Principal Investigator
Dr. Seifitokaldani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McGill University. His research lab unites experiment and theory to address the issues of energy consumption, CO2 conversion and biowastes upgrading via an efficient and cost-effective conversion of renewable electricity into stored chemical energy. His lab is focused on materials discovery based on the density functional theory (DFT) computations, and develops new electrocatalysts and electrochemical systems for electrochemical reactions.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Abdulwahab Salah
Dr. Salah earned his Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Northeast Normal University (NENU), China, in January 2023. From February 2023 to August 2025, he held postdoctoral positions at NENU in China and at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) in Saudi Arabia. His research has focused on developing advanced electrocatalysts for hydrogen production, water splitting, and energy storage. In September 2025, he joined the Electrocatalysis Laboratory at McGill University as a postdoctoral researcher, where he is focusing on designing and synthesizing electrocatalysts for the CO2 reduction reaction to advance sustainable carbon utilization technologies.
Dr. Li Shi
Li completed his Ph.D. in Energy and Materials Sciences at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) in July 2023, under the supervision of Professor Federico Rosei. His doctoral research concentrated on the development of MOF-templated metal and metal oxide electrodes, with a particular emphasis on their applications in energy conversion and storage. In September 2024, he joined the Electrocatalysis Lab as a postdoctoral fellow, where he is now focused on exploring innovative methods for CO2 conversion through electrocatalysis, aiming to develop sustainable technologies for carbon utilization.
Dr. Mahdi Salehi
Mahdi completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering at McGill University. He completed his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering at Sharif University of Technology and University of Tehran, respectively. He is focused on developing active and stable electrocatalytic systems for CO2 reduction reaction. In his spare time, Mahdi plays futsal (indoor soccer) and enjoys listening to pop music.
Dr. Sathishkumar Nadaraj
Sathish received his Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry from Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan, in July 2022. He then pursued postdoctoral research at California State University, Northridge (April 2023 – June 2024) and Duquesne University, Pittsburgh (July 2024 – December 2024), in the United States. His research focused on the design of advanced electrocatalysts for energy conversion and storage, combining density functional theory (DFT) simulations with experimental collaborations to elucidate reaction mechanisms and accelerate catalyst development. In June 2025, he joined the Electrocatalysis Laboratory at McGill University as a postdoctoral fellow, where his work centers on the electrochemical conversion of CO2 and nitrogen-containing compounds into value-added chemicals.
Dr. Saroj Kumari
Saroj is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McGill University. Her current research focuses on the computational design of catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 into value-added products. Her doctoral research was focused on the understanding role of transition metals as heterogeneous biomimetic CO2 hydration catalysts, with emphasis on surface chemistry and facet-dependent catalytic activities for CO2 utilization. She also worked on modelling perovskite-based catalysts and explored intermetallic compounds as hydrogen storage materials, employing density functional theory (DFT) and advanced simulations to understand and design materials for sustainable energy conversion and storage.Â
Dr. Sina Pourebrahimi
Sina is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Electrocatalysis Lab, which he joined in October 2024. He received his PhD from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. His main expertise lies in the design and synthesis of advanced catalysts for heterogeneous catalysis, including electrocatalysis for the conversion of biomass, CO2, and micropollutants into value-added chemicals and compounds. In his leisure time, he enjoys cooking, going to the gym, spending time with his cat, watching movies, and hiking. Â
Dr. Xin Liu
Xin Liu is a FRQNT-supported postdoctoral scholar in Professor Seifitokaldani’s research group. Her expertise lies in the synthesis of quantum dots and their utilization in harnessing solar energy for electricity generation and hydrogen production. Her current research direction, which is guided by collaboration with Prof. Guay from INRS, involves the investigation of single-atom materials and porous materials for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction.
Grad Students
Alaleh Esfandiari
Alaleh is a Chemical Engineering PhD student at McGill University. She studied Materials Science and Engineering at University of Tehran. Her project is on developing single atom catalyst for CO2 electroreduction to value-added products such as alcohol.
