 MEET THE STUDENTS
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Alireza's Three Favorite Things about the ECE Department:
1) It is a fast-growing department with a lot of new activities in micro- and nanotechnology.
2) It has a diverse student body with a vast range of cultures and backgrounds.
3) I also like the friendly environment of the department. The people I work with in our lab are friendly, helpful intelligent people that made my experience here a success.
Advice to Incoming Students:
Don't be afraid of experiencing new things, sharing your thought with others, and using your imagination. Someone once said, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, can be achieved." |
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Alireza
talks about ECE @ Maryland:
"I was born in Lahijan, a northern city of Iran. I was always fascinated by physical phenomena as a kid. During my middle school years, I came across a schematic of an electronic siren in a newspaper. With some help from my cousin, I purchased all the necessary parts and built the siren. The feeling of creating something functional from scratch—or in other words "engineering"—was very satisfying and exciting at the same time.
Ranking third among 300,000 participants in the nationwide qualifying examination for Iranian universities, I was admitted to the electrical engineering program at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. I graduated with a BS degree in electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology and was admitted to the graduate program in electrical engineering at Iran's University of Science and Technology in Tehran, where I received my MS degree in electrical engineering.
For my Ph.D., I knew that I wanted to study microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), mainly because of its interdisciplinary nature and my personal interest in microfabrication. I was in the process of applying to US graduate schools and I had admission from couple of schools including Maryland. I noticed that a MEMS group just started at the University of Maryland by my advisor Professor Reza Ghodssi. I was really excited because a newly established group is the best opportunity to experience many challenging problems. I contacted Professor Ghodssi and he offered me a research assistantship.
I realized that Maryland is growing very fast, moving to the cutting edge of research and education in many areas. Furthermore, its closeness to the capital and its many resources is a unique advantage.
I earned my Ph.D. and became a research assistant in the MEMS Sensors and Actuators Lab. My areas of interest have been in design, fabrication, and characterization of MEMS, including Power MEMS such as micromotors and microgenerators. My Ph.D. research was on the development of a polymer-based linear electrostatic micromotor supported on microball bearings. During my time at Maryland, I made great progress in my research and have published a number of high-quality papers and won two awards.
My experience at Maryland has expanded my views on all aspects of life and now I can think with less bias and more objectivity. My communication skills have improved drastically and I learned how to approach challenging problems more effectively.
You can find all kind of students from different cultures and background in ECE department. They are friendly people and you can always find someone to help you if you need.
My experience here has taught me that education and research are one of the most important driving forces in the progress of a society towards higher quality in life. There are many unsolved problems in the world and the knowledge and experience that we gained during our studies here can help solving these problems and change the world."
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