iMERIT STUDENTS
Ph.D. Students

Saad Alhadlaq
Ph.D. student, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research interests:
- Underwater acoustic communication
- Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) communication
- Theory and application of underwater tracking and sensing

Emre Cilkaya
Ph.D. student
Department of Ocean and Naval Architectural Engineering,
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Research Interests:
Propeller noise prediction by using CFD (OpenFoam)
Ship-ice interaction coupled with CFD and DEM (Discrete Element Method)
Ship hull form optimization by using CFD and genetic algorithms
Wave energy converters
Fluid-structure interaction.

Muhammad Usman Asad
Ph.D. student, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research interests:
- Intelligent control of robotics and power systems
- Control systems and automation
- Soft computing technologies
- Fuzzy system modelling
- Haptics and non-linear control

Meghan Troup
Ph.D. student, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University
Research Interests:
- autonomous vehicles
- ocean technology
- acoustic seafloor mapping
- habitat mapping

Seyed Mohammad Reza Mousavi
Ph.D. student, Department of Physics, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Research interests
Sound propagation in different media
underwater acoustic communication
underwater acoustic noise
microphone array signal processing
PhD student, Memorial University, St. John’s, NL, Canada

Brendan Smith
Ph.D., Physical Oceanography Student, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S. Canada
Research interests:
- Passive acoustical oceanography
- Hydrothermal vents
- Natural soundscapes

Abolfazl Zokaei
Ph.D. student, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research Interests:
- Radio frequency and microwave circuits and systems
- Software Defined Radio
- Digital signal processing
- Hardware implementation and information theory of coding
- CAD tools

Marina Antipina
PhD student, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research interests:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Machine learning
- The Cloud
- Big data
- Unmanned systems
- Acoustic propagation modeling
- Risk management assessment of the impact of anthropogenic noise on marine fauna
- The Arctic
Masters Students

Axel Belgarde
Masters Student, Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Research interests:
Ocean acoustics
Fisheries sonar
Acoustic modelling

Anh-Duy Nguyen
MA.Sc Student, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering,
University of Prince Edward Island
Interests:
Robotics and Intelligent SystemsController,
Path planning and motion planning

Chris Bayley
MASc student, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research interests:
- Robotics
- Robot autonomy
- Mapping and navigation
- Sensing

Hanxiang Zhang
MASc student, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research Interests:
Autonomous vehicles
Computer vision
Robot path/motion planning

Cesar Rodriguez
MASc student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research Interests:
- Autonomous robotics
- Machine learning
- Adaptive sampling
- Control systems engineering
- Sensor development and integration
- Mechatronics
Erin Wetter

MASc student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
- Underwater robotics and communications
- Autonomous behaviour
- Multi-agent collaboration

Tin Nguyen
MASc student, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island
Research Interests
– Autonomous Vehicles
– Human-Robot Interaction
– Socially-aware Navigation Stack
– Cognitive decision-making architecture
Completed iMERIT Program Terms

Ahmed Al-Qallaf
Ph.D. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research interests:
- Design of on-chip power management systems for marine and energy harvesting applications.
- Design of robust and adaptive control systems for switched-mode power systems

Xiaoyao Feng
Ph.D. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research interests:
- Computational electromagnetics
- Electromagnetic time-reversal methods
- Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
- Acoustics and Multiphysics

Brad Chevarie
MSc Engineering student, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B., Canada
Research interests:
- Advanced control systems
- Advanced predictive controls
- Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)
- Deep learning

Chang Xu
MASc, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
Research Interest:
1. LiDAR Simultaneous Localization and Mapping
2. Control Systems and Automation

Josiane Ostiguy
MSc Physical Oceanography student, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
Research interests:
- Acoustical oceanography
- Ocean ambient sound
- Oceanographic instrumentation

Mark Henderson
Master of Engineering student, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada
Research interests:
- Robot path/motion planning
- Social robotics
- Mobile robot design

Hamed Bozorgi
Master of Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada
Research interests:
- Robotics perception
- Machine learning and deep learning
- Sensor fusion
- Pattern recognition
- Data analysis

Apurva Deota
Graduated May 2020, MASc, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dalhousie University Halifax, N.S., Canada

Nurul B. Ibrahim
BSc student, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Research Interests
- Ocean Acoustics
- Fish Detection Systems & Methods
- Autonomous Ocean Platforms
- Data Analysis

Graham Ching
BSc student, Sustainable Design Engineering, University of Prince Edward Island
Research Interests:
● Perception and navigation
● Industrial automation
● Machine learning

Zachary Wallot-Beale
iMERIT trainee summer term 2019, Dalhousie University, Halifax, N.S., Canada
BSc student, Department of Marine Biology