Ridha Ben-Mrad, P.Eng., is the Chief Research Officer and Associate Academic Director of Mitacs, Director of the Mechatronics and Microsystems Group and a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto. He joined the University of Toronto in 1997, having previously held positions at the National Research Council of Canada and the Ford Research Laboratory. He joined Mitacs in 2016 and is also currently Chair of the Mitacs Research Council. He is also currently President and Chief Technology Officer of Sheba Microsystems Inc., a Toronto based manufacturer of cameras for the smart phone and automotive industries.
R. Ben-Mrad’s research interests are micro-actuators and sensors, MEMS, microfabrication, and development of smart materials based devices. He led a large number of collaborations with industrial partners from across Canada working on developing a number of new technologies. His research has led to 20+ US, Canadian, European and Chinese patents and more than 200 refereed research publications. He has supervised the work of more than 20 PHD students, 38 Master’s students, 14 researchers, 3 Post-Doctoral Fellows, and 64 senior undergraduate students.
He has received the Faculty Early Career Teaching Award and the Connaught Innovation Award and sits on several committees, including the Steering Committee of the IEEE Journal on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems and the IEEE IES Publication Committee. He has also served as editor on various publications including the IEEE Industrial Electronics Tech News, Mechatronics, and the IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. He was the founding Director of the Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics at the University of Toronto and was Associate Chair of Research of his department.