heat transfer in high temperature heat transfer fluids. My group’s research involves developing methods to measure the thermal radiation absorption and scattering optical properties of high temperature fluids, developing and carrying-out lab-scale experiments to investigate the mechanisms governing the interaction between radiation and convection in volumetrically heated fluids used in solar and nuclear applications, and using the experimental data to develop computational and analytical models to improve system efficiencies.

Interested in heat transfer phenomena applied to Earth sciences, Professor Raymond is a hydrogeologist who conducts research on geothermal energy. Its current projects concern the very low to high temperature resources associated with both geothermal heat pumps and power generation plants, are carried out on four continents, from the Arctic to the tropics, and help develop sustainable energy solutions to meet the growing needs of our society. Awarded by the Canadian Geotechnical Society, holds a research chair from the Institut nordique du Québec and is supported by UNESCO, Professor Raymond directs the Open Geothermal Laboratory used to characterize the thermophysical properties of rock essential to the modelling of geothermal systems of all kinds. The main objective of its projects, carried out in collaboration with designers, developers, manufacturers and regulators, is to improve the efficiency and profitability of geothermal systems through scientific and social innovations.

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Interested by heat transfer applied to Earth Sciences, Professor Raymond is a hydrogeologist conducting research on geothermal energy. His current projects involve very low to high temperature resources associated with both geothermal heat pumps and power production, spanned over four continents, from the arctic to the tropics, helping to develop sustainable energy solutions for growing needs of our society. Awardee of the Canadian Geotechnical Society, chair holder of the Institut nordique du Québec and granted by UNESCO, Professor Raymond leads the Laboratoire ouvert de géothermie to characterize thermophyscial properties of rocks essential to model geothermal systems of all kinds. The main objective of his projects, done in collaboration with geothermal designers, developers, manufacturers and regulators, is to improve the efficiency and profitability of systems by providing scientific and social innovations.

Since 2012, Shuhui Sun is a Professor at the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications (Full Professor since 2019). His research interests focus on Nanomaterials for Sustainable Energy Conversion and Storage, including H2 fuel cells, hydrogen generation, lithium batteries, metal-air batteries, Na-ion/Zn-ion batteries, CO2 reduction, etc. He has published over 220 articles in peer-reviewed journals including Nature Communications, Energy & Environmental Science, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Chem, J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem, etc. His publications have been cited over 12,800 times with an H index of 59. He has edited 3 books, 15 book chapters, and holds 2 US patents. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, the Vice President of the International Academy of Electrochemical Energy Science (IAOEES). He serves as the Executive Editor-in-Chief of Electrochemical Energy Reviews (Springer-Nature, IF=28.9), and editorial board member of 8 journals related to nanomaterials and energy. He is among the world’s top 2% scientists (career-long impact).

Devoted professor of energy engineering now building a philanthropic-based research group to bring water and light in areas of the world where communities and villages are not connected to the grid. Also working on natural building enveloppes.

Earlier, head of an industrial research Chair related to energy which aimed at proposing a novel regional development model for researchers established in regions of Quebec where there is no university. The Chair was hosted by the Chaudiere-Appalaches region. It realized 77 interventions and contributed to the foundation and activities of 3 start-ups.

Formerly, higher education executive with experience in all aspects of human, material, and financial resources management. Direct experience in government liaison, research funding, foundation operations, and international relations.Particularly skilled for team work with key social and economic actors. Interested in having universities closely implemented in their communities. Focused on the key issues of mediation and conciliation when it comes to discuss with unions and external partners.

Project manager focused on the appropriate optimization of performance, time, and budget to deliver products enthusiastically acknowledged.

University faculty with substantial design and heat transfer experience, and several local and Canadian awards. Network involving more than 25 collaborations with more than 10 countries and universities.

Specialties:

• Economic, social and university development;
• Innovative solutions, out-of-the-box thinking, global vision;
• Fund raising;
• Human, material, and financial resources management;
• Mediation and conciliation;
• International and inter-university relations;
• Team work and university teaching and learning skills;
• Design and energy research and teaching;
• Industrial design of mechanical systems.

Research Interests

• Materials for energy and electrochemistry;
• Photovoltaic and thermal solar energy;
• Electrochemical energy storage (batteries and accumulators, fuel cells, electrochemical capacitors);
• Hydrogen (electrolytic production, storage and use)
• Renewable energies;
• Biomaterials;
• Corrosion;
• Electrochemical processes;
• Plating;
• Physico-chemical characterization of materials.

Sasha Omanovic is Professor of Chemical Engineering at McGill University. His research focuses on the development of electrodes for applications in the areas of energy conversion/storage, wastewater treatment and electrocatalytic hydrogenation, and on the investigation of corrosion processes and development of methods for corrosion protection. In the energy area, his laboratory works on the development of new electrode materials for hydrogen production by water electrolysis and for charge storage in supercapacitors.

Areas of expertise

• Forest soils
• Forest biomass

Research centers and groups

• Member of the Centre for Research on Renewable Materials (CRMR)

Prof. Emanuele Orgiu’s research group investigates new electronic and optical phenomena occurring in molecular solids such as organic (semi-)conductors or 2D materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides.

