Team - MéridaLabs

Dr. Walter Mérida

Walter leads MéridaLabs. He began his career in clean technology working with Ballard Power Systems, British Gas Investments Canada, and universities more than twenty years ago. He was a founder and Board member for General Hydrogen Corporation, and the Institute for Breakthrough Energy Technologies in Vancouver.

He leads the Natural Gas Futures research consortium, and the Transportation Futures Group at the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, the Academic Council for the Global Alliance on Powerfuels, and the Climate Change Advisory Board for Toronto Dominion Insurance.

At UBC, Walter has served as director for the Clean Energy Research Centre. He is currently the Associate Dean of Research and Industrial Partnerships in the Faculty of Applied Science, and a Senior Advisor to UBC's President and Vice-Chancellor.

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Associates & Staff

Omar is the Senior Program Manager for MéridaLabs. He is a Production Engineering Manager with experience in clean energy/biotech, producing product solutions and taking ideas successfully to market (✉).

Dr. Omar Herrera

Programs

Nadia is the Project Coordinator for MéridaLabs. She has worked internationally in education, media, and the performing arts (London, Madrid), and as an executive with the Humboldt County Film Commission in California (✉).

Nadia Adame

Operations

Julián is working on Electric Vehicle-Grid Integration - from optimal charging strategies to minimize power quality impacts on the grid to machine learning techniques applied to the interaction Building-EV. (✉).

Dr. Julián Fernández

Research

Marco is the Technical Project Manager for MéridaLabs, working on UBC Testbed. He graduated from the Univesity Politecnico di Milano. He developed and managed Saudi Arabia, Libya and Iraq markets related to transmission lines from 33kv up to 800kV. (✉).

Marco Signifredi

Testbed

Kevin is managing the Natural Gas Futures consortium. He has ample experience with grant facilitation, project management, and industrial engagement (✉).

Kevin Wei

Consortia

Amir leads the research on liquefied natural gas as a fuel for heavy-duty and marine applications, as well as innovative technologies to produce blue and green hydrogen (✉).

Dr. Amir Sharafian

Natural gas

Researchers

Luyang is working on electric vehicle charging scheduling, demand response and operations for vehicle-grid structure, as well as operations research, mechanism design and machine learning with applications to smart infrastructures (✉).

Dr. Luyang Hou

Electrification

Tory is working with high temperature and pressure electrochemistry to innovate water electrolysis. He specializes in high-temperature kinetic and mechanistic electrochemical analysis. (✉).

Dr. Tory Borsboom

Hydrogen

Gail researches the human dimensions of climate action and transformations to sustainability using a transdisciplinary approach, with a background climate change adaptation and sustainable development in Latin America, Africa, North America and Europe. (✉).

Dr. Gail Hochachka

Climate Change (UC3)

Hujjatul is working on High Temperature High Pressure (HTHP) electrochemistry as a Postdoctoral Fellow. His areas of expertise are green hydrogen production and CO2 utilization. (✉).

Dr. Md Hujjatul Islam

Hydrogen

Shashank is working on carbon black production and purification as a Postdoctoral Fellow. He specializes in Sustainable Chemistry with areas of expertise in production, characterization of nanomaterials and catalysis for energy conversion processes. (✉).

Dr. Shashank Patlolla

Hydrogen

Janfizza is working on future-generation wireless networking. Currently, she is collaborating with Indro Robotics and Rogers to innovate UAVs (drones) using 5G cellular technology and to enable complex operations, data collection, surveillance and delivery services. (✉).

Dr. Janfizza Bukhari

5G-Drones

Zhihao is working on the liquefied natural gas project. He received a Bachelor of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering at Harbin Engineering University and a master of Mechanical Engineering at Tsinghua University, China.. (✉).

Dr. Zhihao Wang

Natural gas

Graduate Students

Natalie is a PhD. student working on hydrogen technologies for clean energy production and is interested in connecting science and policy. She received her MSc in Chemistry from the University of Victoria, and holds a BSc in Math and Chemistry from the University of Redlands. (✉).

Natalie Stubb (PhD.)

Hydrogen

Alexander is a MASc. student working with high temperature and pressure electrochemistry. He received his B.Sc in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. (✉).

Alexander McLeod (MASc.)

Hydrogen

Andrew is conducting an expert elicitation study to refine hydrogen pipeline cost assumptions for the H2SCOT model. He has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Victoria and is currently completing a Master of Engineering Leadership in Clean Energy Engineering. (✉).

Andrew Medgyesi (MEL)

Hydrogen

Umer has 17 years of sales & commercial operations experience in Oil & Gas and Utility markets. He is working on commercialization strategy, legal, regulatory & policy development of Hydrogen Economy. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Clean Energy. (✉).

Umer Farooq (MEL)

Hydrogen

Abhishek completed his Master's in Aircraft Design from Cranfield University, UK and has 5 years experience in Drone Integration and Operations, Currently working on setting up world class 5G and Drone testbed at UBC campus. (✉).

Abhishek Gurunath (MASc.)

5G-Drones

Undergraduate Students