Team Ahuora

Professor Michael Walmsley

Director

Expertise: Process integration & macro energy systems

Chemical & Materials Engineer

Dr Martin Atkins

Assistant Director

Expertise: Process integration & biomass-based hybrid utility systems

Chemical & Process Engineer

Dr Tim Walmsley

Assistant Director

Expertise: Process integration, optimisation & electrification

Process Engineer

Professor Mark Apperley

Expertise: Grid-edge trading and balancing for electrical systems

Electrical Engineer & Computer Scientist

Associate Professor James Carson

Expertise: Food properties, refrigeration & heat pumps

Chemical & Process Engineer

Dr Dani Bertram

Expertise: Wave and renewable energy systems

Civil & Environmental Engineer

Dr Mahonri Owen

Expertise: Industry 4.0 and digital twins

Mechanical Engineer

Associate Professor Fei Yang

Expertise: Energy materials & light-weight alloys

Materials Engineer

Professor Brent Young

, University of Auckland

Expertise: Digital twins, process modelling & control

Chemical Engineer

Dr Wei Yu

University of Auckland

Expertise: Digital twins, process modelling & control

Dr Isuru Udugama

University of Auckland

Expertise: Process Control

Professor Don Cleland

Massey University

Expertise: Refrigeration and heat pumps

Dr Jim Chen

Massey University

Expertise: Thermodynamic cycles & solid fuel combustion

Dr Shafiqur Tito

Postdoctoral Fellow

Expertise: Smart grids and control

Isaac Severinsen

PhD Researcher at the University of Auckland

Thesis: Efficient, dynamic, digital twin models of process unit operations using modern regression

Jun Chang

PhD Researcher at the University of Auckland

Thesis: Developing a self-learning system for heat pump cycles of non-continuous processes

Elsa Klinac

PhD Researcher

Thesis: Dynamic modelling of heat recovery loops for non-continuous industrial sites

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Chemical & Materials Engineer

Chemical & Process Engineer

Electrical Engineer

Stephen Burroughs

PhD Researcher

Thesis: Ahuora digital twin platform

Software Engineer

Ahuroa Leech

PhD Researcher

Thesis: Renewable energy in Rural and Maori communities

Civil Engineer

Lana Kong

PhD Researcher & Project Coordinator

Thesis: High temperature heat pumps for spray dryers

Mechanical Engineer

Ben Lincoln

PhD Researcher

Thesis: Process integration and electrification of dairy processing

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Keegan Hall

PhD Researcher

Thesis: Open source process and utility systems synthesis and optimisation

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Lilly Peng

PhD Researcher at the University of Auckland

Thesis: A process safety enhanced digital-twin for the decarbonisation of industrial heat plants

Mechanical Engineer

Mostafa Pasandideh

PhD Researcher

Thesis: Machine Learning Methods (ANN) for Increasing Efficiency of Energy Systems

Software Engineer

Matthew Taylor

PhD Researcher

Thesis: Hybrid renewable utility systems for delivering process heat

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Safiya Al Habsi

PhD Researcher at Massey University

Thesis: Prototype Digital Twin for Smart Refrigeration Systems

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Nicc Moeono

PhD Researcher

Thesis: Energy analysis of isolated systems

Mechanical Engineer

Daniel Chong

PhD Researcher

Thesis: An Energy Systems Approach to Hydrogen Production and Use in New Zealand Industry and Transport

Chemical Engineer

Tonn Aeowjaroenlap

PhD Researcher at the University of Auckland

Thesis: Data-driven digital twin approaches for enhanced optimization of process systems

Chemical Engineer

Jack O'Leary

Master's Researcher

Thesis: Industrial energy supply from biomass

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Liam Clow

Master's Researcher

Thesis: An Interactive Community Microgrid Model to Aid Design Exploration

Computer Scientist

Catherine Muldoon

Master's Researcher

Thesis: Thermal energy reduction for industrial sites

Chemical & Process Engineer

Luke August

Master's Researcher

Thesis: Industry 4.0 techniques to improve real time system monitoring and feedback

Mechanical Engineer

Nakita Corfield

Graduate Researcher

Topic: The role of waste-to-energy in New Zealand's energy landscape

Environmental Engineer

Aleeza Adeel

Master's Researcher

Dissertation: Visualisation Techniques for Exploring Design Parameters for Community Scale Microgrids

Designer

Austen Cate

Summer Researcher

Topic: Fluid and heat transfer dynamics of biometitic surfaces for heat exchangers

