People

Principal Investigator

Jay Werber
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Angela (Jhen-Cih) Wu
Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2026)

Development of Specialized Ion-Exchange Membranes

PhD Students

Ose Ebewele
PhD Student
IBET Momentum Fellow
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2021 – Present)

Developing Light and CO2  Delivery Systems for Phototrophic Biofilm Reactors

Jocelyn Riet
PhD Student
Bert Wasmund Graduate Fellow
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2021 – Present)

Development and Transport Modelling of Ultra-Thin Ion Exchange Membranes

Sima Zeinali Danalou
PhD Student
(Co-advised by Prof. Patrick C. Lee)
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2022 – Present)

Advanced Microscopy and 3D Imaging Techniques to Assess and Develop High-Pressure RO Membranes

Hongchen Wang
PhD Student
(Co-advised by Prof. Jason Hattrick-Simpers)
Dept. of Mater. Sci. Eng.
(2022 – Present)

High-Throughput Experimentation for High-Pressure Reverse-Osmosis Membranes 

Niher Ranjan Sarker
PhD Student
Bert Wasmund Graduate Fellow
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2022 – Present)

Insights into Polyamide Desalination Membranes: True Permeability, Structure–Transport Relationships, and Materials Design for High-Pressure Reverse Osmosis

Victoria Anson
PhD Student
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2025 – Present)

Ion-Selective Electrodialysis for Highly Selective Separations of Critical Minerals

Allison Suichies
PhD Student
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2026 – Present)

Development of Counterflow Reverse Osmosis Membranes & Extension of Filtration Studies Using Machine Learning

MASc and MEng Students

Renzo Gutierrez
MASc Student
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2024 – Present)

Selective Extraction of Medium Chain Fatty Acids & Synthesis of Polymer Membranes for Pressure-Driven Membrane Distillation

Keanna Yu
MASc Student
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2024 – Present)

Design of Lithium Selective Membranes for Electrodialysis

Olga Misic, P.Eng.
MASc Student
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2025 – Present)

Improving Acid and Base Product Concentration for Electrolysis Driven Salt Splitting

Undergraduate Researchers

Calton Louis Paul
Undergraduate Summer Researcher
Dept. of Chem. Eng. & Applied Chem.
(2026 – Present)

Ethan Mao
Undergraduate Summer Researcher
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Eng.
(2026 – Present)

Alumni

pOSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

  1. Claudio Adrian Ruiz Torres, PhD (2023-2025) – Now: Postdoctoral Research Fellow @ Princeton University
  2. Sara Abu-Obaid, PhD (2023-2024) – Now: Postdoctoral Research Fellow @ Columbia University
  3. Hooman Chamani, PhD (2022-2023) – Now: Data Scientist @ WSP
  4. Nan Zhang, PhD (2022-2023) – Now: Assistant Professor @ Tianjin University

GRADUATE STUDENTS

  1. Jiahao Zhu, PhD (2021-2025)
  2. Niloofar Shirali, PhD (2021-2025) – Now: Membrane Scientist @ Fibracast Ltd.
  3. Dean Stipanic, MASc & Research Associate (2021-2024) – Now: Research Scientist II @ CERT Systems
  4. Yuxin (Sindy) Zhang, MEng (2022-2024) – Now: Corrosion EIT I @ Corrosion Service Company Limited

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS

  1. Shuoyuan (Amaris) Gao (2025-2026)
  2. Aymun Qayume (2025-2026)
  3. Usan Siriwardana (2025 & 2026)
  4. Kairu Zhang Liu (2025)
  5. Adrian Price-Roberts (2024-2025)
  6. Faisal Shahbaz (2024-2025)
  7. Smita Basak (2024)
  8. Jordan Fidelino (2024)
  9. Caresse Nian (2024)
  10. Chaewon Lim (2024)
  11. Gawthaman Senthilvelan (2024)
  12. Sebastian Dot (2024)
  13. Ray Chen (2023-2024)
  14. Fiona Chang (2023)
  15. Julia Green (2023)
  16. Kenneth Sulimro (2023)
  17. Sartaaj Khan (2021-2022)
  18. Badr Abbas (2022)
  19. Isabella Petrocelli (2022)
  20. Buse Guler (2022)
  21. Kevin Yuan (2022)
  22. Bhakti Chohan (2022)

vISITING scholars

  1. Beata Malczewska (2021-2023)