Positions and topics (General call)

There are no open positions in my lab currently.

I still recommend reading through the contents below as new positions might open soon.

I’m often looking for talented students to fill PhD and Master’s positions.
Please inform yourself about the grade requirements, soft prerequisites, and potential topics below.
You will also find instructions about the application process at the end of this page.

Grade requirements

Please, have either at least 85% cGPA (preferably higher) or an strong research proposal aligned with the research focus of my lab.
A cGPA of 85% means at least 11/12 (A) for Canadian students, and above 4.25/5 for most European countries. (More info about the grading system here.) A high GPA will help you secure your own grants and scholarships, further boosting your CV. It also tells me your work ethic matches my expectations. I will consider applicants below the 85% GPA only if the agreed topic is exceptionally strong.

Have a strong background in at least one (preferably two) of these areas: model-driven engineering, software engineering, machine learning / AI, (co-)simulation.

Experience in the following application areas is considered an asset: sustainability, digital twins, energy systems, business information systems.

Soft prerequisites and recommended courses (grad students)

As part of your grad studies, you have to successfully complete four courses. There are three courses that are particularly important for anybody pursuing research in our lab:
▸CAS 782 – Engineering Digital Twins
▸CAS 703 – Software Design
▸CAS 777 – Model-Driven Engineering
Grad students (PhD and Master’s) should complete (some of) these courses as early in their studies as possible. Ideally, you take these courses as a Master’s student (if you’re a Mac graduate), or in the first year of your PhD (if you come from other universities).

Ideally, as a prospective Master’s student, you have earned a high grade (at least A) in the following or similar courses if you’ve taken them:
▸SFWENG 2AA4 – Software Design I (alternatively, COMPSCI 2ME3 – Introduction to Software Development)
▸SFWENG 2OP3 – Object-Oriented Programming
▸SFWENG 3K04 – Software Development
▸COMPSCI 4AR3 – Software Architecture

Topics

Below is a selection of my research topics. Everything is very much flexible and the eventual topic should be mutually agreed on. Feel free to send me an email and suggest your topic of interest.

Automated (sustainable) systems engineering

▸Development and synthesis of Digital Twins (through machine learning, variability, etc) for sustainability
▸Sustainability concerns of Digital Twins (energy efficiency, evolvability, interoperability, systems of Digital Twins, etc)
▸Modeling and simulation for sustainability. Multi-paradigm modeling, hybrid co-simulation, causal and acausal simulations, value stream mapping, activity-based costing, etc.
▸Applications: energy efficiency, renewables, smart cities, environmental impact modeling, controlled environment agriculture
▸Organizational aspects of sustainable systems engineering (especially for students with a background or interest in business information systems and/or management)

Model-driven and model-based engineering

▸Collaborative modeling, especially real-time modeling
▸Multi-level modeling, multi-abstraction
▸Modeling languages, frameworks, and tools
▸Digital twins
▸Multi-disciplinary design
▸Design-space exploration (DSE)

Simulation

▸Simulation formalisms and tools
▸Discrete event simulation
▸Simulator inference by machine learning

Empirical methods for software and systems engineering

▸Repository mining, surveys, mapping studies
▸Contributions to survey tools and empirical standards (e.g., automation by LLM)

How to apply?

Choose whatever best describes you:

▸I am a Mac student.
Reach out to me directly to discuss a topic.
In parallel, apply here: https://applygrad.mcmaster.ca/portal/start_your_app. Applications typically open in November and close in March (international applicants) and June (Canadian applicants and PRs).
Indicate my name in your application.

▸I am not a Mac student. (Grad positions only)
Apply here: https://applygrad.mcmaster.ca/portal/start_your_app. Applications typically open in November and close in March (international applicants) and June (Canadian applicants and PRs).
Indicate my name in your application.
Address one of my topics in your letter of motivation.
Optionally, outline your own research topic. (It still has to match my research focus.)