Pouria Nozari | Website

Email
nozari.pouria@gmail.com
Location

Los Angeles, California, USA

About me

I am a creative researcher and a certified data scientist. I have 10+ years of experience in technical domains ranging from robotics and physics-based modeling to predictive quantitative modeling, data science & analytics, and AI/ML. I am an AI/Data enthusiast and enjoy turning complex technical problems into simple yet informative and actionable insights.

I hold a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Southern California (USC), where the core scope of my research focused on the development of innovative predictive simulation platforms to understand human motor control. With a Master's and a Bachelor's degree, both in Mechanical Engineering, I have a background in robotics and the design of mechanical systems.

My passion is to build data/process models that drive actionable insights and predictions, addressing scientific challenges. My aim is to leverage my unique blend of diverse expertise to contribute to the ML/AI and data science fields as an AI engineer and a data scientist and forge a meaningful impact on human lives.

Areas of Expertise

Programming

Professional programming in Python, R, MATLAB, Unix, Bash, and C++.
Data Analytics

High-quality data pipelines: from web scraping and data cleaning to EDA and visualizations.
Machine Learning

Adept at building various ML models, from supervised and unsupervised to deep learning and neural networks.
Robotics & AI

Proficient in developing predictive physics-based models applying optimal control and AI principles.

Portfolio

Credentials

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biomedical Engineering | University of Southern California

2017 — 2023

Dissertation: "Model-Based Predictive Simulation Approaches to Objective Inference During Adaptive Locomotor Control"
Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering | Sharif University of Technology
2014 — 2016
Thesis: "Development of a Novel Energy Index to Evaluate Neuro-impaired Reaching Quality"
Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering | Sharif University of Technology
2009 — 2014
Thesis: "Design and Construction of an Adjustable, Mountable Head Support for CP Patients"
High School Diploma in Mathematics & Physics | Allameh Helli Exceptional Talents (NODET)
2005 — 2009

Certifications

Azure AI (AI-900)

MICROSOFT

Data Scientist Associate

DATACAMP

Google Data Analytics

GOOGLE

GPU-Accelerated Data Science

NVIDIA

AI for Anomaly Detection

NVIDIA

Deep Learning Fundamentals

NVIDIA

Publications

Nozari P* & Finley JM. Utility of a Feature-Reduced Bayesian Inverse Optimization to Understand Human Locomotor Control. In Prep.
Nozari P* & Finley JM. Strategies from Good-enough Control Predict Kinetic and Spatiotemporal Features Adopted in Human Gait During Walking on Split-belt Treadmills. In Prep.
Nozari P*, Finley JM & Rebula J. Challenges and Opportunities in the Application of Inverse Optimal Control to Explain Human Locomotor Control: A Review. Under Review.
Nozari P*. Model-Based Approaches to Objective Inference During Steady-State and Adaptive Locomotor Control. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Southern California, 2023.
Nozari P* & Finley JM. A Data-Driven Low-Dimensional Optimization Framework Using Dynamical Movement Primitives Reproduces Human-Like Relationships between Walking Speed and Energetic Cost. Virtual 44th Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, 2020.
Nozari P* & Finley JM. Evaluating Optimization Principles in Bipedal Locomotion Using Dynamical Movement Primitives. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, 2019.
Nozari P* & Finley JM. Development of a Platform to Evaluate Principles of Bipedal Locomotion Using Dynamical Movement Primitives. 2019 9th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2019, pp. 1062-1065.
Nozari P*, Masouleh MT, & Kazemi H. Collision-free Path Planning of a Novel Reconfigurable Mobile Parallel Mechanism. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Eng. Science, 231(20), pp. 3728–3742, 2017.
Nozari P*, Kazemi H., Masouleh MT, & Novin RS. Collision-free Path Planning of a Novel Reconfigurable Mobile Parallel Mechanism. 2015 3rd RSI International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICROM), Tehran, Iran, 2015, pp. 389-394.
Kazemi H, Nozari P*, Masouleh MT, & Novin RS. Path Planning of 3-RRR Parallel Robot by Avoiding Mechanical Interferences via Artificial Potential Field, 2015 3rd RSI International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICROM), Tehran, Iran, 2015, pp. 240-245.
Nozari P*, Kazemi H, Hoviattalab M & Novin RS. Design and Construction of an Adjustable and Walker-Attachable Head Support for Patients with Cerebral Palsy. 21st Iranian Conference on Biomedical Engineering (ICBME), Iran, 2014.