The group’s work includes the microfabrication and nanofabrication of two- and three-terminal devices (capacitors, diodes and transistors) and their characterization at low temperatures (up to 1.8 K) under strong magnetic fields.

The newly formed team will study magnetoresistance, heat transfer and thermoelectricity in the above (semi-)conductor systems. All the measurements obtained will constitute a mine of information on the electronic properties of materials and their potential application in the fields of energy and electronics.

Prof. Orgiu’s research program is unique in that it uses supramolecular approaches with materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides to test new physical scenarios arising from the combination of molecules and 2D materials. The group relies on molecule design to master supramolecular interactions and better understand spin and heat transport in organic semiconductors and 2D materials.

Areas of interest

• Generation, storage, transmission and distribution of electrical energy
• Smart, decentralised and sustainable electricity grids
• Modeling and Simulation of Electrical Machines
• Applications of Machine Learning and Signal Processing to Network Control

Research areas:

• Data science (data mining, knowledge representation, artificial intelligence in general and machine learning in particular)
• Computer security
• Internet of Things (IoT) and its applications to: Smart Health, Smart Homes, Smart Cities, Smart Industry and IT system resilience
• Transformative experiences with the paradigms of augmented/virtual/mixed realities, IoT and AI.

Research interests:

• Energy

Research areas:

• Power converters modeling and high density packaging
• Electric drive simulation (real-time and offline)
• Power converters real time simulation on FPGA
• Measurement and prediction of power converters EMI performances

Main areas of activity and research:

• Developing a promising and forward-looking vision
• Supporting a multidisciplinary team in the execution of their tasks
• Developing successful collaborations
• Sustainability and modernization of the equipment fleet

Professor Vincent Aimez holds degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Rouen in France, applied physics from Kingston University in the United Kingdom, and electrical engineering from the University of Sherbrooke. A professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, he is the Director of Scientific Partnerships at the MiQro Innovation Collaboration Centre (C2MI), which brings together a range of industrial and academic partners to accelerate the commercialization of micro-nanotechnologies. He is a founding member of 3IT.nano at the University of Sherbrooke. In recent years, he has pioneered numerous strategic industrial partnerships in the field of micro-nanotechnologies.

He is currently working on the development of the solar technology park at the University of Sherbrooke, aiming to integrate multiple sources of solar energy production and renewable energy management, in partnership with Hydro-Sherbrooke. His work has resulted in over 200 publications and conference presentations, and includes numerous collaborations with various industrial partners in France and Canada.

He is the co-founder of the CNRS International Joint Unit, known as the Nanotechnologies Nanosystems Laboratory (LN2). Benefiting from an original scientific positioning linked to multiple academic and industrial partners on both sides of the Atlantic, LN2 has become a point of contact between Europe and North America in the field of micro-nanotechnologies.

Sector of activity and research:

Conditioning and recovery of industrial waste

Main areas of activity and research:

Crushing, separation, densification and heat treatment operations

Development of specific physico-chemical methods

Development of biomaterials and eco-construction products

A specialist in Process Engineering – chemical and Thermal/Energy industry, William joined CTRI in 2025 to work on extraordinary projects and to find ways to valorize residues and waste.

Previously, he was a researcher at Innofibre and worked mainly on biomass conditioning.

Research topics

Energy Storage, Industrial and Power Electronics, Electricity Conversion and Distribution, Transportation Equipment, Electrical Networks.

Research disciplines

Electrical Engineering and Electronic Engineering.

Research areas:

• Energy

Expertise:

• Electrical machines and drives
• Simulation and control of electrical networks
• Dynamics and stability of electrical networks
• Hybrid sources of electrical energy

Research areas:

• Energy

Expertise:

• UPQC
• Wave quality
• Harmonic compensation
• Active power filters
• Statcom
• Dstatcom –
• Renewable energy
• Wind turbines
• Solar panels
• Grid Interfacing

Specialties:

• Power system control and optimisation with emphasis on economics and security;
• Power system flexibility;
• Operations planning methods for networks with large-scale integration of wind and other non-dispatchable generation resources;
• Demand-side integration;
• Stochastic, mixed-integer, and data-driven modelling and optimization methods for electrical energy systems;
• Treatment of economic externalities in electricity markets.

Research interests and activities:

Research activities are focused on development and integration of solar energy systems into buildings to generate electricity, useful heat and for daylighting. My long term vision is the realization of solar buildings operating in Canada as integrated advanced technological systems that generate in an average year as much energy as they consume.

A key element of our approach is that solar technologies are integrated in an optimal manner with energy efficiency measures, with the building envelope and with HVAC systems, so the potential energy savings are even higher than separately applying the two approaches and reductions in total cost may be realized.

I am looking for new graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with strong backgrounds in building engineering or civil/mechanical engineering and related fields (applied physics, architectural engineering etc) to work in exciting projects using a new state-of-the-art solar simulator and environmental chamber – an internationally unique laboratory.

