Bilal Maassarani

Mechatronic systems and control enthusiast currently working on a novel hybrid-flight mode aerial system at the RISC lab with Professor Eric Feron.

Biography

My undergraduate and graduate education at the University of Waterloo coupled with a variety of internships and a full-time role solidified my interest and background as a multidisciplinary hands-on mechatronics engineer.

Research Interests

I'm interested in finding mechatronic solutions and taking them from problem to a functional proof-of-concept. I developed a dynamic weighing machine during my master's and currently a novel hybrid-flight mode unmanned aerial system as a PhD Candidate.

About

Education

  • 2022.05.15 Ph.D. Research Proposal: "The TetraheDrone: A Modular Fractal Vertical Take Off and Landing Unmanned Aerial System" 
    Committee Members: Prof. Eric Feron, Prof. Shinkyu Park, Prof. Gilles Lubineau
  • 2018.08 - Present Ph.D. Student, KAUST, KSA
  • 2014.09 - 2017.01 MASc in Electrical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada
  • ​2009.09 - 2014.06 BASc in Mechatronics Engineering, honours, co-op, University of Waterloo, Canada

Professional Profile

  • 2017.10 - 2018.07 FPGA Developer, Advanced Antenna Systems, Ericsson, Canada
  • 2014.09 - 2017.01 Teaching Assistant (3 semesters), ECE and MTE courses, University of Waterloo, Canada
  • 2013.05 - 2013.09 WLAN RFIC Designer Intern, Broadcom, USA
  • 2012.09 - 2012.12 Digital Hardware Design Intern, Advanced Radio Systems, Blackberry, Canada
  • 2012.01 - 2012.04 Maintenance Group Leader Intern, Chassis Plant, General Motors, Canada
  • 2011.05 - 2011.08 ASIC Verification Intern, Ciena, Canada
  • 2010.09 - 2010.12 Computational Research Intern, CANMET, Natural Resources Canada, Canada
  • 2010.01 - 2010.04 Verification Engineer Intern, IDT, Canada

Select Honors and Awards

  • 2021/2022 Dean's list award at KAUST​
  • 2019.12 "Best Aerial Team" award in the European Robotics League team competition
  • 2014.09 Iron Warrior Graduate Scholarship
    Scholarship awarded to UW graduates pursuing master's research at the university based on academic excellence and leadership.
  • 2009.09 University of Waterloo President's Scholarship of Distinction awarded to students with admission average above 95%

Areas of Expertise and Research Interests

  • ​Mechatronics
  • UAVs
  • Robotics and Control
  • Multi-robot Systems

Professional Profile

Service Contributions

Service to the Institution

  • CEMSE division student ambassador, 2022 - present

  • Robotics mentor for KAUST's Virtual Academy 2023, 2023

  • Spring 2023 Orientation leader, 2023

  • Fall 2022 Orientation leader, 2022

  • Conference volunteer at the Global Sustainable Development Congress 2023 at KAUST, 2023

  • Chairing sessions and general volunteering for RobotoKAUST conference 2023, 2023

  • Chairing sessions and general volunteering for RobotoKAUST conference 2022, 2022

Service to the Discipline or Profession

  • Peer-reviewed a paper submitted to Sage Journal, 2022

  • Peer-reviewed a paper (by delegation) submitted to IROS 2022, 2022

Public Outreach

  • Volunteer at the computer science week at the KAUST Kindergarten, 2022

  • Judge at KAUST's Winter Enrichment Program's (WEP) science fair for school students, 2019

Awards and Distinctions

  • Dean's list award, KAUST, 2021 - 2022
  • Best Air Team, European Robotics League, 2019
  • Best drone GPS accuracy, European Robotics League in collaboration with Septentrio, 2019
  • Winners of the Science of Storytelling, KAUST, 2019

Qualifications

Education

Master
Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2017
Bachelor
Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada, 2014

Languages

English
Native or bilingual proficiency
Arabic
Native or bilingual proficiency
French
Limited working proficiency
Spanish
Elementary proficiency
Russian
Elementary proficiency

Quote

The real world is its own best model.

Selected Publications

  • Maassarani, B. ., Epps, J. ., Garanger, K. ., Shahab, M. T., Wali, O. ., & Feron, E. . (2023). Tetrahedral and Dodecahedral UASs, Structured Designs. In Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Applications: Challenges and Trends (pp. 3-41). Springer. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32037-8_1

Related People

Academic Advisors

Eric Feron

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