Members

Maryam joined Dr. Mohseni’s research group as a part of her Ph.D. program in Chemical Engineering at Sharif University of Technology, Iran. Her doctoral research focused on the synthesis of green bio-composites as promising adsorbents and photocatalysts for AOPs applications. She started working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia after completing her Ph.D. Since then, Maryam has been involved in managing, supervising and participating in multiple projects related to providing and developing innovative and effective methods for measuring atmospheric ionic deposition and also water treatments with UV/VUV AOPs and Ion Exchange resins. She has also dedicated a part of her research to removing emerging contaminants, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, from water with novel techniques.

Maryam is looking forward to turning her research and innovations into practical solutions that enhance the quality of life in communities, drawing on over a decade of academic and industrial experience.

In her current role, Rachel works with Indigenous communities in British Columbia to understand water security risks and climate vulnerabilities, and co-develop adaptation and mitigation strategies. She also coordinates the parallel work at the NFRF partner institutions, University of Colorado Boulder and the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (with partner communities in Kenya, South Sudan, Norway and Alaska), to achieve the overall project goal of creating a Global Water Security Toolkit.

Rachel has practical experience working with and learning from rural communities and small-scale drinking water systems around the world, including in Colombia, Malawi, Nepal and now, Canada. During her M.A.Sc., she used both qualitative and quantitative research methods to improve microbial water quality monitoring in resource-limited contexts. Rachel has also held consulting roles for UNICEF and In Exchange, where she gained further insight into how research is practically applied to create meaningful impacts. Additionally, she gained management experience while coordinating the national graduate training programme, WASH Canada. As a non-Indigenous settler, Rachel is committed to continuous learning and unlearning in support of reconciliation.

Michael completed his bachelor's degree in Nanotechnology Engineering at the University of Waterloo in 2020. His interest in water remediation was sparked by his co-op placements at H2NanO  where he worked to develop nanocatalysts to treat naphthenic acids in the Alberta tailings ponds. Michael continued his work with water treatment technologies at Environment and Climate Change Canada where he investigated oil spill remediation methods, and during his undergraduate thesis on developing on-site microplastic detectors. Now a PhD candidate at UBC, Michael is applying his experience with nanomaterials to water treatment; researching novel adsorbent materials which selectively adhere to per- and polyfluoronalkyl substances (PFAS).
When not at school Michael enjoys hiking, cycling, and reading a book with a warm pot of tea.

William is a PhD candidate interested in improving water treatment systems particularly for resource-constrained communities. His primary research is in optimizing regeneration and backwashing of ion exchange resins for removing natural organic matter. Along the way, he has collaborated with industry and community partners in projects ranging from microbial monitoring in water distribution systems to PFAS adsorption from landfill liquid waste.

Simeng is a Ph.D. student in Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia. Her previous research was related to natural organic matter removal using biological ion exchange resins. Her current research focuses on developing novel adsorbents for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) removal in drinking water treatment.

Pezhman Abbasi is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of British Columbia, working under the supervision of Dr. Madjid Mohseni. Pezhman received both his Bachelor’s (2020) and Master’s (2023) degrees in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology. He ranked among the top 10 students in his undergraduate program and placed first among graduate applicants in Environmental Engineering. His M.Sc. thesis investigated the removal of pharmaceutical micropollutants using a bio-membrane electrochemical reactor, combining experimental studies with artificial intelligence-based predictive modeling. He joined the Sustainable Water Innovation Research Laboratory (SWIRL) in 2024 to develop scalable electrochemical technologies for the degradation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water systems. His current research focuses on integrating experimental and computational approaches particularly UV-assisted electrochemical oxidation, kinetic modeling, and COMSOL Multiphysics simulations to optimize PFAS degradation under various water matrices.

Ghazaleh Mozafari began her graduate studies at the University of British Columbia with a Master of Applied Science, where she developed expertise in signal processing and machine learning by creating an early fault detection framework for biomass reactors. Inspired to tackle larger environmental challenges, she began exploring data‑driven approaches to climate change and water security. Now a PhD student in Chemical and Biological Engineering at UBC, her research integrates machine learning with community‑based knowledge to enhance climate resilience in remote and Indigenous communities.
In her free time, she enjoys creating new recipes and capturing moments through photography.

Research Scientist at Trojan Technologies, London, Ontario

Engineer at HDR Inc., Vancouver, B.C.

Assistant Professor at Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica.

Process Engineer at MWH Treatment, United Kingdom.

Water Wastewater Engineer - AWC Water Solutions Ltd., Vancouver.

Water treatment specialist at Stantec.

Assistant Professor of Teaching and Educational Leadership, UBC, Vancouver, BC

Co-Founder and CEO at Aqua Intelligent Technology, Vancouver, BC

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UMass Amherst, USA

Project Manager - Water Engineer at Jacobs, Vancouver BC

Research Scientist, Walkerton Clean Water Center (WCWC), ON