Research Interests:

Primary Research Theme: Combustion and Energy Systems
Research Lab/Group: Alternative Fuels

The development of technologies that do not rely on fossil fuels is a major challenge facing society today. Our research program is aimed at the development and validation of models for the combustion properties of alternative and sustainable (bio-derived) fuels through a complementary experimental, computational, and analytical modeling approach. We are also investigating flames of a mixture of solid and gaseous fuels, combustion in heat recirculating burners for Stirling engine generators, the vaporization properties of biofuel/petrofuel blends, and the reaction of metal-water mixtures for hydrogen production.

Ali Hakkaki-Fard is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Université Laval. His research focuses on energy efficiency and renewable and sustainable energy systems. His research focuses on three main areas: geothermal energy, ejector cooling systems and photovoltaic thermal systems. However, he is also interested in green hydrogen production, district heating and building energy systems. Her main research goal is to make green energy accessible and affordable for all.

He received his Ph.D. from McGill University in 2011. His doctoral research focused on the numerical analysis of flow fields of unsteady reflections of shock waves. He joined CanmetENERGY-Natural Resources Canada in Varennes as a postdoctoral researcher in 2012. There, he studied air-source and geothermal heat pumps.

He left CanmetENERGY in December 2015 and joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sharif University of Technology (UTS) in Tehran, Iran. He created the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems Lab at the same university. He left UTS and joined Laval University in August 2022.

Professor François Allard joined the Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunication in 2022 to develop a research program in applied electrochemistry and numerical modeling of electrochemical cells. He is a regular member of the INRS-UQTR joint research unit (UMR) ON MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION. He works mainly in the following areas:

• Finite element modeling of electrochemical cells (batteries, fuel cells and high-temperature electrolyzers).
• Development of metal and ceramic materials for electrolysis technologies (hydrogen, aluminum), metal electrode batteries (lithium, aluminum) and solid oxide fuel cells.

He has a strong background in thermal-electrical-electrochemical modeling, metal electrode synthesis and electrochemical cell evaluation for energy storage.

PhD in industrial chemistry, I worked on the development of sustainable bioplasticizers from vegetable oil and on the optimization of biodiesel production. Since 2017, I have been working at Polytechnique Montréal on new catalysts for the partial oxidation of methane to syngas, and the subsequent Fischer-Tropsch reaction for the synthesis of fuels. Since November 2021, I have been a Professor at the University of Sherbrooke. My research focuses on the optimization of small, medium and large-scale processes for the production of turquoise hydrogen by pyrolysis of methane, natural gas and residual materials. With a strong experience in catalysis and modeling, I aim to further develop a multi-scale catalytic process modeling (molecular, macromolecular, fluidodynamic, process simulation). Another area of research is the use of glycerol (crude) for the production of diols (and other molecules with high added value for a green and circular economy).

I am Vice-Chair of the Energy Division of the Canadian Institute of Chemistry, Associate Editor for the journals Processes (MDPI) and IET Renewable Power Generation (IET).

Author of the 2 applications for inventions, several scientific articles and conference participations, I teach industrial chemical processes, organic chemistry and, as of 2024, reaction systems at the University of Sherbrooke.

Keywords: modelling, turquoise hydrogen, life cycle assessment, catalysis, industrial processes

Mr. Issa is a specialist in the field of renewable energy, marine electric propulsion and power distribution, with a doctorate in engineering from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi (UQAC), and a master’s degree from the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières (UQTR). He held the position of Director of Research and Development at AMH Canada from 2006 to 2012 and is a Research Associate at the Cégep de Rimouski (his CCTT) Innovation Maritime (IMAR), since April 2018.

Professor Issa is currently leading research projects related to the maritime industry (electric propulsion and green ports) and on the field of renewable energy and control systems based on artificial neural networks. Author of nearly 35 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals and a dozen chapter of books all over the world, Mr. Issa is a professor at the Maritime Institute of Quebec and an associate professor at UQAR. He co-supervises nearly 10 students at the Masters and PhD levels in connection with his research activities.

Qingsong Wang received her B.Sc. degree in Automotive Engineering from Jilin University, Changchun, China, in 2012, her M.Sc. degree in Automotive Engineering from Tongji University, Shanghai, China, in 2015, and her Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, in 2018. Between July and September 2017, he was a visiting research associate at WEMPEC, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.

He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the École de technologie supérieure – Université du Québec, Canada. From 2018 to 2019, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada; from 2019 to 2021 he was a Professor at Coventry University, Coventry, UK. His research interests include electrical machines and wireless power transfer, with applications in electrified transportation and renewable energy systems. He has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in journals and conference proceedings. He is an associate editor of the journal IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification and a senior guest editor of Energies.

Gaixia Zhang holds the Marcelle-Gauvreau Research Chair in Engineering at the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS), Montreal, Canada. She received her Ph.D. from Polytechnique Montréal and then continued her research at Western University and INRS, Canada. His research interests focus on advanced materials (catalysts, electrodes, and electrolytes) for sustainable energy devices and systems, including batteries, fuel cells, green hydrogen production, and_CO2 reduction. She is also interested in interface and device engineering, as well as in-situ characterizations and theoretical simulations. She has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals, including Nature Sustainability, Energy Environmental Science, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Angew. Chim. Int. Ed., ACS Energy Letters, and more. She is the author of 10 book chapters and holds 4 U.S. patents (along with industry) related to batteries and fuel cells. She is among the top 2% of scientists in the world.

