Back to Search

Issah Ibrahim

Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Electrical & Computer Engineering (PM)

Pioneer Hall

P213

(989) 9642799

(989) 9642799

iibrahi1@svsu.edu

Biography

Dr. Issah Ibrahim is an Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU). Prior to joining SVSU in Fall 2024, he served as an Assistant Professor at the Pennsylvania State University, Erie, PA. He earned his Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal, a Master of Applied Science degree from the University of Windsor in Ontario, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, West Africa.

His research focuses on electrical machines, power, and renewable energy systems, with an emphasis on design and optimization. He has published extensively in leading journals, including IEEE Transactions on Magnetics and the International Journal for Computation and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and has presented his work at major international conferences such as CEFC, COMPUMAG, ECCE, IEMDC, ICEM, and MDSM.

Dr. Ibrahim brings significant industry experience, having served as the Director of Electromagnetics at Maya HTT (Canada, USA & UK) and as an Electrical Engineering Manager at Bannerman International Consultancy, formerly based in Montreal, Canada. These roles inform his applied research and industry-oriented teaching.

At SVSU, he is actively engaged in curriculum development, assessment, funded research, and student mentorship, particularly in undergraduate research. He teaches core courses such as Circuits, Electronics, Power Systems, and Electrical Machines, integrating modern engineering tools and practices. His combined academic and industry background strengthens student learning and supports the program’s mission to prepare graduates for industry demands.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy
McGill University

Teaching Interests

  • Electric Circuits
  • Electronic Circuits
  • Power Systems
  • Control Systems
  • Power Electronics
  • Photovoltaic Systems
  • Electric Machine Drives
  • Distributed Generation Systems
  • Computational Electromagnetics
  • Numerical Methods & Analysis

Research

Selected Conference & Journal Publications
  • I. Ibrahim, D. A. Lowther, “Implication of Manufacturing Imperfections on the Acoustic Noise Performance of Electric Motors,” Accepted at the 22nd Biennial IEEE Conference on Electromagnetic Field Computation (CEFC 2026), Thessaloniki, Greece, June 7, 2026.

  • I. Ibrahim, D. A. Lowther, “Experimental validation of stator vibrations of permanent magnet synchronous motors,” Accepted at the 22nd Biennial IEEE Conference on Electromagnetic Field Computation (CEFC 2026), Thessaloniki, Greece, June 7, 2026.

