Welcome to My Personal Website

I’m Habib Zreik — a Mechatronics Engineer specializing in Robotics, Embedded Systems, and Systems Engineering. I build, program, and manage complex engineering workflows. Beyond technical engineering, I have a deep passion for community, culture, literature, and knowledge translation.

Technical Projects & Systems Engineering

1. Automated Industrial Robotics (RoboTank+ / RoboFlansch)

Frameworks: V-Model, VDI/VDE 2206, VDI/VDE 2221
Focus: Automated connection process for inland liquid bulk handling (building upon CoboTank).
Deliverables: Applied systematic mechatronic design methodology to develop the RoboFlansch demonstrator presented at HaFoLa at DST; co-authored IEEE MESA 2025 paper on automated vessel loading.

2. Multi-Color Blackboard Drawing Robot — Chalkzilla (Academic Team Project)

Role: Technical Project Lead & Software Systems Engineer (7-Person Team Grade: 1.3)
Methodology: Requirements Engineering, Concept Evaluation Matrix, V-Model
Project Management: Clarified and finalized the requirements specification directly with the client. Developed a quantitative evaluation matrix to assess and select optimal concepts generated by the engineering team. Mapped the end-to-end system execution workflow process.
Software & Control Development: Developed the complete software pipeline single-handedly. Built a Python tool to convert SVG/PNG vector images into G-code, and programmed an ESP32 microcontroller using Arduino C/C++ to translate G-code into low-level stepper motor pulse sequences.
Cross-Functional Integration: Interfaced with mechanical and electronic sub-teams to ensure physical constraints matched software path-planning limits.

3. Machine Learning Systems Engineering (MATLAB)

Case Study A: Air Quality Prediction (Time-Series Regression)

Objective: Predict the Air Quality Index (AQI) over time using data collected from multiple environmental sensors.
Feature Engineering: Constructed a composite target index from available chemical measurements ($CO$, $NO_2$, $C_6H_6$) and temporal parameters (hour, day) to compensate for missing Ozone and $PM_{2.5}$ sensor channels.
Results: Evaluated Linear Regression ($R^2 = 0.848$) against Random Forest ($R^2 = 0.859$), selecting the non-linear Random Forest approach to handle non-linear atmospheric interactions.

Case Study B: Composite Damage Classification (CWT & Signal Processing)

Objective: Detect and classify structural damage types in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) using Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) features.
Architecture Trade-offs: Compared a 2-stage CNN architecture against single-stage deep learning and classical machine learning models.
Decision: Selected a Random Forest model after it achieved 96.56% test accuracy (outperforming deep learning at 92.81%), optimizing for higher classification accuracy and lower computational load.

Education

🎓 M.Sc. Mechanical Engineering (Mechatronics) — University of Duisburg-Essen, 2026
🎓 Associate Degree in Computer Science — University of the People, 2023
⏳ MBA in Business Administration — Syrian Virtual University, 2021 – present (thesis pending)
🎓 B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering — Damascus University, 2020

Technical Skills & Methodologies

Systems Engineering & Project Management: V-Model, VDI/VDE 2206, VDI/VDE 2221, Requirements Engineering, System Architecture, Concept Evaluation.
Robotics & Embedded Systems: ESP32, Arduino C/C++, Python, G-code Generation, ROS2, Control Systems, Stepper Motor Control.
Machine Learning & Signal Processing: MATLAB, Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT), CNNs, Random Forest, Time-Series Regression.
Languages: Arabic (Native), English (Fluent), German (Proficient), French (Beginner).

Culture, Community & Beyond Engineering

Alongside my technical journey, I have been deeply involved in cultural and community initiatives:

Cultural Initiatives & Leadership: Co-founded Hamak’s Reading Club (Head Coordinator) to foster open critical discussions on books and films. Organized Cham’s Cultural Club, managing a reciprocal library network spanning seven locations in Syria with a 50-volunteer team. Contracted by the Syrian Trust for Development to establish their internal book club.
Literary Endeavors: Avid reader of transformative series (Cities of Salt, Foundation, Harry Potter). As the Arabic proverb goes, “love belongs to the first Habib” — mine remains Le Petit Prince, which I re-read in every language I learn.
Arts & Photography: Attended art workshops under the late Syrian artist Ayman Aldakr and worked as an events photographer in Damascus.

Contact & Profiles

Engineering & Research Email: h.zreik@ieee.org
Publications & Translations: zreik.me/publications
Links: LinkedIn GitHub Bluesky Goodreads