Professor Li and his
students conduct sponsored research in physical metallurgy, welding of
steels, materials processing, additive manufacturing of metallic
parts, and testing of mechanical properties of engineering
structures.
The current and former group members have published
papers, offered courses, and made contributions to materials
engineering.
Nitin Saini obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. His main research interests are physical and welding metallurgy of creep strength enhanced ferritic (CSEF) steels, their heat treatments and residual stresses in the welded joints. Nitin joined Dr. Li's group in May 2019 as a visiting doctoral fellow sponsored by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), India. In November 2020, Nitin re-joined Dr. Li's group as a postdoctoral fellow. In his spare time, he enjoys playing badminton, traveling and cooking.
Suvan Dev Choudhury obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) Deemed to be University, India. His bachelors thesis was on production of Magnesium-Aluminum alloys and mechanical characterization of the alloys. He has also worked on other machining processes including die-cast EDM and wire EDM. Suvan joined Dr. Li’s group in Fall 2019 to do research in physical and welding metallurgy for pipeline steels. In his spare time, he enjoys travelling, cooking and exploring new places.
Zhe Lyu recently graduated from Mechanical Engineering at the
University of Alberta. As a Dean's Research Award scholar, Zhe was working under graduate students and receiving training in heat-treating, sample preparation equipment, data acquisition and processing, and metallography.
From summer 2020, Zhe has become our newest PhD student in the group. He is working on modeling of thermo-mechanical processes, as well as on physical metallurgy of pressure vessel steels.
Ravikiran Kopparthi completed his Bachelor’s in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Rajiv Gandhi University and Master’s in Welding Engineering from National Institute of Technology - Trichy, India. His Master’s thesis was on the structure-property correlation of dissimilar metal welding between ferritic and austenitic stainless steels using Nickel-based welding consumables. He has work experience in the line pipe manufacturing for oil and gas and he also worked on the characterization of thermal spray coatings for gas turbine blades. Ravi joined Dr. Li’s research group in Fall 2020 to do research in physical and welding metallurgy. He enjoys riding motorcycles and playing cricket in his spare time.
Waris Nawaz Khan obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, India, after his visit at Dr. Li's group as a doctoral fellow sponsored by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB). He returned to Dr. Li's group as a postdoc in October 2022, researching in physical metallurgy applied to energy systems.
Zachary Tervonen received his BSc in Materials Engineering from the University of Alberta in June 2018. In May 2016, he was awarded the American Society for Metals Prize in Materials Engineering. He joined Dr. Li’s research group in Fall 2021 and is currently pursuing a MSc in Materials Engineering with research based on investigating innovative surface treatments used to improve the mechanical properties of WC/steel brazed joints. In his spare time, he enjoys rock climbing, reading, and writing.
Pejman Hajipour received his BSc in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering from Isfahan University of Technology, Iran. He joined Dr. Li’s group in Fall 2022 and is currently pursuing a MSc in Materials Engineering. His current research focuses on experimental and simulation studies of Deep Cryogenic Heat treatment of ground engaging devices (GED). He enjoys watching movies, cycling and gaming in his spare time.
Ellis Moldrich is an undergraduate at the University of Sheffield, currently studying for an MEng Aerospace degree. He joined Dr. Li's research group as part of the Mitacs accelerate program in December 2022 and works between Innotech Alberta and the University of Alberta. His research will focus on WAAM applications for energy and mining equipment and metal based AM technology. In his spare time, Ellis enjoys gaming, photography and playing different sports.