Driving the Next Generation

of Electrified & Autonomous Vehicles

Virtual Tour

Welcome to the website of Professor Ali Emadi’s research group—Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) Laureate Program at McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC)—at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, one of the world’s leading academic research programs in transportation electrification and smart mobility focused on pioneering sustainable energy-efficient solutions from advanced electric motors, power electronics, energy management systems, and controls to electrified powertrains, electric vehicles, and autonomous systems.

About Us
What We Offer

Research Thrust Areas Include:

  • Electric & hybrid vehicles
  • Autonomous vehicles
  • Electrified powertrains
  • Electric machines
  • Motor drives/inverters
  • Motor controls
  • Power electronic DC/DC converters
  • Chargers & V2X systems
  • Embedded Software & controls
  • Functional Safety
  • Energy storage systems
  • Energy management systems
  • Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS)
  • Artificial intelligence & machine learning
  • Thermal management
  • Modeling & simulations
  • Driving simulation
  • Vehicle dynamics

Facilities

  • Powertrain Tester Three-Machine Dyno
  • High Speed Electric Machine Dyno
  • MARCdrive Chassis Dyno
  • MARCdrive Driving Simulator
  • SoftAuto Laboratory
  • Energy Storage Laboratory
  • Power Electronics & Motor Drives Laboratory
  • Automotive / Aerospace Electrification Laboratory
  • Motor Control & Power Electronics Laboratory
  • High Bay Laboratory

Services

  • Research & development
  • Industry sponsored projects
  • Contract design & development
  • Modeling, simulations, & analysis
  • Hands-on education & training
  • Workforce development
  • Collaborative workshops for short courses, as well as strategic & technical brainstorming
  • Hardware & software testing
  • Benchmarking & characterization
  • Prototyping

Equipment & Dynamometers

  • MARCdrive Chassis Dyno & Driving Simulator
  • Powertrain Tester Three Machine Dyno
  • High Speed Electric Machine Dyno
  • Energy Storage Emulator & Battery Tester

Team Profiles

Our diverse research group consists of more than 250 graduate and undergraduate students, post-doctoral research fellows, and engineers.

Meet the Team
Justin Brown
Head of Operations
Justin Brown is the Head of Operations for Dr. Emadi’s CERC@MARC group, including the dynos, battery testing, and driving simulator labs at MARC. He has a Bachelor’s of Industrial Design from Humber College, Certificate in Tool and Die Making from Sheridan College during his time as an apprentice, and studied both Engineering Technology, and Art and Design, at Centennial College. Justin has a long and multidisciplinary career that spans the manufacturing, product development, and audio-visual production sectors and provided him with experience from the shop floor to the boardroom.
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Jessica Petrunti
Communications & Design Lead
Jessica Petrunti received her B.A. degree in Communication Studies and Multimedia Design from McMaster University (2016) and post graduate certificate in Public Relations from Mohawk College (2017). In 2012, during her undergraduate studies, she began working at CERC@MARC aiding automotive engineering researchers in various research support and administrative tasks.
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Dr. Carlos Vidal
Senior Principal Research Engineer
Dr. Carlos Vidal serves as Senior Principal Research Engineer and the leader of the Mobility Cube, a Centre of Excellence in artificial intelligence and smart mobility, at McMaster University, Canada. The Mobility Cube was established through a multi-million-dollar collaboration between McMaster University and Cubic Transportation Systems. Carlos has extensive experience in the automotive, batteries, renewables, and smart mobility industries. His research interests include digital twinning, Li-ion batteries, artificial intelligence (AI), and Energy Storage Systems (ESS) for electric vehicles and renewables applications.
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Dr. Subarni Pradhan
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Subarni Pradhan obtained her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering, from the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University of Odisha, India, in 2011. Later in 2013, she received her M.Tech. in power control and drives, from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, India. After finishing her M.Tech, she worked as Assistant Professor at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University of Odisha, India. In 2021, Subarni received her Ph.D. from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, India.
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Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) Laureate Program
McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC)
200 Longwood Rd South, Unit 207  |  Hamilton, Ontario, L8P 0A6  |  Canada

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