Islam Zaher is a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering at McMaster University, where he develops advanced thermal management solutions for electric and hybrid aerospace propulsion systems. He holds an M.A.Sc. from McMaster and a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering from Ain Shams University. His research combines computational fluid dynamics, turbomachinery cooling, and multi-objective optimization to design efficient cooling architectures for high-speed electric machines. He also contributed to low-NOx combustion technologies during his internship with Pratt & Whitney’s combustion team.
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Islam’s passion for heat transfer and fluid dynamics began during his mechanical engineering studies at Ain Shams University in Cairo. He became fascinated by how innovative cooling techniques can improve machine performance. This interest led him to pursue graduate studies at McMaster University, where he completed his M.A.Sc. His master’s research applied turbomachinery principles and advanced heat-transfer methods to computational modelling, enabling high-intensity cooling in McMaster’s first high-power-density electric propulsion machine.
After his master’s degree, Islam joined the combustion team at Pratt & Whitney as an intern. He used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to tackle combustion and cooling challenges in jet engines. His work supported improvements in low-NOx combustion technologies and aligned with his goal of advancing sustainable aerospace propulsion.
Islam is now a Ph.D. candidate at McMaster University, where he develops thermal management strategies for electric and hybrid propulsion systems. His research combines high-fidelity CFD simulations with multi-objective optimization to design efficient and lightweight cooling architectures for high-speed electric machines. His goal is to connect advanced heat transfer, turbomachinery innovation, and electric machine technology to support cleaner propulsion.
His research interests include electric machine thermal management, turbomachinery cooling, computational fluid dynamics, and multi-objective optimization for aerospace propulsion.