Gaixia Zhang is a Marcelle-Gauvreau Engineering Research Chair Professor at École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS), Montreal, Canada. She received her Ph.D. degree from Polytechnique Montréal, and then continued her research at Western University and INRS, Canada. Her research interests focus on Advanced Materials (catalysts, electrodes, and electrolytes) for Sustainable Energy Devices and Systems, including batteries, fuel cells, hydrogen production, and CO₂ reduction. She is also interested in interface and device engineering, as well as in-situ characterizations and theoretical simulations. She has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles in top journals including Nature Sustainability, Energy Environmental Science, Advanced Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., ACS Energy Letters, etc. She has authored 10 book chapters and holds 4 US patents (with industry) related to batteries and fuel cells. She is among the world’s top 2% scientists

Built on 9 years of experience as an industrial researcher at Alcan International Ltd and on 17 years in academia (7 yrs in mechanical engineering at Université de Sherbrooke (UdS) and 10 yrs in chemical and biotechnological engineering at UdS), the expertise of Pr. Martin Désilets covers mainly 2 domains: 1- thermal diagnostic and simulation of electrochemical reactors and 2- development of reduced models for process control purposes. His recent contributions in the numerical simulation of electrochemical systems helped to understand transport phenomena inside various engineering applications like aluminium reduction process, alumino-thermal reduction of niobium oxide, electro-reduction of CO2, production of metallic lithium or lithium ion batteries. His management experience with technological transfer is regularly used to help his R&D partners to design and optimize their production facilities.

Jesse Greener has been a full professor of chemistry at Université Laval since 2012 where his research area focuses on the combination of microfluidics/microfabrication, electrochemistry and analytical chemistry at the microscopic scale. Jesse is also the founder of Canada’s most established microfluidics company, FlowJEM Polymer Microfluidics, which operates in Toronto. Jesse’s team operates a well-funded research laboratory to develop and commercialize microfluidic analysis tools for spectroscopy and electrochemistry and use them for studies on the recovery of values from waste streams (waste to wealth). A major research theme of his group concerns bioelectrochemical systems (BES), which exploit electroactive bacteria to break down organic molecules in domestic and industrial wastewater. His group has demonstrated the world’s most efficient microfluidic microbial fuel cell, as well as new specialized methods for their study, including computational simulations of fluid dynamics. Other areas of interest include waste heat recovery, various sensors, electrochemical CO2 reduction, and bioinformatics.

Jesse Greener is a full professor in Chemistry at Université Laval since 2012 where his research area focuses on combining microfluidics/microfabrication, electrochemistry and microscale analytical chemistry. Jesse is also the founder of Canada’s most established microfluidic company, FlowJEM Polymer Microfluidics, which opperates out of Toronto. Jesse’s team exploits a well-funded research laborator to design and commerciallized microfluidic analytical tools, for spectroscopy and electrochemistry and use them for studies into recovery of valubles from wastestreams (waste-to-wealth). A major research theme in his group is bioelectrochemical systems (BES), which exploits electroactive bacteria to breakdown organic molecules in domestic and industrial wastewaters. His group has demonstrated the highest performing microfluidc microbial fuel cell in the world, along with new specialized methods for their study, including computational fluid dynamics simulations. Other areas of interest include waste heat recovery, various sensors, and electrochemical CO2 reduction, and biocomputing.

Adrian ILINCA is a professor of mechanical engineering at the École de Technologie Supérieure in Montreal. He received his Ph.D. from École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1994. Until 2022, he was a professor and director of the Wind Energy Research Laboratory at the Université du Québec à Rimouski. His main contributions include hybrid renewable energy systems, pneumatic diesel hybridization, energy storage, energy efficiency, fluid flow simulation, heat and mass transfer, and optimization.

Adrian ILINCA is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering at École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal. He obtained his Ph.D. from École Polytechnique de Montréal in 1994. He was, until 2022, professor and director of the Wind Energy Research Laboratory at Université du Québec à Rimouski. His main contributions are in hybrid renewable energy systems, pneumatic hybridization of diesel engines, energy storage, energy efficiency, fluid flow simulations, heat and mass transfer, and optimization.

Sakine obtained a bachelor’s degree in Materials Engineering – Ceramics in 2008, followed by a master’s degree in Extractive Metallurgy in the field of Materials Engineering in 2011. She then began her professional career as a university professor for a period of three years. She also assumed the role of Deputy Director in the Materials Engineering Group at the Foulad Institute of Technology in Iran, serving in this position for two years.

In 2018, she successfully completed her PhD in the field of Materials Engineering and Metallurgy, specializing in the field of hydrogen storage in metal hydrides. After her PhD, Sakine began a postdoctoral research position at UQTR, where she continued her research in the field of hydrogen storage in metal hydrides. During this period, she worked under the supervision and advice of her thesis supervisor, Professor Jacques Huot, starting in 2019.

Subsequently, in 2020, she began another postdoctoral research position to study the recycling of lithium-ion batteries at UdeM/CNETE, working under the supervision of Professor Michael Dollé. It was during this phase that she obtained a professional position at the CNETE as a research assistant in electrochemistry.

