Research Team

Xuejie Li

PhD in Analytical Chemistry

Corrosion of Cold Spray Cu in Nitric Acid Solutions

Xuejie is a postdoctoral fellow at Western University where he is working on several research projects related to the corrosion properties of the Cu coating applied to the Canadian used nuclear fuel container. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from Chimie-Paristech/PSL University at Paris, France with his thesis focusing on the passivation and dissolution of Ni-related corrosion-resistant alloys, ranging from Ni-Cr binary alloys to Ni-based multi-principal element alloys. He has over 15 publications in academic journals and has given numerous presentations at renowned academic conferences. His expertise includes passivation of alloys, galvanic corrosion, electrochemistry, surface analysis techniques and finite element simulation using COMSOL.

Frank Melo

Frank is a Director of Double Black Construction and has a construction engineering and business background with over 27 years of experience as a business owner and contractor. He was born in the Azores on the island of São Miguel and moved to London, Ontario at the age of two. After studying architecture, Frank graduated from Fanshawe College’s civil engineering technology program. 

Reg Natarajan

Reg is an artificial intelligence (AI) programmer involved in the use of machine learning to predict the cascading effects of Internet outages based on localized system interruptions. He has considerable experience with various large scale research projects and the maintenance of documentation for those projects to ISO standards.

Matthew J. Turnbull

Ph.D. in Physical/Analytical Chemistry – Materials Science

Surface Scientist & Analytical Chemist

Matthew got his PhD in chemistry in 2018 doing analytical chemistry and surface analysis on materials for solar energy conversion. He spent three years as a contract scientist for the NRC doing materials analysis before joining his post-doctoral lab at Western University to work on the corrosion of copper and steel, particularly in the use of carbon-based coatings as a protective layer. With an extensive background in electrochemistry (both synchrotron and benchtop X-ray techniques for surface analysis), Matthew looks to help develop enhanced anti-corrosion coatings for transportation and green energy infrastructure. He is active in partnership with Surface Science Western, contributing to the study of metal corrosion in industrially relevant settings.

Brian Kootte  (former member)

Brian is a nuclear physicist and PhD researcher who has worked with TRIUMF INC., Canada's particle accelerator centre and Canada's premier physics laboratory.