“Ph.D. candidate in Robotics and Control at UC Davis, developing real-time game-theoretic MPC methods for interaction-aware autonomous systems. My work enables autonomous vehicles and robots to reason about the reactions of other agents and plan safe, efficient decisions or trajectories in shared environments.”
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering (Robotics & Control) at the MAE Department in University of California, Davis, working in the CORE Lab on interaction-aware trajectory planning and decision-making for non-cooperative multi-agent systems, with a primary focus on autonomous driving and racing.
My research developsreal-time game-theoretic control methods that enable autonomous agents to explicitly reason about how surrounding agents will react to their actions. Specifically, I am developing a computationally efficient methodology to approximate Nash equilibrium solutions and embed it within a receding-horizon/MPC framework for interaction-aware closed-loop trajectory planning.
Alongside algorithm design, I place strong emphasis on implementation and evaluation. I build simulation pipelines and autonomy stacks using Python, ROS2, and C++, and validate my methods in realistic environments such as CARLA and AutoDrive simulator, including custom traffic scenarios and racing environments.
While my work is motivated by autonomous vehicles, the underlying ideas extend naturally to robotic systems operating in shared, interactive environments, including multi-robot coordination, mobile robotics, and human–robot interaction, where agents must make decisions under mutual influence and uncertainty.
Before pursuing my Ph.D., I studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tehran, where I mostly worked on mechatronics and control. In my B.Sc. thesis, I designed and prototyped a soft magnetic tactile sensor for robotics applications. I also designed and built embedded control and calibration systems (STM32/Arduino), and developed electronics and firmware for real-time sensing and control.
I also enjoy mentoring and technical leadership, including supervising student teams in autonomous racing and behavior prediction projects.
Education
Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering (GPA: 3.84/4.00)
Specializing in control, robotics, & planning
University of California, Davis
California, USA
Sep. 2022 – Present
Path planning & decision making for autonomous vehicles & multi-agent mobile robots; game-theoretic, interaction-aware optimal control in non-cooperative shared environments
Supervisor: Dr. Shima Nazari
B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (GPA: 4.00/4.00)
Specializing in mechatronics & control
University of Tehran
Tehran, Iran
Sep. 2018 – June 2022
Thesis Title: Design and Fabrication of a Soft Magnetic Tactile Sensor
Supervisor: Dr. Ali Sadighi
Honors & Awards
- 2022 – Won a 9-month fellowship from Mechanical and Aerospace Department at University of California, Davis.
- 2021 – Achieved 30th place in the 26th Mechanical Engineering Olympiad for university students.
- 2021 – Won research grant for the hand stabilizer gloves in the 10th International Conference on Acoustics and Vibration (ISAV 2020) student challenge.
- 2015 – Third place in the 7th Student National AEROSPACE Competition to design and build gliders, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
- 2014 – Third place in the fifth National Competition to Design and Build aerospace systems to design and build gliders, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Relevant Coursework
Grad School: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Estimation and Kalman Filtering, Autonomous Robots, Optimal Control, Game Theory, Optimization, Linear Systems and Signals, Software Design, Data-Driven Control, Learning-Based Control
Undergrad: Mechatronics, Measurement Systems, Robotics, Controls, Bio-Systems, Dynamics, Statics, Strength of Material