Javad Vahabzadeh Pasikhani is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at Polytechnique Montréal, supervised by Prof. Jamal Chaouki and co-supervised by Prof. Yassine Taha. With expertise in catalysis, nanotechnology, and chemical and material engineering, his PhD research focuses on recovering critical metals from industrial waste using low-carbon technologies. At PEARL group, he is developing a hybrid carbon-neutral hydrometallurgy and electrified pyrometallurgy process to extract magnesium metal from mining waste rocks. His research activities encompass sustainable process design, CO2 sequestration, microwave-assisted thermal reduction reactor development, thermodynamic simulation, kinetics study, process optimization, and techno-economic evaluation.

Javad earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tehran, graduating as a top-ranking student. His broader interests include photocatalytic wastewater treatment, photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen production, circular metal recycling, and waste valorization. He has authored over 20 peer-reviewed papers, a book chapter, and holds two patents. Alongside his academic work, Javad is a research engineer at NeoCtech Corp., where he has co-developed patented processes for rare earth metals recycling. He is also an experienced lecturer and mentor, teaching and supervising students and international interns in reactor design, mineral processing, and transport phenomena.

In addition to the MetSoc 2025 Sustainability Scholarship, Javad has received other prestigious awards, including the FRQNT doctoral scholarship, the Rio Tinto graduate scholarship, three internal scholarships from Polytechnique Montréal, the Elsevier Reviewer award, and the best master’s thesis in chemical engineering.