Omid grew up in northern Iran and received his Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Guilan, Iran in 2014. Soon after his graduation, he joined the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Lab (University of Tehran) where his M.Sc. research thesis was in the area of biochar-based composites as an alternative to conventional heterogeneous catalysts in thermochemical conversion of marine biomass to liquid fuels and value-added chemicals. After earning his M.Sc. degree in 2017, he moved to Italy and started working in Prof. Francesco Di Maria’s Lab as a part of Lar5 grant to investigate the effect of biochar-composites in a full-scale digester in an existing wastewater treatment plant in Italy. In summer 2019, Omid was awarded the HQP Graduate Scholarship from Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Subsequently, he moved to Canada and joined Prof. Animesh Dutta’s lab to synthesize a metal-modified hydrochar composite from agricultural and food wastes for generating a recyclable catalyst and electrode. Throughout his academic and professional carriers, Omid has published more than 30 outstanding journal papers, two industrial patents, and a book chapter. His current project with OMAFRA will help to enhance competitiveness and innovation in Canada allowing income diversification and increasing profitability for agri-food processing industries. Using his expertise and knowledge, Omid is confident to find novel methods for promising applications of undervalued waste in Ontario.
