Outstanding Graduate Student
Arash Abedijaberi
When he was growing up in Isfahan, Iran, Arash Abedijaberi had no idea that his academic pursuits would lead him to the doctoral program in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) at the University of Tennessee, but he has been here since 2007.
Before he made his journey to the United States, Abedijaberi attended a different UT: the University of Tehran. He received his bachelor’s and master’s in the prestigious Department of Biotechnology. “To be accepted in this program, I had to be among the top one percent in the national entrance exam for colleges in Iran,” Abedijaberi said. “My rank became 51 out of 1.4 million participants.”
Abedijaberi then moved to St. Louis, Mo. to study for his Ph.D. from Washington University. It was while at WashU that he met Dr. Bamin Khomami, who became his advisor. When Khomami accepted his position as the Granger and Beaman Distinguished University Professor and Head of CBE, Abedijaberi reevaluated his academic plans. “I am very interested in doing research, teaching and seeking a faculty position,” Abedijaberi added. “I decided to work with only the best people in my field, and this was the main reason I decided to transfer to UT and continue working with Dr. Khomami.”
Abedijaberi completed a second master’s in environmental, energy and chemical engineering before following Khomami to The Hill. Abedijaberi’s interest in chemical and biomolecular engineering stems from his interest in and undergraduate study of biological systems. It was under Khomami’s guidance that Abedijaberi transitioned from the realm of biotechnology and chemistry into engineering. “I always enjoyed studying about the genetics of biological organisms,” Abedijaberi said. “I felt in order to be able to use these systems for the human benefit, I needed to be an engineer, and I decided to change my field.”
Abedijaberi enjoys a challenge, and making the move into engineering certainly provided him with one. “Initially, I received the lowest grade on the first exam and the highest on the last exam,” he said. “This is how I broke through my fear of chemical engineering as a biologist.”
Abedijaberi’s research focuses on the simulation of complex flows of Non-Newtonian fluids. Non-Newtonian fluids exhibit behavior unlike water, and Abedijaberi wants to predict their behavior on the industrial level. He must describe these materials with nonlinear partial differential equations by using supercomputers and then develop numerical algorithms to solve these equations. “I use two supercomputers,” Abedijaberi commented. “One — called Newton — consists of 1200 nodes, and each node can be thought of as an equivalent to a single PC. “The other computer is called Kraken, and it is the third fast supercomputer in the world. It has 64,000 nodes,” he said.
Like many doctorate students, Abedijaberi looks forward to teaching as well as conducting research. “My goal is to use the engineering insight I have gained in conjunction with my biological knowledge and background to do research as well as teaching,” Abedijaberi said. “I enjoy teaching very much, so my aim is to hold an academic job.”
When he’s not in the lab, Abedijaberi participates in a number of extracurricular activities. He is active in the UT Outdoor Program — canoeing, rafting, caving, backpacking and camping. He also is the president of the Persian Club at the university. Abedijaberi is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Society of Rheology and American Physical Society. He received the Helen Jubin Fellowship and the College of Engineering Ph.D. Fellowship, and he has won the Jim and Sandra McKinley Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
“In my twenty years in academia, I have been very fortunate to work with many gifted graduate students in my research group. Rarely have I met an individual with as many multiple talents as Arash. He possesses outstanding analytical thinking ability and great leadership skills on top of an impeccable character and a pleasant personality. It has been a joy to watch Arash develop and mature as a scientist. I am looking forward to watching him go to the next stage of his career as an academician. I foresee a very successful journey.”
– Dr. Bamin Khomami