Hello! You are now about to learn more about me (the person in the picture). My name is Saeed Amizadeh. I'm a second year Ph.D. student of Intelligent Systems Program at Department of Computer Science at University of Pittsburgh.

I'm currently advised by Dr. Marek J. Druzdzel and  my primary research interests include Machine Learning, Probabilistic Graphical Models, Causal Discovery and Data Mining. To learn more about my academic profile, please see my CV.

Contact Me:

Emails:
saa63 at pitt dot edu
MyFirstName at cs dot pitt dot edu
MyFirstName dot MyLastName at gmail dot com

Work Mailing Address:
5108 Sennott Sq.
210 S. Bouquet St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Education   Research Interests   Publications   Awards & Honors

 Graduate Courses   Work Experience   Skills   Hobbies

• Advisor: Prof. Marek J. Druzdzel

Master of Science,
Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Jun. 2007
Concentration: Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
GPA: 18.07/20.00

• Thesis Title: A Bayesian Approach to Hierarchical Concept Learning (as a part of BACS project at ETH Zurich)

• Advisor: Prof. Majid Nili Ahmadabadi

• Co-advisor: Prof. Babak N. Araabi

Bachelor of Science,

Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Jun. 2004

Concentration: Software Engineering

GPA: 16.80/20.00 (summa cum laude graduate)

• Thesis Title: Social Learning in Multi-Agent Environments

• Advisor: Prof. Majid Nili Ahmadabadi

High School Diploma,

Mathematics & Physics, Allameh Helli High School (A member of Iran's National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents a.k.a. SAMPAD)

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• Machine Learning: Probabilistic Graphical Models, Causal Discovery, Decision Making under Uncertainty, Reinforcement Learning, Data Mining, Spectral Data Analysis
• Machine Vision & Image Processing: Visual Cognition & Perception, Object Tracking, Visual Surveillance, Filtering
• Theoretical Computer Science: Graph Theory, Spectral Graph Theory, Theory of Computation, Computational Geometry

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Journal Papers:

• S. Amizadeh, F. Rastegar and C. Lucas, “Incorporating Heuristics in Evolutionary Optimization”, in International Journal of Information Technology and Intelligent Computing, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp: 259-270, 2006.

Conference Papers:

• S. Amizadeh, M. Nili Ahmadabadi, B. N. Araabi and R. Siegwart, “A Bayesian Approach to Conceptualization Using Reinforcement Learning”, in IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), Switzerland, Sep. 2007.

• S. Amizadeh, M. Nili Ahmadabadi, C. Lucas, “Bayesian Continuous-State Reinforcement Learning”, in Proc. of International Computer Society of Iran Computer Conference (CSICC07), pp: 1515-1521, Tehran, Iran, Feb. 2007.

Submitted and Unpublished Papers:

• H. Firouzi, M. Nili Ahmadabadi, B. N. Araabi, M. S. Mirian, S. Amizadeh and R. Siegwart, “Interactive Learning in Continuous Multimodal Space: A Bayesian Approach to Action based Conceptualization for Robotic Applications”, Submitted to Autonomous Robots, 2008.

• S. Amizadeh and Milos Hauskrecht, “Accelerating RL with Randomly-generated Macro Actions”, University of Pittsburgh, 2008.

• S. Amizadeh, M. Nili Ahmadabadi, H. Firouzi, B. N. Araabi, and R. Siegwart, “Concurrent Concept Learning in Multiple Perceptual Spaces: A Bayesian Approach”, University of Tehran, 2007.

Technical Reports in Farsi:

• S. Amizadeh, “A Bayesian Approach to Hierarchical Concept Learning”, M.S. thesis, University of Tehran, Jul. 2007 [in Farsi].

• S. Amizadeh and F. Rastegar, “Finding the Nash Equilibrium in the Cooperative Game of Parties’ Federation Using a Special-Purpose Genetic Algorithm”, Mar. 2006 [in Farsi].

• S. Amizadeh, “Hidden Markov Models and Their Application in Machine Learning: A Survey”, Sep. 2005 [in Farsi].