Mechanical Engineer

Bert Downs

Summer Researcher

Topic: Ahuora software platform R&D

Software Engineer

Caleb Archer

Summer Researcher

Topic: Ahuora software platform R&D

Software Engineer

Ethan MacLeod

Summer Researcher

Topic: Ahuora software platform R&D

Software Engineer

Shean Aton

Summer Researcher

Topic: Ahuora software platform R&D

Software Engineer

Mahaki Leach

Summer Researcher

Topic: Ahuora software platform R&D

Software Engineer

David Dickson

Summer Researcher

Topic: Enhancing volumetric efficiency of heat exchangers

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Alma Walmsley

Summer Researcher

Topic: Ahuora software platform R&D

Software Engineer

Dr Duy Hoang

PhD & Postdoctoral Fellow (2017-2023)

Thesis: Modelling heat transfer during chilling and freezing of packaged foods in industrial refrigeration facilities

Mechanical Engineer

Michaela Kerr

Master's Researcher (2021-2023)

Thesis: Community microgrids with renewable generation

Software Engineer

Richard Chen

Master's Researcher (2021-2023)

Thesis: Integration of heat pumps for decarbonisation at Fonterra Waitoa

Process Engineer

Kenan Grant

Summer, Honours & Graduate Developer (2021-2023)

Topic: Ahuora platform

Annalisa Tiddy

Summer & Graduate Developer (2022-2023)

Topic: Ahuora platform

Software Engineer

Software Engineer

Sarah Kennedy

Summer and Honours Researcher (2022-2023)

Topic: Carbon footprint of alternative milk supply methods

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Ryan Walmsley

Summer Researcher (2022-2023)

Topic: Ahuora platform development

Abdulrahman Alyahmadi

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: Development of surrogate heat exchanger models for vapour compression cycles

Brandon Kintu

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation of heat transfer in a double tube heat exchanger

Mechanical Engineer

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Electrical & Software Engineer

Jamie Mudford

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: Digital Twin for Evonik

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Aidan Perrett

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: Supporting the growth of distributed generation by utilizing digital twins and the smart grid

Electrical & Electronic Engineer

Max Bracken

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: Real-time scheduling of cream cheese production

Software Engineer

Bonnie Watene

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: Coastal Protection Structures integrated with tidal energy

Civil Engineer

Lusandrose Ilai

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: Likeness Digital Twins for Evonik

Chemical Engineer

Ryan Trowern

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: CO₂ Emissions in Distillation Column Construction

Chemical Engineer

Sara Al-Kindi

Honours Researcher (2023)

Topic: Nanofluids for industrial applications

Chemical Engineer

Monica Liev

Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Digital twin using VR and AR

Mechanical Engineer

Harrison Whiting

Summer Developer, Honours Researcher (2021-2022)

Topic: Ahuora platform - energy conversion units

Software Engineer

Sam Pomana

Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Heat pump integrated biomass boiler

Mechanical Engineer

Yaksh Kataria

Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Quantum heat exchange network retrofit algorithm

Software Engineer

James Dender

Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: CO₂ sequestration in geothermal

Materials & Process Engineer

Jay Dave

Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Modelling powder drying and behaviour to predict surface properties

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Billy Burton

Summer & Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Machine learning of dynamical heat systems

Software Engineer

Asaad Ibrahim

Summer & Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Hybrid renewable power generation schemes

Civil Engineer

Josh Taylor

Summer & Honours Researcher (2021-2022)

Topic: Zeotropic heat pump technology

Mechanical Engineer

Sami Al-Duri

Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Performance of the MHI Q-ton CO₂ heat pump

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Jakob Thomas

Summer & Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Heat pump integrated biomass boiler

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Kaifu Tian

Summer & Honours Researcher (2022)

Topic: Digital twin using VR and AR

Mechanical Engineer

Marcus Ly

Master's Researcher (2021-2022)

Thesis: Unit commitment optimization for a small cascading hydropower scheme

Chemical & Materials Engineer

Theo Brehmer-Hine

Master's Researcher at the University of Auckland (2021-2022)

Topic: Digital twins of process heat unit operations for process decarbonisation

Chemical & Materials Engineer

Dr Panos Patros

Key Researcher & Software Architecture Leader (2020-2022)

Software Engineer

Dr Moe Dabbour

Postdoctoral Fellow (2021-2022)

Topic: Industrial process heat

Chemical & Materials Engineer

Keri Adamson

Master's Researcher

Thesis: High-temperature, transcritical-recuperative heat pumps

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Shuai Liu

Summer Researcher (2021-2022)

Topic: Valorisation of low-cost variable electricity for industry

Mechanical Engineer

Shivani Singh

Summer Researcher (2021-2022)

Topic: Thermal storage value for industrial sites

Chemical & Biological Engineer

Abbey Roberts

PhD Researcher at the University of Auckland (2021-2022)

Topic: Modelling for energy co-optimisation with discrete state transitions

Chemical & Materials Engineer