Area of expertise and research:

– Electrochemistry and solvent extraction

-Critical and strategic material recycling

-Recycling of Li-ion batteries

-Storage of hydrogen in metal hydrides

-Development of new alloys and use of new synthesis techniques

-Identification of the microstructure material

Assistant Professor-Co-Scientific Director of the Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory

Holder of an engineering degree in food technologies, a master’s degree in industrial engineering, and a doctorate in water sciences, Prof. Rouissi has more than 10 years of experience in research, his work covering themes related to chemistry and environmental biotechnology, bioremediation, biocomposites and the valorization-bioconversion of residues. He has worked in several institutions and held several positions, including as a research professional at UQAC and UQTR, research associate at INRS, research coordinator at CTRI, and recently as director of innovation at CRIBIQ. He is currently an associate professor at Laurentian University, co-scientific director of the Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory, and an associate professor at UQAC and INRS in the past.

Expertise:

• Industrial Bioprocesses
• Food Engineering-Materials Engineering
• Environmental chemistry and biotechnology

Prof. F. Larachi’s research aims to design micro/multifunctional systems and materials in the fields of shipping, (bio-)energy, mineral resources and the environment, with a focus on the enhancement/conversion of unconventional fossil energy/residual biomass, the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions through CO2 capture/storage, and the resolution of aqueous chemistry and in mineral processing. He has served as Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering and as a member of the Editorial Board or Advisory Board of the journals Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Chemical Engineering & Processing : Process Intensification, and Indian Chemical Engineer. His research contributions have been recognized, including the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, a two-time recipient of the NSRC Discovery Accelerator Supplement, and a recipient of the 2012 UL Summa Research Award. Prior to joining Université Laval as a professor, he obtained an engineering degree from USTHB (Algeria), a PhD in chemical engineering from the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (France) and was a postdoctoral researcher at École Polytechnique de Montréal. He was a visiting researcher at Total (France), the French Petroleum Institute (IFPEN) and the Consortium de Recherche Minérale (COREM) during his sabbatical years.

Professor F. Larachi’s research focuses on the design of micro/multifunctional processes and materials in the areas of marine transportation, (bio)energy, mineral resources and the environment, with emphasis on the improvement/conversion of unconventional fossil energy/residual biomass, the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions through CO2 capture/storage, and the solution of aqueous and interfacial chemistry problems in mineral processing. He has served as associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering and on the editorial or advisory boards of the journals Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Chemical Engineering & Processing: Process Intensification, and Indian Chemical Engineer. His research contributions have been recognized, including the endowment of a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, a two-time winner of the NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplement, and the 2012 UL Summa Research Award. Prior to joining Université Laval as a professor, he earned his BSc in chemical engineering from USTHB (Algeria), a doctoral degree in chemical engineering from the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (France), and was a postdoctoral researcher at the École Polytechnique de Montréal. He has been in sabbatical at Total (France), the French Petroleum Institute (IFPEN) and the Consortium de Recherche Minérale (COREM).

Assistant professor at the Université du Québec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) in the department of mechanical engineering, Marie Hébert received her Ph.D. in Mechanical and Mechatronics engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2020. She developed her expertise in mechatronics and fluid dynamics. As a member of the Hydrogen Research Institute, she is actively involved in projects for the electrification of various vehicles with fuel cell systems. Her research interests include multiphysics systems, modelling, fuel cell systems, fluid dynamics, control, optimization of fluid supply, and microfluidics. She was awarded the Mechanical engineering medal in 2016 from Concordia University and has been the recipient of several scholarships such as the Nanofellowship from the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, and the Canada Graduate Scholarships – Doctoral (CGS D) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Abdeldjebar Hazzab completed his degree in State Engineering (1995), Magister (1999) and Doctorate (2006) at the University of Science and Technology of Oran in Algeria, all in electrical engineering. Since May 01, 2023 he has joined the Centre for Research and Innovation in Energy Intelligence (Cr2ie) in Sept-Îles as a researcher, he participates in the development of Cr2ie’s research projects. From October 01, 2023 to date, he has been an Associate Professor at the École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS) in Montreal. From July 01, 2022 to October 01, 2023 he was Visiting Professor where he contributes to the development of research in GRÉPCI. From April 4, 1999 he held the position of Assistant Professor, in February 2006 he became a Lecturer, in November 2011 he had the rank of Professor at the University of Bechar in Algeria. He has taught several modules in electrical engineering. He has held several administrative and scientific positions at the university. Director and founder of the CAOSEE research laboratory 11/2009 to 04/2022. Project manager of 05 research projects related to AI. He has supervised more than 43 doctoral theses and 40 master’s theses. Author of nearly 135 scientific and technical publications and 04 chapters in books. He has extensive experience in the energy field, particularly in renewable energy, advanced control, power electronics, industrial computing, AI, microgrids, smart grids, energy storage, and industrial energy efficiency.

