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Biography
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Tawfik Kettanah commenced his career with a 10-year stint as a structural engineer and concrete expert at various construction sites representing the Government of Iraq, working on several reinforced concrete projects in and around the city of Baghdad, Iraq.
In 1993, he served as the reinforced concrete expert and inspection engineer for the construction of four skyscrapers in the city of Ankara, Turkey. In 1994, he worked as a structural design engineer on a range of public buildings, including reinforced and steel structures, as well as residential wood structures in Oakville. In 1996, he took on the role of site manager for a three-story steel structure in Toronto, working with a non-profit organization.
To enhance his proficiency in the engineering profession and incorporate new technological tools, Tawfik pursued computer programming studies at Sheridan College. This provided him with expertise in utilizing computerized solutions for routine analysis and design challenges, as well as exploring innovative perspectives in building engineering. He graduated with honors in 1999.
Subsequently, he joined Microsoft Inc. in Redmond, Washington, as a support engineer and consultant, assisting software companies with development and programming issues.
In 2001, he returned to the School of Applied Computing & Technology at Sheridan College to develop and instruct advanced programming and database courses. He was also invited to teach engineering courses for the School of Architecture within the Faculty of Applied Science & Technology (FAST).
Continuing his dedication to education, Tawfik authored the textbook "Theory of Structures," published by Pearson Canada in 2004, and persistently taught structural engineering courses. Concurrently, he pursued his Master of Engineering degree at McMaster University, specializing in advanced design with a focus on Finite Element Analysis (FEA), ultimately graduating in 2010.
He enrolled in a PhD program in structural engineering at Ryerson University, fulfilling the prerequisites for his proposed thesis in 2012, which focused on self-healing concrete (biomimetic). However, he withdrew from the program after two years due to a lack of support and understanding from his supervisors.
Furthermore, Tawfik co-authored a chapter on the application of artificial intelligence in estimating the strength of concrete anchors for the book "Mathematics in Computational Science and Engineering," published by Wiley in May 2022.
He also designed courses in the realm of Biomimicry and Nature-inspired concepts, with a strong emphasis on the integration of Artificial Intelligence.
