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.

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.

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.

Tornadoes are vigorously rotating columns of air capable of inflicting substantial damage on individual structures as well as entire communities. For example, Canada receives around 100 tornadoes annually and this number is much higher in the United States (~1000). My research is based on physical simulations of surface pressures and aerodynamic forces exerted by three different tornado-like vortices on multiple buildings with realistic design in a planned urban community. The experiments were performed in the Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment (WindEEE) Dome tornado simulator at Western University.

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.

I am developing a user-friendly interface that will incorporate different analytical models of downburst outflows. Downbursts are strong downdrafts of negatively buoyant air that emerge from a storm and spread radially upon hitting the earth's surface. The code and the interface are written in Matlab. The goal of this research is to create an interface that the researchers and engineers can use to easily assess different analytical models of downburst winds.

A severe thunderstorm hit southwestern Quebec on the afternoon of 13 July 2023 causing damaging downburst winds and intense downpours in Montreal, as well as a tornado in Mirabel. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power, the majority of them in the Montreal area. In my research, I am using data from a LiDAR wind profiler installed at the McGill campus in downtown Montreal to investigate the evolution and dynamics of the atmospheric boundary layer prior to the thunderstorm. I am also analyzing the vertical profiles of wind velocity prior to and during the damaging downburst.

System dynamics is a methodology used to model the nonlinear behavior of complex systems over time. System dynamics uses stocks, flows, internal feedback loops, and time delays to model various linear and nonlinear interactions in a system. In my research, I use system dynamics to model the resilience of a wind farm to extreme weather. Resilience is the capacity of a system (i.e., wind farm) to withstand or quickly recover from severe weather impacts and return to optimal performance. I am collaborating with Dara Kiley on this researhc project.

A wind turbine uses the power of wind to create electricity. As such, wind turbines are also exposed to different severe weather conditions over their lifetime of approximately 20-30 years. I am looking into how different components of a wind turbine and a wind farm can be affected by severe weather. In this research, I am working together with Chinmay Desai on incorporating the damage data into a system dynamics framework to model the resilience of wind turbines to high-impact weather.