Main sector of activity

Corrosion Resistance Assessment

Main areas of activity and research:

• Electrochemistry, measurement and monitoring of corrosion under service and laboratory conditions
• Cyclic corrosion tests in the laboratory
• Evaluation of means of corrosion protection

Kun Zhang is a professor of mechanical engineering at the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS). He collaborates closely with international researchers, in projects organized by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA). Its specialty lies in the field of energy flexibility, advanced control systems, as well as smart buildings and cities, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Dr. Ruelland designed a simulator of electric railway networks to size power equipment and evaluate train performance. As a train control engineer, he developed an expertise in RAMS (Reliability Availability, Maintenability, Safety) of electronic systems during his work to extend and renovate the Montreal metro. He is the author of articles on the energy optimization of railway networks for the IEEE and for the AQTr.

Dr. Ruelland has been a lecturer in electric transportation at ÉTS since 2016. Since 2022, he has been a teacher at Cégep Limoilou in electrical engineering technology. He participates in research efforts in the field of community resilience. The aim is to propose new software or hardware means to support a community in the event of an energy failure, while taking decarbonisation into account.

Ramzi Zarrougui, a professor of chemistry at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, stands out for his innovative research focused on energy storage in supercapacitors. His expertise focuses specifically on custom design and the use of ionic liquids as a resource to formulate innovative electrolytes. In addition to his commitment to the fields of renewable energy, recycling and recovery of high value-added materials, such as critical metals, plastic polymers and biomolecules from industrial residues, Professor Zarrougui focuses his efforts on innovation and the development of new functional compounds. Its major contribution lies in the introduction of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents as more environmentally friendly solvents for ionometallurgical processes, as well as more efficient electrolytes to redefine the operating domain of supercapacitors and increase their energy storage capacity. By taking an energy-efficient, net-zero and integrated approach as part of a greener circular economy, Zarrougui is working to push the boundaries of research for more sustainable and efficient use of energy, helping to shape the future of energy technology.

Project manager at the Innovative Vehicle Institute, Marc-Antoine Legault is a mechanical engineer and holds a master’s degree in robotics from the Université de Sherbrooke. He has been responsible for numerous research projects related to electric vehicles, applied, among other things, to high-capacity, high-voltage Li-ion tractive battery technologies. He also established a research group on autonomous vehicle technologies within the IVI. His field of expertise also extends to multiphysics simulations, the emulation of complex “hardware-in-the-loop” systems for the aeronautics industry and also the safety of Li-ion batteries. He also has a great interest in innovation management and the management of multidisciplinary R&D teams.

A chemical engineer by training, David holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in lignocellulosic materials science and engineering from UQTR. During his studies and his research position at Innofibre, he developed an expertise in the chemical modification of cellulosic fibers and the development of biomaterials. His research focuses on the use of lignocellulosic fibers and biomass valorization in several sectors of activity such as pulp and paper, protective packaging, construction, water treatment, printed electronics and batteries.

Chemical engineer by training, David holds a master’s and a doctorate in science and engineering of lignocellulosic materials from UQTR. During his studies and his research position at Innofibre, he has developed expertise in the chemical modification of cellulosic fibers and the development of biomaterials. His research focuses on the use of lignocellulosic fibers and the valorization of biomass in several sectors such as pulp and paper, protective packaging, construction, water treatment, printed electronics, and batteries.

Nassim Noura is a substitute professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR). He obtained his master’s degree in France at the University of Lille in electrical engineering and his Ph.D. at UQTR also in electrical engineering around hydrogen hybrid vehicles. His research interests are focused on the energy management of hybrid systems, energy source modeling and real-time multi-objective optimization. Nassim Noura is piloting, within the RQEI, the management agreement for the structuring of research in green hydrogen and bioenergy with the Energy Squad and the Government of Quebec.

José A. Candanedo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Building Engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke. His research interests include model-based predictive control for buildings, development of optimal energy control and power demand management strategies, control-oriented modeling of thermal dynamics of buildings and HVAC systems, data analysis in buildings, modeling of thermal energy storage devices, energy flexibility and building-grid interaction. José is part of the Canadian delegation participating in the IEA EBC Annex 81 “Data-Driven Smart Buildings” (2019-2023), where he co-leads Subtask B (Model-Based Predictive Control).

Shamsodin Taheri is a full professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO). All of his research is based on the practical application of advanced techniques for the integration of renewable energy sources into the electricity grid in cold conditions. More specifically, his research team evaluates the performance of photovoltaic panels and their integration in cold regions using artificial intelligence techniques. He established a research laboratory within UQO (LAR3E: Laboratoire de recherche en efficacité énergétique des réseaux électriques) based on his CFI grant. He contributed to the implementation of the innovative program by creating the innovative renewable energy and smart grids unit at UQO. He is also a senior member of the IEEE.

Research interests:

• Power Electronics
• Renewable
• Energy efficiency
• Smart Grids

Hendra Hermawan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Université Laval, Canada. He specializes in corrosion metallurgy and electrochemistry, with a particular focus on revealing the relationship between microstructure and electrochemical behavior of high-performance metal alloys. He is a Professional Engineer registered with the Professional Engineers of Ontario. He serves the scientific community as a member of the editorial board of several scientific journals and as a reviewer of articles and grant applications related to materials science and engineering.

