People

Executive Committee 2021-2022

President

Hi! I am Bayan Al-Nahhas, the president of the 2021-2022 EGSS committee.

I am originally from Syria. I moved to Saudi Arabia when I was six months old, where I grew up and earned my Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Effat University. I moved to Canada in 2018 to pursue my MASc degree in Electrical Engineering at UBCO and graduated in 2020. I am currently in my second year PhD program in Electrical Engineering. My research mainly aims at studying the 5G and beyond wireless communication networks and analyzing the performance enhancement under the deployment of some recent technologies including reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs), cell free MIMO (CF-MIMO) systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In short words, I am very interested in developing novel techniques that help pave the way for our future wireless networks. My work is mainly around signal processing and system analysis.

Apart from research, I am generally very fond of reading about topics outside my area of studies. It helps me gain awareness of how much there is out there. which I do not know about. For those who know me well, I am all about mindset and brain power. Anything around those topics gets me hyped and I would want to talk or read about it immediately. I am also a sports fanatic. When stressed, the gym or jogging around my neighborhood is where you’ll find me most, especially at 9 a.m. 🙂

I volunteered in the EGSS team 2020-2021 and had the chance to see how things run in the team. I noticed a great potential and energy in the engineering graduate students on campus. They had many ideas which they wanted to share and implement. I then knew I should take the chance to make a change next year and join the EGSS executive team for 2021-2022. We are all about engineering graduate students and having their voices heard. Any concerns, questions, or if you need help in any way, we are here to help guide through it all. Don’t hesitate to contact us and keep an eye on our planned events! There is a lot to learn here on UBCO campus!

Director at Large

My name is Sahar Alousi, I joined UBCO for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2019 with a
great focus on Bioengineering. It has been a completely new experience for me as a
microbiologist exploring the world of engineering. I am glad to be serving as the Director at
Large for the EGSS.
This vibrant environment at the School of Engineering motivated me to get involved in EGSS
activities. While the past year has been a challenging one for many of us, I believe that a
promising year is ahead of us. Our aim is to get you involved in exciting events, whether it is a
trip around the Okanagan, or informative and motivative sessions at UBCO. We are looking
forward to 2021-2022!

Vice-President (Research & Teaching Assistants)

Hello there, my name is Kasper and I am thoroughly excited to serve you as the VP-RATA on the 2021/2022 EGSS Committee. I am from Denmark from where I have my BSc and MSc degrees in Energy Engineering (Aalborg University). During and before my studies I have been in Canada on and off since 2012, and in my last stint since September 2019, for my PhD in Mechanical Engineering here at UBCO. My motivations for pursuing the VP-RATA role are that I want to give back to the UBCO community from which I have benefitted so much, and that my previous experiences support it well.
I have held TAships hosting tutorials, labs, guest lectures, and lecture support, both pre- and post-pandemic. I am a RA in the UBCO Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratory where I develop fluid-flow solvers for investigating boiling and cavitating flows of cryogenic fluids. I have studied abroad on several occasions throughout my degrees in Australia, Germany, USA, and Canada. Having been an international student and worker in these countries I have a relatively good grasp of the cultural, academic, economic, and bureaucratic challenges that especially internationals encounter when navigating life in Canada. The RA/TA experience is at times busy, inspirational, fun, (often) grey-hair growth accelerating, overwhelming, etc. Whatever it throws at you, I am happy to share my own experiences, direct you towards helpful resources, or address more practical issues pertaining to your RA/TAships. Please do not hesitate to reach out.

Vice-President (Finance)

Hello! My name is Thais and I will be the Vice-President of finances for the year 2021-2022.
I am from Brazil and I took both my bachelor's and master’s degrees in my country, at the Federal
University of Espírito Santo. I am an Environmental Engineer, specialized in Sanitation and I have
been working with Life-Cycle Assessment for the past 5 years. I am currently enrolled as a Ph.D. in
Civil Engineering, working to improve sustainability on Urban Water Systems.
As the Vice President of Finances, I want to help the team to acquire funding, as well as organize
events for our community, applying our resources to bring graduate engineering students
together.
Apart from academics, I enjoy music, theater, movies, read books, and sports.

