Background
I have completed my Bachelor’s in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at Sharif University of Technology (SUT), Tehran, Iran and my Master’s at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Prior to joining Prof. Siegel’s group at the University of Toronto (UofT), I worked at the “Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST)” in Montreal. My former research expertise (at Concordia and IRSST) mainly included the performance evaluation of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) used to reduce exposure to ultrafine particles (UFPs) in industrial and occupational workplaces.
Research Interests
My research interests focus on the analysis of dust samples collected on the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) filters in residential buildings. With the analysis of these samples, I will be able to discover a diverse spectrum of contaminants bound to airborne particles many of which are harmful to our health when we breathe them. This will be a crucial step to assess our exposure to these contaminants in residential indoor environments, where we spent the majority of our time in.
Projects
Publications
Mendell A, Mahdavi A, Siegel JA. 2022. Particulate matter concentrations in social housing. Sustainable Cities & Society, 76, 103503. DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2021.103503 | Summary | IEQ in Social Housing |
Mahdavi A, Dingle J, Chan AWH, Siegel JA. 2021. HVAC filtration of particles and trace metals: Airborne measurements and the evaluation of quantitative filter forensics. Environmental Pollution, 271, 116388. DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116388 | Summary | Filter Forensics |
Mahdavi A, Siegel JA. 2021. Quantitative filter forensics: Size distribution and particulate matter concentrations in residential buildings. Indoor Air, 31(4), 1050-1060. DOI: 10.1111/ina.12782 | Summary | Filter Forensics |
Mahdavi A, Siegel JA. 2020. Extraction of dust collected in HVAC filters for quantitative filter forensics. Aerosol Science and Technology, 54(11), 1282-1292. DOI: 10.1111/ina.12782 | Summary | Filter Forensics |
Bi C, Maestre JP, Li H, Zhang G, Givehchi R, Mahdavi A, Kinney K, Siegel JA, Horner S, Xu Y. 2018. Phthalates and organophosphates in settled dust and HVAC filter dust of U.S. low-income homes: Association with season, building characteristics, and childhood asthma. Environment International, 121, 916-930. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.09.013 | Summary | Filter Forensics |
| Mahdavi A, Givehchi R, Siegel JA. 2020. Particle Size Distribution of Residential HVAC Filter Dust. Indoor Air 2020: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Indoor Air and Climate, Paper 980. |
| Mahdavi A, Siegel JA. 2020. Quantitative Filter Forensics Evaluation of Particulate Matter. Indoor Air 2020: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Indoor Air and Climate, Paper 981. |
| Mahdavi A, Siegel JA . (2018) Extraction of Dust Collected in HVAC Filters. Indoor Air 2018: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Indoor Air and Climate, Paper 800. |
| Diaz Lozano Patiño E, Mahdavi A, Siegel, JA. (2018) Particulate Matter Emission Rates from Common Scent Sources. ASHRAE Conference Paper HO-18-C011. |
| Alavy M, Li T, Mahdavi A, Siegel, JA. (2018) In-situ Integrated Filter Efficiency Measurement. ASHRAE Conference Paper HO-18-C012. |
| Mahdavi, D. Haaland, J. Siegel. 2016. Particulate Matter Concentrations in Multi-Unit Social Housing. Indoor Air 2016: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Indoor Air and Climate , Paper 1011. |
Scholarships
- Doctoral Completion Award
Personal website link:
https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=9MA2mpMAAAAJ&hl=en