Mohamed Hefeeda

Mohamed Hefeeda

Professor

Email: mhefeeda@sfu.ca

Phone: (778) 782-4095

Office: TASC1 9221

Address: School of Computing Science
Simon Fraser University
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
Canada

I am a professor in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University, where I lead the Network and Multimedia Systems Lab (NMSL). My current research interests include:

To Prospective Students: Please visit the prospective students page for more information.


Teaching


Awards and Honours


Short Bio

Mohamed Hefeeda is a Professor in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Canada, where he leads the Network and Multimedia Systems Lab (NMSL). His research interests include multimedia systems, computer networks, and AI for multimedia. He received multiple research awards and recognitions. For example, in 2025, Dr. Hefeeda was named an ACM Distinguished Member. In 2011, he was awarded one of the prestigious NSERC Discovery Accelerator Supplements (DAS), which are granted to a select group of distinguished researchers from all Science and Engineering disciplines in Canada. His research on mobile video streaming has resulted in multiple patents and conference awards (e.g., ACM MMSys Best Paper, ACM Multimedia Best Demo, and IEEE Innovation Best Paper), and has been featured in several news venues, including ACM Tech News, World Journal News, and CTV British Columbia.

Dr. Hefeeda has co-authored many peer-refereed publications in reputable journals and conferences. In addition, his research has resulted in ten granted patents, a start-up company, and multiple technology transfers to major companies. For example, in partnership with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), he designed a cost-effective, peer-assisted multimedia content distribution system. This system provided on-demand and live-streaming services and was deployed by CBC for multiple services in English and French. Dr. Hefeeda's research has been funded by national funding agencies, e.g., NSERC and CFI, and several major companies including AMD, Huawei, CBC, Nokia, and Cisco.

Dr. Hefeeda served as the Director of the School of Computing Science at SFU from May 2018 to April 2023, during which he led a major faculty renewal and expansion. Under his leadership, the School hired 25 faculty members, restructured and expanded its support staff, introduced a new Professional Master's program in Cybersecurity, and substantially increased its graduate and undergraduate enrollments. Between 2017 and 2018, Dr. Hefeeda served as the Associate Director for Research and Industry Relations for the School and the Director of its Professional Master's Program. While on leave from SFU, Dr. Hefeeda helped with the creation of the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), which has grown to a high-quality research institution in the Middle East with more than 100 researchers and engineers.

Dr. Hefeeda has served on the editorial boards of premier journals such as the ACM Transactions on Multimedia Computing, Communications and Applications (TOMM), where he was named the Best Associate Editor in 2014. He has served on the organizing committees and/or co-chaired several international conferences such as ACM MMSys, IEEE INFOCOM, ACM MM, IEEE ICME, and ACM NOSSDAV.

In 2010, Dr. Hefeeda co-founded Video Semantics, which received two rounds of competitive US Government funding through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program as well as other funding, and the technology was later acquired.

Dr. Hefeeda received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Purdue University, USA in 2004, and M.Sc. and B.Sc. from Mansoura University, Egypt in 1997 and 1994, respectively.