Alfonse Ly

Alumnus, Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Automotive Engineering (2020), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Mechanical Engineering (2025)

Alumnus Alfonse Ly took a unique approach to his engineering journey, balancing both industry experience and academia. Alfonse joined Ontario Tech in 2016 and graduated in 2020 with his Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Automotive Engineering. During his undergraduate, Alfonse was an Undergraduate Research Assistant for the Clean Energy Research Laboratory (CERL) under Dr. Ibrahim Dincer, as well as did two four-month work terms with Siemens. After completion of his undergraduate in 2020, Alfonse returned to Siemens for a year as a Protection Control Engineer.

Alfonse rejoined Ontario Tech University in September 2021 where he began his PhD journey. Alfonse's PhD research focused on the advanced modeling and simulation of tire mechanics, particularly under extreme conditions. His expertise spans from the development and validation of high-fidelity racing tire models to the demanding requirements of commercial truck tire modeling for industry leaders like Volvo Group Trucks. A core part of his work involved simulating tire wear under dynamic loads and developing predictive Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tire wear models. Alfonse also specialized in areas such as tire materials testing, and utilizing complex hybrid methods like FEA Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics analysis to study tire performance on varying terrains, including how tread patterns differentiate and influence tire-terrain interactions.

After defending his thesis titled, "Development of a multi-physics tire model for wear and thermal estimation in the finite element environment," Alfonse joined General Motors as a Motorsport Tire Performance Engineer for Cadillac. Alfonse has shared, "Presently, I am absolutely in awe! I'm working on really amazing projects and surrounded by some of the best individuals in their field." 

Alfonse is a key example of how a combination of industry experience and academia can lead you to fulfill dreams you may not have originally known you had. Alfonse shared for the next generation, "Always be open to tackling new challenges, asking difficult questions, and taking time to understand a problem. The rest will work itself out and come along to you if you put your utmost best foot forward!"