Vice-President (Internal)

Hello! I am Zakiuddin Dandoti and you can call me “Zaki” or “Zax” and I am the
new VP Internal of the 2021-2022 EGSS committee. I am from Pune, India and I
am a MEng Mechanical Engineering student at UBCO.
I have a diploma in mechanical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in industrial
engineering from VIT Pune.
Apart from academics I read (mostly Dan Brown) and play Tycoon games (Age of
Empires, Rise of Nations) I also play GTA Online and Sims sometimes. I love
swimming, scuba diving and sports bikes.
I am a finance enthusiast too and one of the youngest National Stock Exchange
(NSE) registered sub brokers.
As VP Internal, I plan on reaching out to startups and incubators and establish
strong relations with the startup community to open up more opportunities for
EGSS community and also organize some exciting events for the EGSS Community.

Vice-President (External)

Hi! I am Abdul Waheed Ahmadi, you can call me “Waheed” and I’ll be the Vice-President External of EGSS 2021-2022.
I am from Afghanistan and I completed my bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from MSRIT, India. I joined UBCO in September 2020 for my Master’s degree in Civil Engineering.
As a VP external, I would like to organize social and exciting recreational events for the graduate fellows. Also, I welcome you to share your ideas and thoughts with me, so please feel free to contact me with your exciting ideas.
Apart from my academics, I am a huge fan of soccer, also I love reading, cooking and travelling.

Vice-President (Services)

Hi. I am Rachel Calvin and I will be the Vice-President Services of EGSS for the year 2021-2022
I am from India where I completed my Undergraduate in information Technology Engineering and currently a MEng student in Electrical Engineering.
My hobbies include singing, hiking and love to travel around new places
As Vice-President Service I would love to bring forth your ideas and plans for the events with providing the logistics support including event management and refreshments. With this I will also coordinate with the graduate students who’d love to Volunteer For EGSS

Executive Committee 2020-2021

President

I’m Hammad Ahmad and I’ve been elected as the President of EGSS for the year 2020-21.

I belong to Lahore, Pakistan. A city famous for its lively atmosphere, variety of delicious foods, cultural heritage and rich traditions. My academic credentials include Bachelors in Civil Engineering and Masters in Structural Engineering from University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore with distinction. Moreover, I have teaching, research and administrative experience of about 5 years working in the capacity of Assistant Engineer (Planning & Development), Lecturer (Civil and Architectural Engineering) and Research / Teaching Assistant (SoE UBCO).

I have recently completed first year of PhD at UBC with my research aimed at Life cycle assessment of nature-based materials for the construction of sustainable buildings. Based on my research, I also won the most visited poster prize at Eminence Poster Session earlier in 2020.

Other than studies, I’m a huge Sports fanatic being a National level Tennis & University level Badminton and Cricket player. Besides, I’m an avid participant in competitive and social events which have enabled me to meet many wonderful friends. Moreover, I’m fond of reciting, reading poetry, photography, music, painting (on faces), video content creation, traveling and general knowledge-sharing.

It’s an honor for me to represent the graduate fellows of School of Engineering and we as a team will try our best to contribute towards an enhanced student experience despite the challenging circumstances. Don’t hesitate to contact me with your concerns, events ideas, problems or even just to have a light-hearted chit-chat.

 

Director at Large

Nibirh Jawad is currently serving as the Director at Large on the 2020/21 committee. He was previously in the position of Vice-President External During the 2017/2018 committee.

Nibirh is a PhD student in Electrical Engineering whose focus of research is Metasurfaces and Frequency Selective Surfaces. He completed his Undergraduate degree from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in Dhaka, Bangladesh before completing his Masters degree at UBCO in February 2019.

Nibirh is excited to have the opportunity to work with the EGSS again this year. He has lots of experience in planning and organizing some of the most popular events for the EGSS in previous years. Even in the current global situation, he is hopeful to make use of the facilities available to the EGSS to ensure that current grad students do not miss out on an inclusive and memorable graduate school experience.

His favourite things to do outside of studying are, in his own words: “Everything. The crazier the better.” But also he can’t swim (yet), so cliff jumping is off the menu (for now). And if you need a person to play soccer with you anytime, anywhere, he’s your man. Just make sure he returns in one piece (he has a regrettable history of injuries, must be the daredevil lifestyle). Actually, please just make him plan a leisurely hike or a book reading club, by no means allow him to convince you that doing a group skydiving session is a good idea.

 

 Vice-President (Research & Teaching Assistants)

I am Sadaf Shabanian and I will be the Vice President (RA&TA) for the year 2020-2021.

