Lamar University Doctoral Candidate Making Waves

Lamar University doctoral (D.E.) candidate in Industrial Engineering Pooyan Mobtahej, is making waves after securing a two-year post-doctorate position in the Neurology Department of the School of Medicine at the University of California-Irvine (UCI). Featured recently on Study International, Pooyan is finalizing his dissertation, which explores deep learning techniques, under the supervision of Lamar University Professor Maryam Hamidi. 

Pooyan will embark for UCI mid-May where he will assist and lead data analysis projects in the neurology laboratory along with UCI professor and Associate Dean, Kyoto Yokomori. Their work will focus on anomalies for predictive maintenance in gas compressor systems. Pooyan will have the opportunity to participate in challenging and futuristic work of applying AI to the integration of complex imaging and pathology datasets.

During his time as a student at Lamar, Pooyan published several articles and attributes his success to Lamar University’s unique curriculum supported by research opportunities, great faculty representation and for being a welcoming environment for international students.

“My experience at LU has been incomparable,” says Pooyan. “The College of Engineering and Industrial and Systems Engineering department has been a great support to me and my career. They offer a wide range of technical courses in data sciences, machine learning, user interface design and reliability. All of which were of interest to me when I started my education. My coursework expanded into other departments to help enhance my skillset and better prepare me for my future career.” 

“During my time, I was able to participate in an internship where I worked with cutting-edge technology to use machine learning to detect medical conditions. For my research project, I worked with Dr. Maryam Hamidi to find anomalies for predictive maintenance in gas compressor systems by employing deep learning techniques. The courses in programming taught by Dr. Curry, computer vision by Dr. Zhang and automation by Dr. Liu improved upon my skills. Everything I gained at LU has helped me pass the interview for my post-doc program at UCI.”

“I would not have been able to achieve the success I have without the assistance of Dr. James Curry and Dr. Maryam Hamidi, both of whom have been amazing resources for me, along with the support of the faculty in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. I cannot wait for this next venture and to be an LU alumni representative!”

Learn more about Lamar University’s Industrial Engineering.