Alireza Bahramian

Bio phenomena and their complexity have always been a matter of interest and curiosity for me since high school. How can a large number of neurons interact with each other and their environment to do a cognitive task? How does my brain make my subjective experiences? At that time, I was interested in many fields of science, but finally, I decided to choose the math branch in high school because I liked very much logical thinking and solving difficult problems. After high school, I decided to study electrical engineering in one of the most well-known universities in my country, Iran University of science and technology (IUST). This choice allowed me to not only have a strong background in mathematics but also become familiar with the world of technology. The fifth semester in IUST was the time to declare our majors. I decided to choose the control branch, as my field of study, because, in this way, I would become equipped to such a strong mathematical background that let me model different phenomena by mathematical tools, be able to analyze by engineering vision, and solve problems systematically. University education was the starting point of a holistic evolution in my life. Leaving my hometown and family to study in the capital of my country was a highly formative experience. Campus life, letting me deal with people from various backgrounds and cultures, taught me that I should respect others’ opinions, and I learned how to adapt myself to new situations. In 2016, I was accepted into the best university of Iran in the field of Biomedical Engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT), which is famous for its eminent professors. Even though there were a lot of materials and points in my new branch that I was not familiar with, after a short time, I overcame the new situation. In AUT I became such an interested and serious student who soon was known as the top student among my peers. I received A scores in all my courses and achieved a total GPA of 18.79 out of 20 and I became a top student. Tirelessness, scrupulosity, and enthusiasm for the major make me do my best in all projects and homework so that I have written some papers based on the projects of my lessons. During these works, I have learned how I must develop and implicate my ideas to solve scientific issues, how I must present my works in articles, and how I must respond to reviewers to convince them. During the master courses, I learned a lot about not only biological concepts but also mathematical tools like artificial intelligence, probabilistic methods of modeling, deep learning, chaos theory, and nonlinear control. I conducted my thesis under the supervision of Prof. Towhidkhah and Dr. Jafari on modeling walking process that has hybrid dynamic, based on equilibrium point hypothesis (which is a well-known hypothesis in human motor control neuroscience) by considering the role of central pattern generators (CPG), the oscillatory neurons that generate rhythmical patterns. I have written three drafts based on my thesis. Increasing stability of motion on the ramp, presentation of a model that changes equilibrium point and stiffness of hip joint by CPG to generate proper hip torque, and modeling walking step length and time fluctuations on the treadmill are the main ideas of these drafts. In these works, I have learned how to link biological theories and mathematical models. During my Master’s years, I help one of the Ph.D. students whose field of study was neuroscience and motor behavior. Her second supervisor was Prof. Towhidkhah and I helped her to extract features and to analyze data that she recorded in her sabbatical in Canada, so she mentioned my name in one of her drafts. In addition, I decided to have the experience of being a teacher assistant (TA) of “Neuro-Muscular Systems Control”. I tried my best to enrich the materials of the course by learning the students related softwares like Matlab and Opensim to simulate their projects. I love research and engaging with problems to solve them. It delights me so that I have decided to work as a researcher in my future carrier.