Amirhossein Farzi
Amirhossein is a Chemical Engineering PhD student at McGill University. He studied Chemical Engineering and Economics in his bachelor’s and Catalysis during his master’s at Sharif University of Technology in Iran. His project is mainly associated with computational methods such as DFT and applying them to the electrocatalytic systems. In his free times, Amirhossein enjoys reading novels, cooking foods and listening to the music.
Chris Akl
Felix Pelletier
Master student.
Hamed Heidarpour
Hamed is a PhD student at McGill University. He completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Sharif University of Technology. His current research focuses on the development of electrochemical systems for the conversion of CO2 and nitrogenous compounds into valuable chemicals.
Jiayin (Eve) Zhang
Eve is graduated from Beijing University of Chemical Technology with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering and an LL.B. with a minor in Law, joined the group in the summer of 2024 and is currently pursuing her master’s degree.
Obaida Zeno
Santiago Quesada Bonet
Santi joined the Electrocatalysis Lab in Fall 2025 as a Graduate Research Trainee from the Polytechnic of Turin (Italy). With a strong background in Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry, he is contributing to research on the design and synthesis of metal–organic catalysts for the electrochemical conversion of CO2 into value-added products such as ethylene, ethanol, and methane.Outside the lab, he enjoys staying active through soccer, swimming, and working out at the gym. He is also passionate about exploring nature, often spending his free time hiking.
Varshiga Vijayakumar
Varshiga completed her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Western University. She has previously done research work focused on methanol production through hydrogenation of carbon dioxide. She worked as a Process EIT at SAF+ International Group, focusing on the design of a commercial green aviation fuel plant, and as a project management intern at Ontario Power Generation’s nuclear generating site. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree at McGill University focused on process simulations and feasibility of novel electrochemical technologies.
William Yang
After a fruitful summer research at the electrocatalysis lab, William decided to pursue more research as a master student. His research focuses on direct air capture of CO2 through electrochemical means. Outside of academia, he enjoys his time outdoors.
Undergrad Students
Arin Yaffe
Josefine Gebhard
Maya DePolo
Maya is an undergraduate student in Chemical Engineering at McGill University interested in clean energy. She joined the lab in Winter 2025, and outside the lab she enjoys hiking and reading.
Climbing up the stairs: Eve, Bilal, Felix, Ali, Ignacio, Li, Amirhossein, Alaleh, Obaida, Xin, Hamed, Mahdi (Group photo, Wong building, Winter 2024)
Left to right: Xin, Eve, Alaleh, Li, Andrew, Obaida, Felix, Chritina, Ali, Ignacio, Bilal, Amirhossein, Mahdi, Hamed, Chris, Sina (End of the year party 2024)
Left to right: Hadis, Ali, Bilal’s friend, Ignacio, Bilal, Obaida, Nickan, Mahdi, Sepideh, Yuanming, Jiayi, Xin, Minhui, Marzieh, Amirhossein, Hamed, Parinaz (Summer 2024)
Left to right: Hamed, Sebastian, Mahdi, Jessica, Summia, Qinyi, Amirhossein, Jolin, Omar, Hasan, Yolanda, Vraj, Shenyi, Kevin, Andrew, Selma, Rongyu, Ali, and Nickan (Summer 2022)
Left to right: Hamed, William, Summia, Ali, Dorothy, Qi, Roger, Kefang, Kevin, Jessica, Sebastian, Xiao, Mahdi, Amirhossein, Noah (Xmas 2021)
Left to right: Roger, Amirhossein, Andrew, Sebastian, Rongyu, Kevin, Kefang, Ali, Mahdi, Hasan, Hamed (Fall 2021)
Left to right: Ali, Nickan, Ashwini, Poojan, Yiwei, Mahdi, Lucy, Portia, Kevin, Xiao, Roger, Daniel (September 2019)
Left to right: Ali, Portia, Minnan, Hasan, Kevin, Roger (May 2019)
