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Please see my list of
publications or project
descriptions.
I was in my mother's belly when my family immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1979. My family moved to the United States as a result of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. They re-settled in Maryland to be close to relatives and have lived there since. When I was eight, my parents were divorced and each re-married wonderful people after a few years. I'm very fortunate to have a step-father and a step-mother! I grew up in Maryland attending Thomas Wootton High School in Rockville and enjoyed playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball. I enrolled at the University of Maryland in the Fall of 1997 and became a Resident Assistant. I studied Computer Science and Philosophy and was involved in a diverse array of academic and social circles. I took my fourth year off to study Spanish in Madrid, Spain and to backpack through countries in Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and the Middle East. During this time, I underwent many changes in my practices, ideals, objectives, and outlooks on life. I went on safari in Kenya, stayed in village huts with Masaii tribesmen, toured northern Thailand by motorbike, hiked the Himalayas, bathed in the Ganges, attended the teachings of the Dalai Lama in northern India, studied Vipassana meditation & yoga, and explored the land of my ancestors in Iran. I really haven't been the same since. I spent the summer following graduation doing research in Athens, Greece and did some backpacking through Greece and Turkey. I embarked on a new stage of my life that Fall while studying and conducting research at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA. I made new friends, began practicing Brazilian Capoeira again, met fascinating people, and started to figure out what I want to do with my life. I spent a couple of weeks backpacking Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize in August 2003. When I came back, I sat down and started to really think about life after graduate school. After Carnegie Mellon, I traveled for another 8 months around Asia, India, Iran, and Ethiopia. I then moved to Beijing to work at Microsoft Research Asia to satisfy my adventuresome tendencies while exploring the realm of interaction design. I discovered the Chinese part of my soul and created Mouse Mischief which took me to work in Thailand, Malaysia, Costa Rica, and the US. After two years of research at MSR Asia, I am beginning my Ph.D. in Learning Sciences and Technology Design at Stanford University. After two years continuing work on Mischief, I found that the area I wanted to have the most impact in was on web search. I believe that all persons must be expert navigators and searchers of the web and that the only way we will reach that goal is if expertise can be spread socially and implicitly across people. Having said this, the most important things in my life by far are my relationships with family, friends, acquaintances, and with genuine self. I live a life of self-examination and continuously strive to be a closer and closer to my purest expression of love - all this while enjoying diverse experiences, learning, and the pursuit of peace and happiness for myself and anybody who comes into contact with me.
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