About Me:

Pouria received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) from University of California Santa Barbara in 2020, and his MS degree in Physics with an emphasis in computational astrophysics from University of California Riverside in 2014. Prior to that, he received two B.S. degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Physics from Sharif University of Technology in Iran in 2013. Pouria did his postdoctoral studies at Merck Research Lab, where he developed computational models for high concentration biotherapeutic formulations.

Pouria’s research interest is focused on computational modeling and simulation of multiscale phenomena. In his career he has applied advanced numerical techniques to develop computational models and HPC simulation softwares for several complex physical systems including galaxy clusters, cell aggregates, atomic islands, instabilities of high concentration protein formulations, parametrization of molecular dynamics force fields, and using AI for accelerating molecular dynamics simulations.

In his personal time, he enjoys reading books, listening to podcasts and music, stargazing, and going for long walks.

Education:

  • PhD in Mechanical Engineering, UC Santa Barbara, 2016-2020
  • Graduate research in computational astrophysics, UC Riverside, 2014-2016
  • MS in Physics, UC Riverside, 2013-2014
  • BS in Physics, Sharif University of Technology, 2009-2013
  • BS in Aerospace Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, 2008-2013

Honors & Awards:

  • 2021: Awarded $75,000 seed grant to develop an HPC simulation platform for protein aggregation (I was Co-PI), Merck Research Laboratories, USA
  • 2020: Graduate Division Dissertation Fellowship Award, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
  • 2019: Travel award for SIAM conference on computational science and engineering, Spokane, Washington, USA,
  • 2017: Finalist for the 3rd edition of the IEEE Entrepreneurship Forum and Startup Contest, IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE RAS), USA,
  • 2016: Awarded 740,082 SUs computing allocation time on Stampede supercomputer for the project “Dwarf Galaxies as Cosmological Laboratories of Galaxy Formation”, XSEDE grant number AST160006 (I was Co-PI), USA,
  • 2015: Recipient of FIELDS Fellowship on Big Data and Visualization, FIELDS NASA MIRO program, USA,
  • 2015: Michael Devirian Award for Outstanding Research by a 2nd Year Graduate Student, University of California Riverside, USA,
  • 2013: Winner of Dean's Distinguished Fellowship Award, UC Riverside, USA,
  • 2013: Merit-based Admission Offer to the M.Sc. program, Aerospace Engineering Department, Sharif University of Technology , Iran,
  • 2008: 4 year “National Elite Foundation Undergraduate Fellowship Award”, Ministry of Education, Iran,
  • 2008: Top 0.1% (ranked 258) among 300,000 high school students for National University Entrance Exam, Iran,
  • 2007: Elected as a member of the "Iranian National Elite Foundation",
  • 2007: Silver Medal in the 3rd National Olympiad on Astronomy, Ministry of Education, Iran,