CV
Research Interests
Keywords: Numerical simulations, finite element method, discrete element method, spectral methods, computational geometry, contact mechanics, structural dynamics, bio-inspired systems, heuristics, topology optimization, inverse problems, morphology of microstructures.
Education
PhD Civil Engineering École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland 2018–2022 Dissertation: Geometrical treatise on the modelling of 3D particulate inclusion-matrix microstructures with an application to historical stone masonry walls
MSc Structural Engineering University of Pécs (PTE), Hungary 2016–2018 Dissertation: Design of reinforced concrete beams using metaheuristic algorithms
BSc Civil Engineering The Islamic University of Gaza (IUG), Palestine 2009–2014
Awards and Scholarships
- 2023–2025: SNSF Postdoc.Mobility grant: Harmonic decomposition of the 3D morphology of surfaces for simulating the growth of soft shells and plates. Project P500PT-211088 at MIT — van Rees Lab
- 2020–2022: EPFL–ENAC cluster grant: Application of digital fabrication to hybrid stone-timber structures (Co-PI).
- 2016–2018: Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship (MSc studies).
- 2014: 2nd place in graduation project competition — IUG Tech & Engineering Day.
- 2009–2014: IUG scholarship for talented students (2 semesters).
Work Experience
Scientist University of Zagreb (UniZg), Croatian Centre for Earthquake Engineering (CCEE), Zagreb, Croatia Feb 2025 (ongoing)
Postdoctoral Fellow Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA Jan 2023 – Jan 2025
Postdoctoral Fellow École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland Sept 2022 – Dec 2022
- Continued research on harmonic expansion of parametric surfaces.
Research & Development (R&D) Bashir Siksik & Co. Ltd., Gaza, Palestine 2015 – 2016
- Designed and tested new products with CAD and CAE tools.
- Designed and assessed hydraulic and pressurized water systems.
Structural Engineer ENFRA Consultants, Gaza, Palestine 2014 – 2015
- Designed new buildings and rehabilitated damaged ones.
Teaching Experience
- MIT: Guest lecturer, Plates and Shells (2.081)
- EPFL: Teaching assistant, Nonlinear Analysis of Structures (CIVIL-449)
- IUG: Instructor, multiple courses in Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis
- Bashir Siksik & Co.: Instructor, FreeCAD, NASTRAN, and Autodesk Inventor
Publications
Talks
From Morphology to High-Fidelity Simulations: Spectrally Accurate Modeling of Microstructures
Talk at Université de Lorraine, LEM3, CNRS, Metz, France
Applied and Computational Geometry for Science and Engineering
Talk at SIAM CSE25, Fort Worth, TX, USA
Spheroidal Harmonics for Generalizing the Analysis of Granular Materials
Talk at ASCE EMI/PMC Conference, Chicago, IL, USA
Spheroidal Harmonics for Morphological Decomposition of Particles
Talk at 97th New England Complex Fluids (NECF), Cambridge, MA, USA
Teaching
Released Open Source Codes
2024 — Choi, G. P. T. and Shaqfa, M. Title: Hemispheroidal parameterization and harmonic decomposition of simply connected open surfaces. (To be released) Developed in: Python 3.7 and MATLAB
2024 — Shaqfa, M.. libharmonics-dev Description: An open-source library for an efficient harmonic decomposition of open and closed surfaces. (To be released) Developed in: C++23
2024 — Shaqfa, M., and van Rees, W. M. Title: Spheroidal harmonics for generalizing the morphological decomposition of closed parametric surfaces. (To be released) Developed in: Python 3.7
2023 — Shaqfa, M., dos Santos, K. R. M., and Beyer, K. Title: On the Conjugate Symmetry and Sparsity of the Harmonic Decomposition of Parametric Surfaces with the Randomised Kaczmarz Method Developed in: Python 3.7
2022 — Shaqfa, M.. PIC2FEM Description: A simple script using 2D Fourier descriptors to transfer grayscale images into 2D finite element meshes. Developed in: Python 3.7
2021 — Shaqfa, M., and Beyer, K. Title: A virtual microstructure generator for 3D stone masonry walls (To be released) Developed in: Python 3.7
2021 — Shaqfa, M., Choi, G. P. T., and Beyer, K. Title: Spherical cap harmonic analysis (SCHA) for characterising the morphology of rough surface patches Developed in: MATLAB
2020 — Shaqfa, M., and Beyer, K. Title: Pareto-like sequential sampling heuristic for global optimisation Developed in: C++14, Python 3.7, and Octave
2018 — Shaqfa, M., and Orbán, Z. Title: Modified parameter-setting-free harmony search (PSFHS) algorithm for optimizing the design of reinforced concrete beams Developed in: C++14, Python 3.7, and Octave