PhD Students

Mohammad Hadavi (2021-)

My research focuses on the interactions between thunderstorm winds and urban environments using computational fluid dynamics and climatology of thunderstorm winds. In addition, an experimental campaign in Montreal using lidar wind profilers and other weather observing instruments will be a part of my research project.

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Quinn Dyer-Hawes (2022-)

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to human activities are identified as the main cause of global climate change. Some of the well-known GHGs are carbon dioxide and methane. Observational and numerical studies of GHG emissions and their distributions in Canadian cities are rare. My research goals are to simulate the dispersion processes of the GHGs using high-resolution numerical models. The goal is to improve our understanding of the effects of meteorological conditions and urban morphology on GHG distribution at the urban block level. My research is focused on downtown Montreal in QC, Canada.


Ahmed Maky (2023-)

Seismic loading is related to the effects of an earthquake on a structure. Similarly, wind loading describes the wind forces exerted on a strcture. These two profoundly different loading cases are normally investigated independently because the likelihood of these two disasters occurring simultneously is negligible. However, a series of seismic and thunderstorm wind loads over a design lifetime of a structure is non-negligible . In my research, I am developing a multi-hazard analysis framework for subsequent seismic and thunderstorm disasters.

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Masoud Moeini (2024-)

With over 50% of global population living in urban areas, investigation of dynamics and evolution of urban boundary layers was never more pressing. Urban boundary layer is the first approximately 1 km of the atmosphere above an urban environment. The exchange of momentum, heat, pollution and moisture between the urban surface and the atmosphere is taking place through the urban boundary layer. In my research, I use a long-range Doppler lidar profiler to investigate the mean properties and turbulence in the urban boundary layer above downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada.


Aubert Lamy (2025-)

My research focuses on developing a comprehensive natural hazard and risk modeling framework that integrates multiple meteorological hazards into a unified system for assessing impacts on the built and energy structure and infrastructure. This interdisciplinary framework aims to account for hazard interdependencies and spatial variability in exposure and vulnerability, making it adaptable for use in disaster risk management and weather and climate resilience planning. A second core component of my work involves conducting constrained stochastic simulations of extreme winds using Monte Carlo methods. However, these simulations are conditioned on reported damaging wind gusts that have impacted specific structures and infrastructures, enabling the generation of statistically robust wind fields that are physically consistent with reported damage.


MSc Students

Arya Toghraei (2023-)

Current research shows that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is spread via inhalation of infectious respiratory particles of varying sizes -- known as aerosol, which include both smaller particles and larger droplets. These particles suspended in the air can travel across a classroom or an office. Therefore, the effectiveness of ventilation systems in an indoor environment and the occupancy of the room play an important role in the spread of viruses. My research focuses on the measurements of the amount of endogenously versus exogenously generated aerosol particles in occupied classrooms and graduate student offices under different occupancy and ventilation scenarios.


Visiting Students

Nalini Dookie (2025)

My research centers on conducting a literature review of the policies and practices that Barbados has implemented to address meteorological and climate hazards. This work involves critically analyzing governmental reports, academic publications, and international assessments to identify how the country managesi high-impact weather risks. The review aims to evaluate the effectiveness, gaps, and evolution of Barbados’ disaster risk reduction strategies, early warning systems, climate adaptation plans, and institutional frameworks. My research will offer insights for strengthening policy responses to natural hazards in small island states.


Amna Darwish (2025)

Shamma Hukal and I investigate the economic and social dimensions of the urban heat island effect in the United Arab Emirates. The study aims to synthesize existing knowledge on how the urban heat island effect may adversely impact key sectors such as energy consumption, by increasing cooling demands; public health, by exacerbating heat-related illnesses and discomfort; and urban planning, by challenging the design of livable and climate-resilient cities in arid environments. Through a critical analysis of academic studies, government reports, and international case studies, the research seeks to identify knowledge gaps, assess the relevance of global urban heat island mitigation strategies to the United Arab Emirates context, and highlight the broader implications of urban heat island on sustainable development in rapidly urbanizing desert regions.


Shamma Hukal (2025)

Amna Darwish and I investigate the economic and social dimensions of the urban heat island effect in the United Arab Emirates. The study aims to synthesize existing knowledge on how the urban heat island effect may adversely impact key sectors such as energy consumption, by increasing cooling demands; public health, by exacerbating heat-related illnesses and discomfort; and urban planning, by challenging the design of livable and climate-resilient cities in arid environments. Through a critical analysis of academic studies, government reports, and international case studies, the research seeks to identify knowledge gaps, assess the relevance of global urban heat island mitigation strategies to the United Arab Emirates context, and highlight the broader implications of urban heat island on sustainable development in rapidly urbanizing desert regions.