I am from Iran and currently a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering. It has been almost two years since I have started my graduate studies at UBCO. My research aims at developing durable oil-repellent textile finishes that do not utilize perfluorinated compounds.

Other than research, my hobbies include biking and hiking. Moreover, I’m a keen traveler and like to see new places.

My cooperation with EGSS started when I was following up on the TA issues encountered last year (2019). I continued my cooperation by analyzing the questionnaire data regarding RA and TA issues that the previous team collected and conveyed the results to CoGS. This year as VP, I would like to follow up on any changes that could make the student’s life easier. The Engineering graduate students are welcome to reach out to me with their RA/TA related issues.

 

Vice-President (Services)

Anber Rana has been elected as the Vice-President Services of EGSS for the year 2020-2021.

Anber is from Pakistan and has received her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Building Engineering from University of Engineering and Technology (UET). At UBCO, she is a PhD Candidate in Civil Engineering with research work focused on environmental assessment of built infrastructure with particular emphasis on impact of financial incentives for making greener buildings.

Moreover, her hobbies include reading, drawing, puzzle solving and travelling.

As VP (Services), She’ll welcome your ideas/plans for events and provide the logistic support including event management & refreshments. Additionally, She’ll be responsible for coordinating with the graduates student interested in Volunteering for EGSS.

 

Vice-President (Internal)

 I am Mohammadali Nobakhti or preferably you can call me “Ali.” I will be Vice President Internal of EGSS for 2020-21.

I am from Iran and I joined UBCO in January 2020 as a Master’s student in Dr. Hoorfar’s Advanced Thermo-Fluidic Laboratory (ATFL). My research is focused on manufacturing a Natural Gas sensor by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). In Collaboration with Dr. Jian Liu’s Advanced Materials for Energy Storage Lab, I’m trying to develop a novel sensor for NG odorant monitoring for gas leak detection applications.

Other than my research, I am a big fan of hiking and camping. Moreover, I love to do rock climbing and cycling.

As VP-Internal, I welcome all your concerns and questions related to graduate studies at School of Engineering. Feel free to contact me regarding your issues so that we can convey it further.

 

Vice-President (External)

I’m Bijoy Saha and I’ll be the Vice-President External of EGSS for the year 2020-2021.
 
I am from Bangladesh and have recently completed my Master’s degree in Civil Engineering at UBC Okanagan. I’m enrolled as a PhD student since September 2020 with my research focused on traffic microsimulation, activity-based modeling and crash injury severity modeling. Moreover, I have received TUUM est. student initiative fund, UBCSUO legacy fund and graduate dean’s entrance scholarship.
 
As VP (external), I would love to carve out some exciting events for the fellow graduate students and communicate with the other associations/organizations. So, feel free to contact me with your ideas and questions.

 

Vice-President (Finance) *Interim

Sadia Ishaq is acting as interim VP Finance and continuing her role from last year.

Sadia received her BSc in Biology from Quaid-i-Azam University, in Islamabad, Pakistan, and her Master of Environment degree from the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Sadia’s current research focuses on the application of low impact development (LID) in urban stormwater management. Her PhD work aims at the development of a risk-based life cycle assessment tool and analysis of environmental and human health impacts of sustainable infrastructure. Before beginning her PhD, Sadia was associated with the development sector in Pakistan and worked in Food Security and Governance programs for Oxfam and The Asia Foundation.

Apart from studies, Sadia has been involved with EGSS for the past years and spends lots of time walking, watching random movies, history documentaries, and tons of sleep.

Executive Committee 2019-2020

President

(May 2019 – March 2020)

Zhenyu (Charlus) Zhang

PhD student of Electrical Engineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President

(March 2020 – October 2020)

Mohammad Ali

Master’s student of Mechanical Engineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Director at large

Pamela Ines Rellstab Sanchez

Master’s student of Mechanical Engineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President Finance

Sadia Ishaq

PhD student of Civil Engineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President RA & TA 

Peyman Yousefi

PhD student of Civil Engineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President RA & TA 

Sadaf Shabanian

PhD student of Mechanical Engineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President of Student Services 

Mahmoud Sakr

PhD student of Mechanical Engineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President Internal 

Md. Arifur Rahman Khandoker

Master’s student of Mechanical Engineering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President External

Maliha Monsur

Master’s student of Electrical Engineering