My research focuses on the development of theoretical and computational approaches for understanding, predicting, and managing complex dynamical systems with application to both built and natural environments. I am specifically interested in three synergistic core areas: (1) engineering resilience to extreme events, (2) adapting decisions in the face of climate change, and (3) bridging data to decisions. I work at the scientific interface of Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Environmental and Ecological Science, and Data Science. I have worked on multiple applications, including reducing the environmental impacts of Food-Energy-Water (FEW) systems in and around cities, and modeling, learning, and controlling population dynamics of biological species such as fisheries under the the great uncertainty caused by environmental variations and climate change.
My Ph.D. work focused on developing theoretical and computational methods and tools for smarter monitoring and control of civil infrastructure systems. Specifically, I developed methods for robust decision making about operation and maintenance of our infrastructure, learning their deterioration from sensor measurements, and quantifying the value of information for prioritizing the future data collection. |
EmploymentUSRA, NASA Ames Research Center August 2019 - present
Senior Scientist Intelligent Systems Division eIQ Mobility April 2019 - July 2019 Lead Data Scientist University of California Berkeley Jan 2016 - March 2019 Postdoctoral Scholar, Boettiger Group, eCAL Lecturer, Data Science for Smart Cities Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Carnegie Mellon University Jan 2013 - Dec 2015 Research Assistant, Pozzi Group Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering Virginia Tech Aug 2011 - Dec 2012 Research Assistant, RAAMAC Lab Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering |
EducationCarnegie Mellon University Jan 2013 - Dec 2015
Ph.D., Civil & Environmental Engineering, GPA: 4.0 Thesis: System-level Adaptive Monitoring and Control of Infrastructures: A POMDP-based Framework Virginia Tech Aug 2011 - Dec 2012 M.Sc., Civil Engineering, GPA: 3.96 Thesis: Automated 2D Detection of Construction Resources in Support of Automated Performance Assessment of Construction Operations University of Tehran Aug 2007 - July 2011 B.Sc., Civil Engineering, GPA: 17.11/20 |