Professional Experience
Research
& Teaching
Five years of hands-on experience across research, spatial data engineering, teaching, and stakeholder communication — at the intersection of GIScience, history, and the environment.
Research Roles
Research Experience
Feb 2026 to Present
Graduate College
University of Iowa
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Graduate Research Fellow
- Leading a project to develop a new spatial microsimulation model of population and kinship networks in the United States from 1850 to 1920, using large-scale family tree data and demographic indices from census records.
- Drafting a research paper describing the model framework and preliminary results for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
May 2023 to Jan 2026
School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability
University of Iowa
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Graduate Research Assistant
- Built repeatable Python + PostgreSQL/PostGIS pipelines to clean, standardize, and geocode 280M historical place records into analysis-ready county/city outputs with full validation summaries.
- Produced high-quality maps, diagrams, and visualizations of mobility patterns and spatial networks for peer-reviewed journals, grant proposals, and international conference presentations.
- Integrated and validated multi-source spatial reference datasets and modified spatial algorithms to produce defensible fine-resolution geocoding results.
- Improved a 60M-node spatial network via rule-based deduplication and data imputation, recovering 10M connections for downstream spatial modeling.
- Wrote manuscripts and presented research at international conferences in GIS and computational social science.
May 2024 to Aug 2024
Hydroscience & Engineering Dept.
University of Iowa
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Graduate Research Associate
- Built the "Rivers and Risks" StoryMap using ArcGIS Online and Survey123 to support outreach and stakeholder communication for the NSF-funded BluGAP project.
- Translated engineer analysis of water quality risk assessments into maps, visualizations, and narratives accessible to broad public audiences.
- Created an animated map of Iowa population growth and transportation development using JavaScript and D3.js, illustrating change from 1850 to 1920.
Apr 2014 to Mar 2015
RassadIran Surveying Company
Tehran, Iran
Spatial Data Analyst
- Evaluated elevation and surveying errors in road construction projects and communicated results to engineering teams for corrective action.
- Supported cadastral map development for Tehran in ArcGIS by digitizing parcel boundaries and base layers for infrastructure planning.
Teaching
Teaching Experience
Aug 2022 to May 2023
Dept. of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
University of Iowa
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Teaching Assistant — Foundations of GIS
- Taught two hands-on GIS laboratory sections per week, covering spatial analysis workflows and cartographic outputs in ArcGIS Pro.
- Mentored 42+ students by debugging and troubleshooting project issues involving vector and raster data, spatial analysis, and map design.
- Developed supplementary instructional materials to support student learning and project completion.
Fall 2018
Islamic Azad University
Tehran, Iran
GIS Software Training Instructor
- Designed and led a GIS software training course for students, covering core spatial analysis and mapping workflows.
Additional Experience
Industry Experience
Jan 2015 to Jul 2022
Mahan International Airlines
Tehran, Iran · International Routes
Flight Attendant
- Delivered safety briefings and passenger service across international routes, managing diverse groups of 150 to 300 passengers per flight under strict regulatory standards.
- Coordinated closely with multi-person cabin crews in high-pressure, time-sensitive environments, requiring clear communication and precise role execution.
- Certified in CPR/AED and emergency first response; applied crisis decision-making protocols in medical and safety-critical situations during flight.
- Navigated cross-cultural communication daily, adapting style and approach to serve passengers from a broad range of national and linguistic backgrounds.
- Maintained calm and operational efficiency under conditions of turbulence, delays, and inflight incidents, developing strong stress tolerance and composure.
Service
Leadership & Service
Aug 2025 to Present
Senator, Graduate Student Senate
University of Iowa
Aug 2024 to May 2025
GIS Lab Representative, Geography Graduate Student Organization
University of Iowa
Summer 2023, 2024
Mentor, Secondary Student Training Program (SSTP)
University of Iowa
March 2024
Invited Speaker — Spatiotemporal Dynamics of a Meta-Coupled World
IGUIDE Virtual Center
Aug 2024, 2025
Student Leadership Trainer, Graduate Student Orientation
University of Iowa
Fall 2023
Guest Lecturer, GEOG 2050: Foundations of GIS
University of Iowa