Hendra Hermawan is an associate professor at the Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Université Laval, Canada. He specializes in the metallurgy and electrochemistry of corrosion, with a particular focus on revealing the relationship between microstructure and electrochemical behavior of high-performance metal alloys. He is a professional engineer registered with the Professional Engineers Ontario, Canada. He serves the scientific community as a member of editorial board at several journals and as reviewer for papers and grant applications related to materials science and engineering.

Dr. Mohsen Kandidayeni is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UQTR. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Quebec, Trois-Rivières (UQTR) in 2020. He has held positions as a postdoctoral researcher at Université de Sherbrooke and a research associate at the Hydrogen Research Institute of UQTR.

Dr. Kandidayeni’s research focuses on renewable energy, particularly hydrogen applications in transportation. His work includes health management of fuel cell systems, energy management of hybrid vehicles, and control of PEM fuel cells and electrolyzers. He has published around 65 journal and conference papers and received numerous awards, including the Best Ph.D. Thesis Award at UQTR in 2020 and scholarships from FRQNT.

He is a member of IEEE and has been Chair of Electric Vehicles, Vehicular Electronics, and Intelligent Transportation at the IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC) since 2022.

Dr. Maha Bhouri has been an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering at the Université du Québec à Rimouski since August 2023. Prior to this position, she spent three years as an assistant professor, a teaching-focused position, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She received her PhD in energy and materials sciences from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, followed by two postdoctoral fellowships at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR-Stuttgart) and Dalhousie University. His research interests focus on the development of solid hydrogen storage systems and thermal energy storage systems with the objective of accelerating the energy transition in Canada.

Dr. Maha Bhouri has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Engineering at the University of Quebec at Rimouski since August 2023. Before joining this position, she spent three years as a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She earned her PhD in Energy and Materials Sciences from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, followed by two postdoctoral fellowships at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and Dalhousie University. Her research interests focus on advancing the clean energy transition through the development of solid-state hydrogen storage systems and thermal energy storage systems.

Dr. Gagnon has more than 20 years of academic and industrial research. After his graduate studies in organic chemistry, he completed two post-doctoral fellowships in medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis, one of which was in a pharmaceutical company. He contributed for 12 years to the development of a pharmaceutical chemistry contract research organization (CRO) where he planned and carried out more than 150 confidential process development projects contracted for large pharmaceutical companies. In particular, he led teams of researchers in the execution of large-scale projects on the scale of grams and several kilograms. He joined the Kemitek team in 2022 where he develops sustainable and safe chemical processes.

Dr. Gagnon has more than 20 years of experience in academic and industrial research. After completing his graduate studies in organic chemistry, he undertook two postdoctoral fellowships in medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis, one of which was with a pharmaceutical company. He spent 12 years contributing to the development of a pharmaceutical chemistry contract research organization (CRO), where he planned and executed over 150 confidential process development projects contracted by major pharmaceutical companies. In this role, he notably led research teams in executing large-scale projects ranging from grams to several kilograms. He joined the Kemitek team in 2022, where he focuses on developing sustainable and safe chemical processes.

Expertise: Analytical chemistry, Process analytical technologies (PAT), Chemometrics, Carbonaceous residue recovery, Pyrolysis, Biochar, Biomass, Biofuels, Anaerobic digestion

Prof. Thierry Ghislain is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biotechnological Engineering at the Université de Sherbrooke. He holds the Research Chair on Pyrolytic Carbon (CRICaP) and Director of the Laboratory for the Analysis of Biomass, Bioproducts and Bioprocesses (LAB). His dual specialization in analytical chemistry and process engineering has enabled him to collaborate with numerous industrial partners as well as several Quebec and Canadian universities in fields as diverse as renewable energy, biofuels and bioproducts, agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries as well as the environment.

Graduated with a PhD in Applied Chemistry from the University of Limoges in 2015; Dr. Olivier Rezazgui then did a first post-doctoral fellowship in Rouen before crossing the ocean to settle in Trois-Rivières where he is now a researcher for Innofibre.
Equally at ease on fundamental and industrial projects, Dr. Rezazgui’s guiding principle is the preservation of our planet and sustainable chemistry, as evidenced by his research projects: development of bio-inspired herbicides; recovery of forest residues in bitumen, production of biofuels and reduction of GHG emissions. Naturally curious, he has developed skills in fields as varied as organic synthesis, spectroscopy, biology and molecular modelling during his professional experiences.
Today at Innofibre, CCTT attached to the Cégep de Trois-Rivières; He uses his knowledge to propose innovative solutions to manufacturers to decarbonize their processes. This involves the development of innovative processes in terms of bioenergy, biomaterials, recovery and reuse of residues and other projects in the circular economy.
His motto: There are no incurable diseases, only lack of willpower. There are no worthless herbs, only the lack of knowledge. (Avicenna)

Professor Jacopo Profili is a specialist in innovative materials. Holder of a double PhD in plasma physics and engineering from the Université de Montréal and the Université Toulouse III, he has developed an expertise in the physics and chemistry of plasma systems at atmospheric pressure focusing on the study of interactions with complex multiphase media (solids, liquids, gases and suspensions). Focusing on the synthesis of advanced nanomaterials and the creation of new atmospheric pressure plasma systems, his research aims to develop new advanced processes and materials for energy and environmental technologies. Professor Profili is also co-founder of KALEGO Solutions, a company that specializes in the creation of highly innovative surfaces.