• S. Amizadeh, “Graph-based Skeletonizing of the Scattered Shapes in Image Using Competitive Neural Networks in Combination with the Voronoi Algorithm”, May 2005 [in Farsi].

• S. Amizadeh, “Fuzzy Clustering: A Survey”, Dec. 2004 [in Farsi].

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• Awarded ISP Fellowship, Intelligent Systems Program, University of Pittsburgh, 2007-2008
• Ranked 32nd among 15,000 participants in the Iranian National Entrance Exam for M.S. in Computer Engineering (i.e., comparable to GRE Subject test), 2004
• Graduated summa cum laude: ranked 3rd among graduates of Computer Engineering at the University of Tehran, 2004
• Secured 3rd place in American Open Robocup Competitions: The Coach Simulation League, the Thunder Team, Carnegie Mellon University, USA, 2003
• Secured 5th place in International Robocup Competitions: The Coach Simulation League, the Thunder Team, Padova University, Italy, 2003
• Awarded FOE (i.e., an annual grant to top students of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tehran), 2002

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• Probabilistic Graphical Models (10-708), Fall 2008 (Grade: A^-)

University of Pittsburgh:

• Machine Learning, Spring 2008 (Grade: A)
• Decision Analysis and Decision Support Systems, Spring 2008 (Grade: A⁺)
• Theory of Learning Algorithms, Fall 2007 (Grade: A)
• Natural Language Processing, Fall 2007 (Grade: A)

University of Tehran:

• Stochastic Systems Control, Fall 2005 (Grade: 20.00/20.00)
• Distributed Artificial Intelligence, Spring 2005 (Grade: 19.50/20.00)
• Machine Vision, Spring 2005 (Grade: 19.50/20.00)
• Pattern Recognition, Fall 2004 (Grade: 14.50/20.00)
• Fuzzy Logic, Fall 2004 (Grade: 16.50/20.00)
• Robotics, Fall 2004 (Grade: 16.00/20.00)

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TRACKING SYSTEM DESIGNER, iVisioTech SA Company, Tehran, 2006-2007
Developed background modeling, tracking and occlusion detection methods for a real-time visual surveillance system

RESEARCH ASSISTANT, AI & Robotics Lab, University of Tehran, Tehran 2004-2006
Developed mobile robot vision and navigation methods

SOFTWARE ARCHITECT AND DESIGNER, DPE Company, Tehran, 2003-2004
Developed a big Information System project

TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS
University of Tehran, Tehran (2002-2006)

• Artificial Intelligence (Spring 2006 & Spring 2003).
• Operating Systems (Spring 2003).
• Advanced Programming (Spring 2003).
• Computer Fundamentals (Fall 2003).
• Compiler Design (Fall 2002).

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• Languages: Farsi (native), English (fluent - TOEFL Score: 637, TWE: 5.5)
• Programming Languages: C/C++, Java, C#, MATLAB, SQL, Lisp, Prolog, Pascal
• Programming Libraries: Boost, Weka, igraph, SMILE, OpenCV and OpenGL
• Mobile Robots: E-puck Robots
• Operating Systems: Mac OS X, Linux and Microsoft Windows
• Database Management Systems: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and MySql
• General Applications: Microsoft Office, TEX/LATEX, Eclipse

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I love dancing tango! Currently, I'm the vice-president of Panther Tango Club at University of Pittsburgh.

Argentine Tango in Pittsburgh:
T a n g u e r o s U n i d o s
Panther Tango Club
Pgh Tango Connection
Pittsburgh Tangueros
PATangoS
CMU Ballroom Dance Club

Music:

I'm a great fan of music. My favorite music genres are basically Classical (esp. Baroque and Romantic), Metal, Hard Rock, Dark Electro/Ambient, New Age and Tango music. Some of my favorite bands are Summoning, Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, Pink Floyd, Elend, Chris Rea, Dargaard, Nour Ensemble, Ice Ages, Juno Reactor, Falkenbach and ...

Music in Pittsburgh:
Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Cuidado
Tangueros de Ley
 

I also have a passion for painting, although I have not practiced it lately.

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