I am an Assistant Professor of Software Engineering at McMaster University, Canada, where I lead the Sustainable Systems and Methods Lab (SSM). I am also affiliated with the McMaster Centre for Software Certification (McSCert).
My research is situated under the broader umbrella of systems engineering, with a particular interest in sustainable systems engineering by and for advanced digital technology, such as digital twins and AI.
I maintain additional lines of research in select topics in model-driven engineering (MDE) and simulation, including modeling and simulation of cyber-(bio)physical systems, automated simulator engineering, collaborative modeling, and model consistency in heterogeneous engineering settings.
I received my PhD in Computer Science in 2019 from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, for my work on model consistency management in multi-paradigm settings with Prof. Hans Vangheluwe (ex-McGill, currently at University of Antwerp, Belgium). Afterwards, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Software and Sustainability group at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands with Prof. Ivano Malavolta; and at University of Montréal, Canada, with Prof. Eugene Syriani and Prof. Houari Sahraoui. In my Master’s years, I worked on streaming model transformations by complex event processing with the VIATRA/IncQuery team at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary, headed by Prof. Daniel Varro (ex-McGill, currently at Linköping University, Sweden).
I’m active outside of academia as well, mainly in innovation consulting. I served in multiple management and technical roles, most recently as the Head of Innovation for a multinational quality engineering corporation.
Top news (click for more)
- New publication at MODELS’25 on developing complex model transformations by guided reinforcement learningOur paper Complex Model Transformations by Reinforcement Learning with Uncertain Human Guidance, co-authored with Kyanna Dagenais (former undergraduate and incoming graduate student in our lab) has been accepted for the …
- Best Paper 2024 Runner-up in the Journal of Computer LanguagesOur journal article “Screening Articles for Systematic Reviews with ChatGPT” co-authored with Eugene Syriani and Gauransh Kumar has been in the three nominees for the 2024 Best Paper Award in the …
- New journal article in TOSEM on the utility of domain modeling assistance with LLMsOur journal article On the Utility of Domain Modeling Assistance with Large Language Models, co-authored with Meriem Ben Chaaben, Lola Burgueño, and Houari Sahraoui has been accepted for publication in …
- New journal article on AI simulation by digital twinsOur journal article on AI Simulation by Digital Twins: Systematic Survey, Reference Framework, and Mapping to a Standardized Architecture with Xiaoran (Sharon) Liu (PhD student in our lab) has been …
- Accepted paper at the 2025 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC)Our paper From Over-Reliance to Smart Integration: Using Large-Language Models as Translators Between Specialized Modeling and Simulation Tools, co-authored with Philippe J. Giabbanelli (VMASC, Old Dominion, US), John Beverley (University …
- Call for papers: International Workshop on Collaborative and Participatory Modeling – co-located with MODELS’25https://copamo.github.io/ Collaborative modeling is a key enabler to engineering complex systems. While mostly focusing on the technical and technological aspects of collaboration, the MDE community has also recognized the need …
- Call for papers: 2nd International Workshop on Sustainability and Modeling (SusMod) – co-located with MODELS’25https://sustainability-and-modeling.github.io/ Sustainability is becoming a key characteristic of modern systems. While this trend has been long recognized, rigorous formal methods for assessing sustainability, reasoning about often contradicting sustainability properties, and …
- Panel at AST 2025 on testing for sustainability and sustainability of testingI had the pleasure to discuss this important topic with renowned colleagues at the 6th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Automation of Software Test (AST 2025). It was encouraging to see …
Other news (click for more)
- Invited talk at SEMLA’25I’m honored to be part of this fantastic lineup at SEMLA2025 and excited to reconnect with Montreal’s unique scientific community.Join us on 17-19 June, when I’ll share insights from our …
- Nivetha Kuruparan, Sevhena Walker, and Tanveer Brar join lab as Summer research studentsIn their Capstone project, Nivetha, Sevhena, and Tanveer developed a method and tool for engineering energy-efficient software coode. They will now look to extend their contribution and seek publication at …
- New publication in the ICT4Sustainability conference on Twin TransitionOur paper Bridging the Silos of Digitalization and Sustainability by Twin Transition: A Multivocal Literature Review, co-authored with Baran Shajari (graduate student in our lab) has been accepted for the …
- Guest lecture by Professor Bentley Oakes in our Engineering Digital Twins courseIt is my utmost pleasure to welcome Dr Bentley Oakes, Assistant Professor at Polytechnique Montreal as guest speaker in my Engineering Digital Twins course (CAS 782). Dr Oakes will talk …