People

Dominic Liao-McPherson

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of British Columbia
website: https://mech.ubc.ca/dominic-liao-mcpherson/
email: dliaomcp@mech.ubc.ca

Short Bio
I received my BASc in Engineering Science (AERO 1T4 + PEY) from the University of Toronto in 2015 and my PhD in Aerospace Engineering and Scientific Computing from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 2020. I was then a postdoc at the ETH Zürich Automatic Control Lab (ifA) before joining UBC in 2023. My research interests lie at the intersection of optimization, control, and computing with applications in robotics, energy, and aerospace. In my free time, I enjoy skiing, hiking, mountaineering, cooking, and sailing.


PhD Students

Sara Hatami Gazani

Sara graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tehran in 2021, followed by a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Victoria in 2023. Outside of her studies, you’ll often find her immersed in a good book or learning a new language.

Research Interests
Sara’s main research area is active sensing and perception for robotic systems. She’s working on designing feedback control strategies for maximizing informatively of data motivated by problems in mobile sensing, infrastructure inspection, and machine learning.



Babak Ghaffarzadeh Bakhshayesh

Research Interests
Energy Markets
Renewable Energy


MASc Students

Niko Andrianos

Niko Andrianos completed his BASc degree at UBC in Integrated Engineering in December, 2023. In his free time, Niko plays rugby for the UBC Men’s Rugby team.

Research Interests
Niko’s research revolves around real-time economic optimization of distribution grids integrating energy pricing, energy storage, and forecasting. The aim is to enable the controller to automatically manage congestion and shift loads during peak energy demand periods by coordinating renewable generation, batteries, and buying or selling power from the transmission grid.


Chi Keng Dong

Research Interests
Autonomous Drones
Sampling-based Planners


Serena Zhang

Research Interests
Robotics
Reference Governors


Lauren Bogo

Research Interests
Design Processes
3D Printing


Dhruv Sirohi

Research Interests


Alumni

Visitors

  • Sophie Hall (PhD @ ETH Zurich, 07/2023 – 11/2023)
  • Pascal Schindler (MA @ TU Munich, 06/2023 – 10/2023)