Undergraduate Students

Devon Gulley (2024)

I conduct literature review research on downburst winds. Downbursts are intense windstorms associated with thunderstorm clouds. Vertical profiles of downburst wind velocity exibit a nose-like shape, which is profoundly different from a logarithmic-like wind profile in the atmospheric boundary layer. Moreover, downbursts are transient wind phenomena with complex three-dimensional flow. As such, they pose a series threat to the built and natural environments.


Rich Chen (2024-2025)

Atmospheric boundary layer is a region of the atmosphere that is closest to the ground. This layer of the atmosphere is approximately 1 km deep in mid-latitudes. Atmospheric boundary layer above an urban surface is known as the urban boundary layer. I am using a Doppler lidar to investigate the dynamics and response of urban boundary layer above downtown Montreal during the 2024 total solar eclipse that took place on 8 April 2024.


Marek Detière-Venkatesh (2025)

My research employs a System Dynamics approach to investigate the resilience of wind farms to tornadoes. Considering the diverse range of potential damage and associated losses, I utilize System Dynamics methods to evaluate strategies for enhancing wind farm resilience. This research is particularly important in the context of a changing climate, where the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are expected to increase. By improving resourcefulness, reducing recovery times, and optimizing other critical variables, this work aims to mitigate the impact of tornado events on wind energy infrastructure.


Lucas Malatesta (2025)

Downbursts are powerful downdrafts originating from thunderstorm clouds that spread radially upon impacting the surface. Wind gusts in severe downburst outflows can exceed 50 m/s. My research focuses on investigating the surface pressure signatures and patterns associated with downburst-like impinging jets, generated in the WindEEE Dome at Western University, Canada—the world's largest wind tunnel dedicated to simulating downburst winds. This study aims to enhance understanding of horizontal pressure gradient forces and the resulting accelerations within these intense thunderstorm wind events.


Yong Jian Li (2025)

My research explores the use of photography to investigate the complexity of clouds in the atmosphere, treating complexity as a physical quantity linked to the amount of information required to describe a system's structure. By capturing high-resolution images of various cloud formations and analyzing them using tools from information theory and image processing, I aime to quantify how cloud structures vary in their spatial complexity across different atmospheric conditions.


Former group members

Doctoral students

  1. Ninghui Li (2022–2023): Analysis of coastal winds using Doppler lidar profiler.

Master students

  1. Ruijia Yang (2023–2024): Tornado wind loads on a community of low-rise buildings.
  2. Katie Simzer (2021–2023): Idealized dual-Doppler retrieval of downburst-like winds.
  3. Masoud Moeini (2020–2022): Interaction between downburst outflows and atmospheric boundary layer winds.

Visiting students

  1. Nuora Alsuwaidi (2024): Climatology and machine learning analysis of dust stroms in Abu Dhabi.
  2. Antonia Marks (2024): Response of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to back-to-back natural hazards.
  3. Sanola Sandiford (2022): A study of Hurricane Elsa's effect on Barbados.

Undergraduate research students

  1. Maria Paquin (2024): Multiscale analysis of a cold front event.
  2. Katya Britton (2022-2024): Developing a user-friendly interface for analytical downburst wind models.
  3. Qabas Imbewa (2024): Surface pressures in downburst-like impinging jets.
  4. Chinmay Desai (2023-2024): System dynamics modeling of tornado damage to wind turbines.
  5. Felix Belair (2023–2024): Lidar analysis of urban boundary layer prior to and during a severe thunderstorm.
  6. Dara Kiley (2024): System dynamics application in wind energy.
  7. Patrick Lan (2023): Surface pressures in downburst-like impinging jets.
  8. Lucas Petropoulos (2023): Literature review of analytical models of downbursts.
  9. Lalita Vavatsikos (2023): Estimating the kinematics of a downburst through video footage analysis.
  10. Romane Bouchard (2022): Monte Carlo modelling of tornado hazard to wind turbines in Germany.
  11. Joseph Samuel (2021): Vulnerability curves for wind turbines in tornadoes.
  12. Lutong Sun (2021): Analysis of catastrophic wind losses in Quebec and Ontario in the period 2010-2020.

Prospective Students

Please contact me at this address for informal enquiries about joining my research group. See our graduate programs page to officially apply for graduate study in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department at McGill University.