Dr. Ayoub Tanji is a researcher and R&D project manager at the Centre de Métallurgie du Québec (CMQ), where he heads the corrosion and electrochemistry section. He holds a PhD in Materials Engineering and Metallurgy from Laval University (Canada) and a Master’s degree in Materials and Surface Engineering from France. He specializes in the development of advanced metal alloys for energy, biomedical and industrial applications. His work focuses on corrosion protection, coatings and surface treatments, applied metallurgy, as well as the development of materials for hydrogen technologies and batteries.
He coordinates several collaborative projects with Canadian universities (UQTR, Université Laval, INRS, UQAR, Université de Sherbrooke) and international universities: UMONS (Belgium), ENSAM (France), LIST (Luxembourg), UM6P (Morocco), University of Tennessee (United States), University of Michigan (United States), Missouri State University (United States), Brawijaya University (Indonesia) and American University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates). It also collaborates with numerous industrial partners through provincial and federal research programs.

Sectors of activity:

• Electrochemistry and advanced processes
• Energy and decarbonization
• Applied metallurgy

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Biography (English version)

Dr. Ayoub Tanji is a researcher and R&D project manager at the Centre de Métallurgie du Québec (CMQ), where he leads the corrosion and electrochemistry division. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering from Université Laval (Canada) and a Master’s degree in Materials and Surface Engineering obtained in France. His expertise focuses on the development of advanced metallic alloys for energy, biomedical, and industrial applications. His research covers corrosion protection, surface coatings and treatments, applied metallurgy, and the development of materials for hydrogen and battery technologies.
He coordinates several collaborative projects with Canadian universities (UQTR, Université Laval, INRS, UQAR, Université de Sherbrooke) and international partners, including UMONS (Belgium), ENSAM (France), LIST (Luxembourg), UM6P (Morocco), University of Tennessee (USA), University of Michigan (USA), Missouri State University (USA), Brawijaya University (Indonesia), and the American University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates). He also works closely with numerous industrial partners through provincial and federal research programs.

Fields of expertise:

• Electrochemistry and advanced processes
• Energy and decarbonization
• Applied metallurgy

Siméon Nachev obtained his PhD at the University of Grenoble in 2015. He worked as a Postdoc at the University of Saskatchewan until 2017. In 2019, he joined the Centre de Métallurgie du Québec in Trois-Rivières as a researcher. His interests focus on the lightening of metal structures and the strengthening of the mechanical properties of alloys, the solid storage of hydrogen in metal hydrides and the design of hydrogen tanks as well as hydrogen embrittlement of metal infrastructure.

Daria C. Boffito is a professor of chemical engineering at Polytechnique Montréal. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Electrification of Intensified Processes and Catalysis (EPIC). She has received Canadian and international awards, including the Emerging Leader Award from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering (2019). In 2014, she was awarded the NSERC Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship. Professor Boffito is one of the executive editors of Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, the leading scientific journal in this field. She also serves on the editorial boards of Mechanochemistry and Tetrahedron Green Chem. In addition to sonochemistry, her research areas include process intensification, biomass conversion, heterogeneous catalysis (and photocatalysis), CO₂ conversion, and the recovery of critical metals from end-of-life streams. Professor Boffito collaborates with several Canadian and international companies in the fields of process intensification, gas-to-liquid technologies and metal extraction.

Dr. Thomas Auvray is a professor in Physical Chemistry of Materials at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and co-director of the Institut de Recherche sur l’Hydrogène. After a B.Sc. (2012) and M.Sc. (2014) in Chemistry from Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI, France), he joined the Université de Montréal, working with Prof. Garry S. Hanan on the development of supramolecular systems for artificial photosynthesis and obtained his Ph.D. in 2020. After a year as postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Ellen M. Matson at the University of Rochester (NY, US), he joined McGill University as FRQNT postdoctoral fellow (2021-2022) with Prof. Tomislav Friščić before moving with the Friščić group in 2022 to the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham (UK) as senior research fellow. His group focuses on advancing mechanochemistry for the preparation of inorganic and hybrid materials and spreading the word about sustainable laboratory practices.

Dr Thomas Auvray est professeur en chimie physique des matériaux à l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières et codirecteur de l’Institut de recherche sur l’hydrogène. Après une licence baccalauréat (2012) et un master (2014) en chimie de l’Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI, FR), il a rejoint l’Université de Montréal, travaillant avec Pr. Garry S. Hanan sur le développement de systèmes supramoléculaires pour la photosynthèse artificielle et a obtenu son doctorat en 2020. Après une année comme chercheur postdoctoral associé avec Pr. E.M. Matson à l’Université de Rochester (NY, États-Unis), il a rejoint l’Université McGill en tant que chercheur postdoctoral FRQNT (2021-2022) avec Pr. T. Friščić avant de rejoindre le groupe Friščić en 2022 à l’Université de Birmingham (R.U.) en tant qu’associé de recherche sénior. Son groupe se concentre sur l’avancement de la mécanochimie pour la préparation de matériaux inorganiques et hybrides et sur la diffusion de pratiques de laboratoire durables.