Latest News

Yasaman, Zixuan, and David attended the Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference (CSChE 2024) in Toronto. Yasaman presented her research on CO2 valorization via reverse water-gas shift reaction using Cu/Al2O3-Ce2O3 catalysts. Zixuan shared her project on CO2 conversion to light hydrocarbons over K/Fe2O3-Al2O3 synthesized via reverse microemulsion method. David presented Kishore and Carol’s work on insights into mechanisms of reverse water-gas shift activity enhancement over reverse microemulsion synthesized CuCeO2. The conference sparked numerous insightful and productive conversations with scholars and industry professionals from around the world.

Maryory Ocana joined David’s research group in September 2024. She is pursing MASc. in Chemical Engineering. We are excited to welcome her to the lab! Maryory brings fresh perspectives and enthusiasm, and we can’t wait to see the contributions she’ll make.

Anik and David attended 27th Canadian Symposium on Catalysis (CSC 2024) held in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Anik presented his project on CO2 conversion to syngas using transition metal carbides and David presented Carol’s work on CO2 conversion to light hydrocarbons over reverse microemulsion synthesized catalysts. There were a lot of very interesting and productive conversations with scholars and industry from around the world.

As Carol steps into a new chapter, we want to take a moment to reflect on her time with us in the lab. Her dedication, insight, and warmth have made a lasting impact on each of us. It’s hard to imagine the lab without her, but we are excited to see her pursue new opportunities and grow. Carol, you’ll be missed, but you’ll always be part of this team. Best of luck in all that’s ahead! Thank you for everything.

With a mix of emotions, we gathered to bid adieu to Guanjie and Kishore, two exceptional individuals who have enriched our group in countless ways. As they embark on new adventures, let’s wish Guanjie and Kishore success and happiness. Thank you Guanjie and Kishore for being part of our journey.

Carol, Guanjie and David attended 27th International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering (ISCRE-27) held in Quebec City.

Welcome to Anik and Wenxuan! We’re excited to have you join us and contribute your unique talents to our team. As we bid farewell to Yichen and Muhammad, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for their valuable contributions and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Anik Ashirwadam joined David’s research group in May 2023. He is pursing MASc. in Chemical Engineering.

Wenxuan Xia joined David’s research group in May 2023. He is pursing MASc. in Chemical Engineering.

David has attended the 26th Canadian Symposium on Catalysis in Vancouver and gave an invited talk on the Reverse Microemulsion Synthesis of High Specific Surface Area Transition Metal Carbides for Thermocatalytic Conversion of CO2. This research has been conducted by Carol and Guanjie and resulted so far in 2 publications (more is coming): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0920586120305800 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11244-020-01411-y

Congratulations to Yichen for completing his PhD degree and graduating. We wish him the best for his future!

Prof. Simakov has been promoted to Associate Professor and awarded Tenure. Congratulations David!!!

Prof. Simakov has received the prestigious Ontario Early Researcher Award (ERA) to conduct research on CO2 Capture & Utilization via Power-to-Gas Conversion to Renewable Synthetic Fuels. Congratulations David!!!

Kishore joined University of Waterloo in September 2021. He is pursing MASc. in Chemical Engineering. He will work on the catalyst development for CO2 methanation.

Congratulations to Anastasiia for completing her MASc degree and graduating. We wish her the best on her upcoming new position and move to Montreal!

Congratulations to Muhammad for completing his Ph.D. degree and graduating. We wish him the best on his upcoming position and move back to Pakistan!

Guanjie’s paper on reverse water gas shift using reverse microemulsion-based molybdenum carbide is published in Topics in Catalysis. Congratulations!!!

Nichthima’s paper on the dry methane reforming using hierarchical Ni nanosheets is published in The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering. This is a joint paper with the King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok. Congratulations!!!

Nichthima’s paper on the effect of CeO2 doping on the Ni/Al2O3-MgO reforming catalyst is published in Catalysts. Congratulations!!!

A joint paper with Prof. Walker from the University of South Alabama is published in the International Journal of Energy Research. This article reports the use of the analytical heirarchy process for selection of methanation catalysts based on their environmental impacts. Congratulations to Carol on her contribution!

Edris Madadian, the recipient of the inaugural AMTD Waterloo Global Talent Postdoctoral Fellowship, is featured on the University’s home page, and the webpage of the Faculty of Engineering.

CO₂ methanation over alumina-supported cobalt oxide and carbide synthesized by reverse microemulsion method is published in Catalysis Today. Congratulations!

Edris arrives at Waterloo recording some beauties of Atlantic to Central Canada.

Welcome to Edris Madadian, who will be starting a Post-Doc with Prof. Simakov in 2020. Edris was awarded the prestigious AMTD Waterloo Global Talent Postdoctoral Fellowship by the University of Waterloo.

Research group students celebrated the end of term at Hilton Falls Conservation Area on Saturday, August 15th.

Yue started her PhD with Prof. Simakov in 2020 after she got her master’s degree in the same group in 2019. Yue was pursuing her MASc. in chemical engineering co-supervised by David Simakov and Aiping Yu. Her research focused on catalysts investigation for CO₂ methanation.

Anastasiia joined University of Waterloo in September 2019. She is pursing MASc. in Chemical Engineering. She will work in the area of methanation reactor design and modelling in Prof.Simakov’s group.

Congratulations to Sogol for completing her MASc degree and graduating. We wish her the best on her upcoming new position and move back to Alberta!

A joint paper (with Harvard University, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences) on the periodically forced non-isothermal oscillator is published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry A. Congratulations!

Congratulations to Guanjie, Yue and Sogol for their successful thesis MASc. defense this week.