Peer-Reviews:

IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems & Rehabilitation Engineering (IEEE TNSRE), 2023
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (JNER), 2022

Areas of Expertise

Programming

Data Analytics

Machine Learning

Robotics & AI

Daniel lewis

Anomaly Detection Using XGBoost

NLP Language Classification from Speech

Digit Classification: OCR via Backpropagation

Accelerated Data Science via RAPIDS

Titanic: Machine Learning from Disaster

Gapminder Data Analytics

Outfit Categorization for Fashion-MNIST

RL-Based Simulation for Bipedal Walking

Predicting Boston House Sales via Ensemble Methods

Stock Data Extraction & Analytics

Predicting King County House Sales via Shrinkage Methods

Grid-World Path Finding via Markov Decision Processes (MDPs)

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biomedical Engineering | University of Southern California

2017 — 2023

Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering | Sharif University of Technology

Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering | Sharif University of Technology

High School Diploma in Mathematics & Physics | Allameh Helli Exceptional Talents (NODET)

Certifications

Azure AI (AI-900)

Data Scientist Associate

Google Data Analytics

GPU-Accelerated Data Science

AI for Anomaly Detection

Deep Learning Fundamentals

Nozari P* & Finley JM. Utility of a Feature-Reduced Bayesian Inverse Optimization to Understand Human Locomotor Control. In Prep.

Nozari P* & Finley JM. Strategies from Good-enough Control Predict Kinetic and Spatiotemporal Features Adopted in Human Gait During Walking on Split-belt Treadmills. In Prep.

Nozari P*, Finley JM & Rebula J. Challenges and Opportunities in the Application of Inverse Optimal Control to Explain Human Locomotor Control: A Review. Under Review.

Nozari P*. Model-Based Approaches to Objective Inference During Steady-State and Adaptive Locomotor Control. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Southern California, 2023.

Nozari P* & Finley JM. A Data-Driven Low-Dimensional Optimization Framework Using Dynamical Movement Primitives Reproduces Human-Like Relationships between Walking Speed and Energetic Cost. Virtual 44th Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics, 2020.

Nozari P* & Finley JM. Evaluating Optimization Principles in Bipedal Locomotion Using Dynamical Movement Primitives. Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, 2019.

Nozari P* & Finley JM. Development of a Platform to Evaluate Principles of Bipedal Locomotion Using Dynamical Movement Primitives. 2019 9th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER), San Francisco, CA, USA, 2019, pp. 1062-1065.

Nozari P*, Masouleh MT, & Kazemi H. Collision-free Path Planning of a Novel Reconfigurable Mobile Parallel Mechanism. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Eng. Science, 231(20), pp. 3728–3742, 2017.

Nozari P*, Kazemi H., Masouleh MT, & Novin RS. Collision-free Path Planning of a Novel Reconfigurable Mobile Parallel Mechanism. 2015 3rd RSI International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICROM), Tehran, Iran, 2015, pp. 389-394.

Kazemi H, Nozari P*, Masouleh MT, & Novin RS. Path Planning of 3-RRR Parallel Robot by Avoiding Mechanical Interferences via Artificial Potential Field, 2015 3rd RSI International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICROM), Tehran, Iran, 2015, pp. 240-245.

Nozari P*, Kazemi H, Hoviattalab M & Novin RS. Design and Construction of an Adjustable and Walker-Attachable Head Support for Patients with Cerebral Palsy. 21st Iranian Conference on Biomedical Engineering (ICBME), Iran, 2014.

Peer-Reviews:

IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems & Rehabilitation Engineering (IEEE TNSRE), 2023

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (JNER), 2022

Contact Form

Nozari P, Finley JM & Rebula J. Challenges and Opportunities in the Application of Inverse Optimal Control to Explain Human Locomotor Control: A Review. Under Review*.

Nozari P. Model-Based Approaches to Objective Inference During Steady-State and Adaptive Locomotor Control. Doctoral Dissertation*, University of Southern California, 2023.

Nozari P, Masouleh MT, & Kazemi H. Collision-free Path Planning of a Novel Reconfigurable Mobile Parallel Mechanism. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Eng. Science*, 231(20), pp. 3728–3742, 2017.

Nozari P, Kazemi H., Masouleh MT, & Novin RS. Collision-free Path Planning of a Novel Reconfigurable Mobile Parallel Mechanism. 2015 3rd RSI International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICROM)*, Tehran, Iran, 2015, pp. 389-394.

Kazemi H, Nozari P, Masouleh MT, & Novin RS. Path Planning of 3-RRR Parallel Robot by Avoiding Mechanical Interferences via Artificial Potential Field, 2015 3rd RSI International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics (ICROM)*, Tehran, Iran, 2015, pp. 240-245.

Nozari P, Kazemi H, Hoviattalab M & Novin RS. Design and Construction of an Adjustable and Walker-Attachable Head Support for Patients with Cerebral Palsy. 21st Iranian Conference on Biomedical Engineering (ICBME)*, Iran, 2014.