  • I. Ibrahim, D. A. Lowther, “Multiphysics performance of surrogate models on step skewed pole surface-mounted permanent magnet motors,” in the International Journal for Computation and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 418 - 426, May 2024, 10.1108/COMPEL-11-2023-0607.
  • G. B. Ferreira, A. de Barros, I. Ibrahim, R. Silva, “Surrogate-based constrained multi-objective optimization for the compression of CNNs,” in Encontro Nacional de Inteligencia e Computacional (ENIAC), pp. 184 - 198, Sept. 25, 2023.
  • I. Ibrahim, D. A. Lowther, “Surrogate-assisted acoustic noise calculation of skewed pole electric motors,” in the 24th IEEE International Conference on the Computation of Electromagnetic Fields (COMPUMAG 2023), Kyoto, Japan, from May 22-26, 2023.
  • I. Ibrahim, and D. A. Lowther, “A study of the relationship between torque ripple and acoustic noise performance of permanent magnet synchronous motors,” in the IEEE Conference on Electromagnetic Field Computation (CEFC 2022), Denver, Colorado, USA, October 24-26, 2022.
  • I. Ibrahim, Rodrigo Silva, D. A. Lowther, “Application of surrogate models in the multiphysics sizing of permanent magnet synchronous motors,” in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, April 6, 2022, DOI: 10.1109/TMAG.2022.3165396.
  • I. Ibrahim, M. H. Mohammadi, V. Ghorbanian, and D. A. Lowther, “Correlating structural complexity and acoustic noise performance of electric motors,” in the International Journal for Computation and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 925-937, March 29, 2022, DOI: 10.1108/COMPEL-03-2021-0094.
  • I. Ibrahim, Rodrigo Silva, M. H. Mohammadi, Vahid Ghorbanian, and D. A. Lowther, “Surrogate models for design and optimization of inverter-fed synchronous motor drives,” in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 57, pp. 1–5, March 28, 2021, DOI: 10.1109/TMAG.2021.3070486.
  • I. Ibrahim, Rodrigo Silva, M. H. Mohammadi, V. Ghorbanian, and D. A. Lowther, “Surrogate-based acoustic noise prediction of electric motors,” in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 1-4, February 2020, DOI: 10.1109/TMAG.2019.2945407.
  • D. A. Lowther, V. Ghorbanian, M. H. Mohammadi, I. Ibrahim, “Design tools for electromagnetic driven multiphysics systems using high-performance computing,” in the International Journal for Computation and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, vol. 39, no. 1, December 2020, 10.1108/COMPEL-06-2019-0234.
  • I. Ibrahim, M. H. Mohammadi, V. Ghorbanian, and D. A. Lowther, “Effect of pulse-width modulation on electromagnetic noise of interior permanent magnet synchronous motors,” in IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, vol.55, no. 10, pp. 1-5, June 2019, DOI: 10.1109/TMAG.2019.2920107.
  • I. Ibrahim, Tanvir Rahman, D. A. Lowther, “A study of the vibroacoustic performance of inverter-fed synchronous motor drives under different operating conditions,” in the 14th Annual IEEE International Electric Machines & Drives Conference (IEMDC 2021), DOI: 10.1109/IEMDC 47953.2021.9449521.
  • I. Ibrahim, D. A. Lowther, “Effects of stator laminations on acoustic noise of electrical machines,” in the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress & Exposition Conference (ECCE 2021), Oct. 10-14, Vancouver, BC, Canada, DOI: 10.1109/ECCE47101.2021.9595073.
  • I. Ibrahim, M. H. Mohammadi, V. Ghorbanian, and D. A. Lowther, “Correlating structural complexity and acoustic noise performance of electric motors”, in 19th International IGTE Symposium on Numerical Field Calculation in Electrical Engineering, Graz, Austria, September 2020.
  • I. Ibrahim, and D. A. Lowther, “Thermal effects on the acoustic noise performance of interior permanent magnet synchronous motors,” in the 2018 IEEE International Magnetics Conference (INTERMAG 2018), Singapore, April 2018.
  • I. Ibrahim, Rodrigo Silva, D. A. Lowther, “Application of surrogate models in multiphysics sizing of permanent magnet synchronous motors,” in the 23rd IEEE International Conference on the Computation of Electromagnetic Fields (COMPUMAG 2022), Cancun, Mexico, January 18-20, 2022.
  • I. Ibrahim, “Simulation-based noise and vibration analysis of an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor,” in 19th Annual Motor & Drive Systems (M&D 2022) Conference, February 8-9, 2022, Orlando, Florida, USA.
  • I. Ibrahim, R. Silva, M. H. Mohammadi, Vahid Ghorbanian, and D. A. Lowther, “Surrogate models for design and optimization of inverter-fed synchronous motor drives,” in the IEEE Conference on Electromagnetic Field Computation (CEFC 2020), Pisa, Italy, November 16-18, 2020.
  • V. Ghorbanian, M. H. Mohammadi, I. Ibrahim, D. A. Lowther, and J. Hendershot, “An HPC-based data-driven process for design exploration and optimization of motor drives”, in the 11th Annual IEEE International Electric Machines & Drives Conference (IEMDC 2019), San Diego, California, USA, pp. 597–602, April 2019, DOI: 10.1109/IEMDC.2019.8785160.
  • I. Ibrahim, and D. A. Lowther, “Simulation-based vibroacoustic analysis of inverter-fed interior permanent magnet synchronous motors”, in 2019 Simcenter 3D Software Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, December 2019.

Works of Creativity

  • Invited Speaker

    Motor & Drives Systems (MDS) Conference, Orlando, Florida, USA, February 8–9, 2022.
    A leading, industry-oriented conference and expo focused on the latest advancements in motors, drive systems, motion control, magnetic applications, technology, and rare earth materials, with participation from over 1,000 companies across automotive, manufacturing, aviation, and related sectors.

Community Engagement

Dr. Ibrahim serves as an active peer reviewer for several journals and international conferences under the auspices of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). My contributions support the evaluation of high-quality research manuscripts and uphold rigorous academic and technical standards across the field.

Journal Reviewing

  • IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems

  • IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification

  • IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics

Conference Reviewing

  • International Electric Machines and Drives Conference (IEMDC 2025), Houston, Texas, USA, May 18th to 21st, 2025. 

  • Energy Conversion Conference and Exposition (ECE 2025), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, October 19th to 23rd, 2025. 

  • International Conference on the Computation of Electromagnetic Fields (COMPUMAG 2025), Naples, Italy, June 22nd to 26th 2025.

Leadership

  • Grade Grievance Committee Member, Saginaw Valley State University, January 2026–Present

Honors and Awards

Dr. Ibrahim is a proud recipient of several prestigious awards, including:

  • McGill Engineering Doctoral Award (MEDA 2015) 2015
  • H. Stotland Family ISEAD Fellowship Award, McGill University 2016
  • NSERC-Automotive Partnership Canada Fellowship, Government of Canada 2017
  • Graduate Research Enhancement & Travel (GREAT) Award, McGill University 2019
  • Faculty of Engineering Graduate Excellence Fellowship Award, McGill University 2018, 2020