Sina Kianfar

My academic career in Mechanical Engineering began at the Babol Noshirvani University of Technology (BNUT), where I started my BSc study majoring in Manufacturing. Completing specialized Manufacturing courses and labs, and usually being one of the top students, I made a strong background and perceptive in the Manufacturing field. After my BSc, I participated in the Iran national entrance examination for the MSc program, where I succeeded in gaining a rank of 120 among 25,000 Mechanical Engineer participants. The result was the opportunity of pursuing my MSc career in one of the top-tier universities in my country, Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST). My research at IUST was on investigation of the high-temperature creep crack growth of superalloys. Having graduated and being enthusiastic about applying my skillset in industries, I participated in a massive recruitment competition of the Iran Railways (IRIR), whose examination and selection processes took about one year. Finally, I succeeded in being one of the 90 engineers accepted among 100,000 participants and started my new role as a Wagon Researcher Expert at the Research and Training Center. Meanwhile, I was working to achieve my dream of studying Ph.D. at a prestigious university abroad in my spare time.

The first time I read Prof. Sediako’s research summary and biography, I was captivated by his impressive industry and academic research background, which made me believe that I had found my future supervisor. After several follow-up emails, the opportunity of virtual interviews, etc., the dream finally came true. I started my Ph.D. under his supervision, and from the very early stages of studying, his impacts on my life have been enormous. Not only my supervisor, but also he is my life mentor and role model, who taught me self-discipline and hard work.

Working under Prof. Sediako’s supervision, I have had the exceptional opportunity to develop a fundamental understanding of residual stress evolution in powertrain components during manufacturing processes, from theoretical to numerical and experimental aspects. In addition, being in the HPPM team gives me an edge on collaboration with outstanding international companies and research laboratories, such as Ford Motor Co, Nemak Canada, Nemak International, Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Australia, and Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL), Tennessee, USA. Now that I am finishing my Ph.D., I am more passionate than ever before to enter the world of Canada’s leading industries.

If I am not working on my research, I like to read books, play Setar (a traditional Persian musical instrument), and plant flowers. I am also interested in outside activities like jogging, biking and camping in the Beautiful British Columbia parks.