Mehdi Golzar Ahmedi started his academic journey in Petroleum engineering, with a bachelor’s degree from the petroleum university of technology of Ahwaz in Iran. After two years of working in the oil industry, he returned to academia, seeking answers to environmental issues in completing a master’s degree in chemical engineering – biotechnology from Tarbiat Modares University in Iran. His research focused on e-waste recycling by biological methods known as bioleaching or biohydrometallurgy, using a heterotrophic alkaliphilic bacterium to extract valuable metals (Ag, Mo, and Cu) from AMOLED displays of mobile phones.
Here at the University of British Columbia as a PhD. student, Mehdi’s current research involves finding a sustainable way of metal extraction from end-of-life LED lamps. As part of his overall sustainability goal, he is motivated to find ways to improve the economy and environmentally-friendliness of bio-recycling even further.