MRL, People

Lab members

The MRL is made up of a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate students who study a broad range of manufacturing processes, applications, and industry-related research topics.

Leadership

Lab directors

Dr. Hossam Kishawy

Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science · Professor

BSc · MSc · PhD · P.Eng

My research interests cover several aspects of advanced manufacturing and sustainable manufacturing processes, environmentally friendly processes, optimization, design and stress analysis.

My recent book entitled “Machining Difficult-to-Cut Materials: Basic Principles and Challenges” (published by Springer) presents the state of the art research related to the machining of difficult to cut materials and findings in the area of machining mechanics as well as surface quality and integrity. Together with my research group, I have a patent and my work has been featured in over 200 publications in reputable journals, conferences and book chapters. During my research career, I have supervised over 30 Masters and Ph.D. students.

Dr. Ali Hosseini

Associate Professor

BSc · MSc · PhD · P.Eng

I received my PhD in Mechanical Engineering and completed a one year postdoc at Ontario Tech University. I started my independent research career as a tenure-track assistant professor at Ontario Tech in 2018 and became the university’s first alumnus to transition to a tenure-track faculty member with the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science.

I am currently one of the directors of the Machining Research Laboratory (MRL) with research focused on the combination of additive and subtractive manufacturing, both implementing and building upon my experience. As a principal investigator or co-applicant, I have been awarded several research grants including NSERC Discovery Grant, NSERC Research Tools and Instruments, NSERC Innovation Link Grant, Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund, and the Ontario Tech Student Success Innovation Fund. In 2021, I was interviewed on the science series Colossal Machines, a program produced by Toronto’s Go Button Media and Autentic Media of Munich, Germany. In Episode 6 (‘Mammoth Manufacturing’) I discuss the world’s largest 3D printer that prints a full vehicle and an enormous Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine that creates parts with ultra-precision. I am currently serving the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering as the vice-chair of the Manufacturing Technical Committee and a Technical Editor for the CSME bulletin. I am also a licensed member of the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO). In recent years I have been actively engaged in outreach activities with PEO Lake Ontario Chapter and helped them organizing Mathletics, a competition designed to create a passion in the application of mathematics in solving day-to-day scientific and engineering problems for high school students.

The team

Current Lab Members

Current members

Doctoral Students

Mehrdad Sadeghieh

PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering

Supervisor: Dr. Hosseini

Hi! I’m Mehrdad, a Ph.D. student in the Machining Research Lab. I completed my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in mechanical engineering at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. During my undergraduate studies, I became interested in trajectory planning and its effects on production processes and the behaviour of final parts. For this reason, I pursued my M.Sc. thesis on developing a trajectory planning algorithm for devices operating in non-cartesian coordinate systems. My Ph.D. research focuses on developing trajectory planning strategies for metal additive manufacturing processes in which I will be investigating the effect of nozzle trajectory on the behaviour of the final parts and how trajectory optimization could improve the production process. Hopefully this work will play a small role in further utilizing more sustainable production methods. Aside from lab duties I would prefer to spend my free time on reading plays, and watching almost all that can be found on the silver screen.

Tim Clarke

PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering

Supervisor: Dr. Hosseini

I first began working with 3D printers in 2016 by building my first printer from a kit. Since then I have continued to work with 3D printers by developing techniques for large scale fused filament fabrication and design of large scale 3D printers. After working for three years, I returned to Ontario Tech to pursue a Master's of Applied Science degree. My research has been focused on the structural modeling of fused filament fabricated materials and predicting failure from the parameters used to manufacture them. Starting in the Fall of 2023, I will begin a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering and continue this work further into 5-axis fused filament fabrication 3D printing.

Current members

Masters Students

Asim Ghaffar

MASc Student, Mechanical Engineering

Supervisors: Dr. Hosseini

I’m Asim, a Masters of Applied Science student in Mechanical Engineering at Ontario Tech University. I completed my Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering at University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. My journey with MRL began in the summer of 2023, when I joined as a Mitacs Globalink research intern. I had the opportunity to work on the porosity analysis for failure prediction of additively manufactured metals. This exposure developed interest in me especially to explore the machining characteristics of 3D printed metals. To pursue my interest, I have resumed my journey as a Masters student in winter 2025. This opportunity has provided me with an exciting challenge to explore my area of interest and further develop my research aptitude.

Current members

Undergraduate Students

Stella MPON

MITACS Globalink Research Intern

Supervisor: Dr. Hosseini

Hi! I’m Stella, a Mitacs Globalink Research Intern joining the MRL team for the summer of 2026. I am currently pursuing an engineering degree (Diplôme d’Ingénieur) in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at ISAE-ENSMA in Poitiers, France. My research at MRL, which began in May 2026, centers on the machinability analysis of additively manufactured metals. Specifically, my project focuses on extracting parameters for the Johnson–Cook constitutive model to simulate quasi-static tensile tests for both wrought and Material Extrusion (FFF/MFFF) materials. This opportunity allows me to actively develop my passions for manufacturing processes, finite element modelling, and the mechanical characterization of advanced metallic materials.

Enrique Selter

MITACS Globalink Research Intern

Supervisor: Dr. Hosseini

Hello, I’m Enrique Selter, a bachelor’s student in mechanical engineering at Dortmund Technical University. For the past three years, I’ve been working at the Institute for Machining Technology (ISF), where I’ve gained hands-on experience operating machinery, conducting experiments, and analyzing test results. Through the Mitacs internship program, I had the opportunity to work at Ontario Tech University and further explore additive manufacturing and advanced production technologies. I am particularly interested in additive metal manufacturing, its possibilities, and its potential for more resource-efficient and sustainable production. Through my academic and practical experiences, I am continuously expanding my knowledge in the fields of manufacturing and engineering.

Johannes Schulte-Pelkum

MITACS Globalink Research Intern

Supervisor: Dr. Hosseini

Hello there, my name is Johannes, and I am an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student at TU Dortmund University. Alongside my studies, I work at the Institute of Machining Technology (ISF) in Dortmund. I started working there shortly after beginning my degree and have been part of the institute for almost three years. This experience completely sparked my interest in machining technology and showed me the incredible versatility of the field. Combined with my personal passion for Additive Manufacturing (specifically 3D printing with polymers), I was very keen to learn about Dr. Hosseini’s research on machining additively manufactured metal parts. During his stay at our institute, I accompanied him in conducting his experiments, which is also how I found out about the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program. Besides my Academic work I like to spend my time with photography, Building cool Stuff like an E-Skateboard or anything else thats got to do with Tech.

Alumni