Alireza Zabihihesari

Research Funding History 

Granted Funds 

• Total Funding: $20,000
• Role:  Principal Applicant 
•  Contribution:  I prepared 100% of the Grant Application, and contributed to execution of the research, and trained one PhD student and one M.Sc. for the proposed research.  The grant was used to partially fund one Postdoc, one PhD student and one M.Sc, student in Dr. Pouya Rezai's research group at York University. 
• Principle Investigator: Pouya Rezai 
• Funding Sources: York University
• May 2024  

• Total Funding: $23,000
• Role:  Principal Investigator
• Contribution:  I prepared 100% of the Grant Application, and executed the research including over 30 customer discovery interviews, finalizing the submission of a patent application, performing required Technology Market Overview and Technology Commercialization Plan for our inventions. 
• Funding Sources:  Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS) 
• June 2024

• Total Funding: $6,000
• Role:  Collaborator  
•  Contribution: I prepared 50% of the Grant Application. Also,  I contributed to NFRF2023 - International Joint Initiative for Research in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Competition. I played a crucial role as a Collaborator on a grant application led by York University. My contributions included facilitating team formation by inviting applicants and collaborators spanning academia, industry, non-profit organizations, and vulnerable communities across seven countries: Canada, the USA, Norway, Germany, Ghana, Sri Lanka, and the UK. I co-wrote the Notice of Intent(NOI) and the research proposal, and coordinated pre-submission meetings. While the grant application did no receive funding, this initiative catalyzed further opportunities for international collaboration. For instance, successfully securing an NSERC Alliance International Catalyst, led by my former advisors Prof. Rezai (in Canada) and Prof. K. Sharma (in US), focusing on PFAS detection/removal in water. This marks a new research area established within our research group at York University. 
• Principal Investigator(s) : Satinder K. Brar & Pouya Rezai
• Funding Sources:  York University
• September 2023

• Total Funding: $15,000
• Role:  Principle Applicant 
•  Contribution: I prepared 100% of the Grant Application, and executed the research including over 70 customer discovery interviews, preparing 2 patent applications, performing required Technology Market Overview and Technology Commercialization Plan for our inventions. 
• Principal Investigator(s):  Pouya Rezai
• Funding Sources:   MITACS &  Springboard Atlantic Inc 
• September 2023

• Total Funding: $60,000
• Role:  Co-applicant
• Contribution: I prepared 55% of the research grant application, executed the research, and provided deliverables, i.e., journal and conference papers technical reports and presentations to   Ocean Diagnostics Inc. . 
• Principal Investigator(s):  Pouya Rezai
• Funding Sources:   MITACS &  Ocean Diagnostics Inc.
• May 2022

• Total Funding: $1,000
• Role:  Principle Applicant
•  Contribution: I prepared 100% of the research grant application, executed the research, and provided deliverables, i.e., journal and conference papers and reports. 
• Principal Investigator(s):  Pouya Rezai
• Funding Sources:   York University 
• September 2021

• Total Funding: $23,500
• Role:  Principle Applicant
• Contribution: I prepared 100% of the research grant application, executed the research, and provided deliverables, i.e., journal and conference papers and reports. 
• Funding Sources:   York University 
• May 2021

• Total Funding: IRR 250,000,000 = $7,000
• Role:  Co-investigator
• Contribution: I prepared the grant application, executed the research and prepared deliverables, i.e., journal and conference papers, technical reports, and training RAJA Rail Transportation Company's staff on how to use the technology. 
• Principal Investigator(s):  Farzad A. Shirazi, Moosa Ayati
• Funding Sources:   University of Tehran & RAJA Rail Transportation Company  
• September 2015

Under-Review Research Grant Applications 

• Total Funding: $125,000 
• Role:  Collaborator
• Contribution: I prepared over 70% of the Research Proposal and performed required Technology Market Overview and Technology Commercialization Plan through Lab2Market Validate and Launch Programs prior to the application. 
• Principal Investigator(s):  Pouya Rezai
• Other collaborators: Ali Doostmohammadi (PDF), pH7 Technologies, Frontiers Lithium, SiREM, and Canada Food Inspection Agency
• Funding Sources:   NSERC
• September 2024

 Recognitions, Awards, and Scholarships

1. The Lab2Market Launch Award ($17,500), Atlantic Cohort, in collaboration with Mitacs, Dalhousie University, and Springboard Atlantic, Halifax, Canada, May 2024. 
2. The Lab2Market Validate Award ($15,000), National Health Cohort, in collaboration with Mitacs, Springboard Atlantic, and York University, Toronto, Canada, September 2023
3. The Lab2Market Validate Award ($15,000 ), National Health Cohort, Jan 2023 (Declined) 
4. The Mitacs Accelerate Award, ($20,000 ), in collaboration with Mitacs and Ocean Diagnostics Inc., May 2022 
5. The Mechanical Engineering Excellence Award for Graduate Research, ($400), Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada, Oct 2022 
6. The Mechanical Engineering Conference Travel Award, ($400), Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2022 
7. The Academic Excellence Fund, ($1000), York University, Toronto, Canada, Dec 2021 
8. The Provost Dissertation Scholarship, ($23,500 ), York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2021 
9. The Parya Trillium Foundation Scholarship ($1,500 ), Parya Trillium Foundation, Toronto, Canada, November 2020 
10. The Mechanical Engineering Best Ph.D. Seminar Presentation Award, ($400 ), Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2021 
11. The Mechanical Engineering Excellence Award for Graduate Research, ($400), Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2020 
12. The Mechanical Engineering Excellence Award for Teaching Assistantship, ($400), Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2020 
13. The Mechanical Engineering Conference Travel Award, ($400), Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2020 
14. The Mechanical Engineering Best Ph.D. Seminar Presentation Award, ($400), Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2020 
15. YUGSA Conference Support Fund, ($100), York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2020 
16. The Mechanical Engineering Conference Travel Award, ($400), Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2019 
17. YUGSA Conference Support Fund,  ($100), York University, Toronto, Canada, May 2019 
18. York University Doctoral Fellowship, ( $147,000 in 4 years) York University, Toronto, Canada, September 2017 
19. The Best Presentation Award for undergraduate research, ($50), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran 
20. The Second National Prize in the Iranian First National Collegiate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Competition, (IRR60,000,000=$3,300), Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Tehran, Iran, September 2013 
21. Semi-Finalist to Nationwide Mathematics Olympiad, Iran, April 2008
22.  Ranked 49th out of 20K+ in the national M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering entrance exam in Iran. Iran, June 2014