This Resilient and Innovative UNB Researcher Makes Maritime List of Top 25 Immigrants
FREDERICTON – For many immigrants who have moved to New Brunswick, finding opportunities in a different culture can be an incredibly challenging experience.
Haider Mohamad Razak, a thirty-year-old man from Baghdad, Iraq, is used to starting over, so he overcame this challenge and found success at the University of New Brunswick with his innovative research in renewable energies.
Before coming to Fredericton in 2006 to study for his bachelors, masters and Ph.D, Razak left Iraq and moved from place to place with his family, living temporarily in Libya, Dubai, and Ontario.
“My father decided to move the whole family because the economic situation was bad in Iraq,” said Razak, “Starting from zero is not easy, especially when you’re a teenager and have done it more than once.”
Despite starting over so many times, Razak found Fredericton and UNB to be the perfect fit for him.
“It’s hard to get involved in the community when you speak a different language and come from a different culture, but it’s different in Fredericton because it’s so small and everyone is mixed together,” he said. “I am very lucky to be in Fredericton.”
While Razak continues his studies at UNB, he is working with other students and professors on a project that will help integrate renewable energy sources such as solar and wind turbines into a smart grid. Razak designs devices called inverters that will be integrated into a smart grid, and allow it to determine and make decisions on how this renewable energy can be used to its maximum effect.
For example, the inverter will allow a smart grid to pick up on whether a solar energy source is reaching its maximum potential, and if not, the smart grid can make the decision on whether or not this energy should be stored or moved somewhere else. They have already sold and shipped these inverters to several locations across the Maritimes, and continue to design them for companies such as NB Power.
“My friends and my professors told me that the market was heading towards renewable energy,” he said. “I decided to follow the market, and I hope that my research will be beneficial to others in the future.”
Razak was recently honoured for his work at a Halifax gala as one of the Top 25 Immigrants in the Maritimes November 3 for the impact his work and research has had on New Brunswick.
“Everyone was very nice and I met some great people, and I was glad to make my parents and fiancee proud,” he said.
Now Razak continues his work at UNB, and will be graduating with his Ph.D in May. While studying and working on his inverters, he also teaches first- and second-year courses to other students and publishes articles on his work with renewable energy.
“Teaching is definitely the field I would like to stay in,” said Razak. “If I could continue that here at UNB, I would be able to also continue my research and publish more articles as well.”
Despite his current success, Razak struggled getting his work published for a long time.
“I’m a person who didn’t speak English and tried to publish something, but at a certain point I didn’t give up and just kept trying.”
After multiple rejections, Razak overcame his past failures, which he believes was an important life lesson for him.
“Usually the ones who are the most successful are the ones who suffer or the ones who face failure,” said Razak, “If you don’t face failure then you won’t have the motivation to go further and further.”