Parsa Beheshti earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and management from McMaster University in April 2022. He joined the CERC@MARC program the following month and is now pursuing his Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Ali Emadi. His research focuses on high-power traction inverters for switched reluctance motors in electrified vehicle applications. 

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From a young age, Parsa tinkered with computers and mechanical toys. His father taught him basic circuitry and soldering. This early guidance sparked his passion for electrical systems and programming. Growing up, he was drawn to STEM subjects. They fed his curiosity about how machines and systems work—especially automobiles. Combined with his love of math and physics, this interest led him to study engineering at McMaster University.

In his first year, Parsa’s passion for cars and design grew stronger through his coursework and extracurricular projects. After attending a presentation by Dr. Ali Emadi on transportation electrification, he discovered an exciting direction for his career. He chose to specialize in electrical engineering. His enthusiasm for electrified transportation led him to join MAC Formula Electric in 2018. In his final year, Parsa and three teammates developed the vehicle’s electrical architecture. Their project won first place at the ECE Capstone Expo.

Alongside his studies, Parsa gained valuable research experience as a research assistant with CERC@MARC in 2017. The following year, he worked as a lab assistant with MMRI. These roles deepened his understanding of applied research and strengthened his hands-on learning approach. In 2019, he joined L3Harris WESCAM with the NPI group for a 16-month electrical engineering co-op. There, he honed his hardware design and engineering skills. He returned to his final two years of study with renewed focus and enthusiasm.

After completing coursework in Power Electronics, Parsa was inspired to pursue graduate research on Silicon Carbide (SiC) power devices in electrified transportation. He joined the CERC@MARC group to complete his M.A.Sc. in electrical and computer engineering under the supervision of Dr. Ali Emadi. After his first year, he transferred into the Ph.D. program to explore his research in greater depth. His current work focuses on SiC power electronics for electrified vehicles, with an emphasis on high-power traction inverters for switched reluctance motors (SRMs).