Dr. Hamid Garmestani
Principal Investigator
Dr. Hamid Garmestani is a Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his education from Cornell University (Ph.D. 1989 in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics) and the University of Florida (B.S. 1982 in Mechanical Engineering, M.S. 1984 in Materials Science and Engineering). After serving a year as a post -doctoral fellow at Yale University, he joined the Mechanical Engineering Department at Florida State University (FAMU-FSU College of Engineering) in 1990.
Primary research and teaching interests include microstructure/property relationship in textured polycrystalline materials, composites, superplastic, magnetic and thin film layered structures. He uses phenomenological and statistical mechanics models in a computational framework to investigate microstructure and texture (micro-texture) evolution during processing and predict effective properties (mechanical, transport and magnetic). His present research interests are processing of fuel cell materials and modeling of their transport and mechanical properties.
Dr. Garmestani has been the recipient of a research award (FAR) through NASA in 1997. He received the Superstar in Research award in 1999 by FSU-CRC. He has also been the recipient of the Engineering Research Award at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, Spring 2000. He is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Plasticity and board of reviewers for journal of Metal Transaction. He is presently funded through NSF (MRD), NASA, Air Force and the Army.
Dr. Said Ahzi
Research Collaborator
Dr. Said Ahzi is a Distinguished Professor (Professeur Classe Exceptionnelle) at the Faculty of Physics and Engineering, University of Strasbourg – France. He holds an Adjunct Professor position with the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech.), Atlanta - USA. From 2014 to 2021, he was on unpaid leave from the University of Strasbourg and held several positions at Qatar Foundation: Principal Investigator at Qatar Environmental and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Full Professor (joint faculty) at the college of science and engineering - Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Acting Research Director of the Materials Engineering Group at QEERI, Acting Research Director for Computational Materials and Processes Center at QEERI, and visiting Professor at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ).
From 1995 to 2000, he held the position of Professor (Assistant then Associate Professor) at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Clemson University, SC, USA. Prior to this, he spent four years as Research Scientists/Lecturer at the Department of Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), CA - USA, and four years as Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), MA – USA.
His research and teaching interests include multiscale modeling of materials behavior (polymers, metals, biomaterials, nanocomposites ...), microstructure-property relationship, materials processing, process modeling and simulation of microstructure evolution. He advised more than 35 PhDs and 25 Masters.
Email: ahzi@unistra.fr
Dr. Dongsheng Li
Research Scientist
Dr. Li is the founder of AMLLC, a company initially established as an R&D firm and later expanded into production services with a focus on additive manufacturing. His career spans across some of the world's leading institutions and industries, including the Georgia Institute of Technology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Pratt & Whitney, one of the world's top aircraft engine manufacturers.
Dr. Li earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Florida State University in 2002, alongside an M.S. in Computer Science from the same institution. He holds an M.E. in Materials Engineering from the University of Science and Technology of China (1998) and a B.E. in Chemical Engineering from Hefei University of Technology (1995).
His professional expertise lies in additive manufacturing, mechanical design, and computational modeling, with a focus on advancing industrial applications through innovative R&D and production techniques.
Email: dongsheng.li@amllcct.com
Dr. Parisa Pooyan
Research Scientist
Dr. Parisa Pooyan is currently a faculty member in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Kennesaw State University. She received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and her MBA from East Tennessee State University, with a minor in Operations Management.
Her research has been actively involved in exploring system design pathways for Sustainable Development, and her work appeared in several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and reflected in numerous awards and honors including:
The Faculty Entrepreneurship Fellowship from KSU Coles College of Business; the Organ Design and Engineering Training Fellowship from the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School; the Sam Nunn Security Fellowship from the Georgia Tech School of International Affairs; the International Scientific Research Mobility Fellowship from the CRP Henri Tudor in Luxembourg; the 'Outstanding Poster Award' at the Georgia Tech Research and Innovation Conference; and the 'First Place Poster Award' at the Biological Materials Science Symposium and the 'Best of the Show Honor Award' at the TMS international conference.
Email: parisa.pooyan@gatech.edu
Dr. Roya Mesbah
Research Scientist
Dr. Roya Mesbah is a Lecturer in the School of Modern Languages at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she has been teaching since 2011. She previously held academic positions as a Lecturer at Georgia State University Perimeter College (1998–2004) and as an Instructor at The Ohio State University (1992–1996).
Dr. Mesbah earned her Ph.D. in French Language and Literature from The Ohio State University (2008), where she also completed an M.A. in 19th and 20th Century French Literature (1995). Additionally, she holds a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in International Law and Legal Studies from the University of Paris I: Panthéon-Sorbonne (1988).
Her academic expertise lies in higher education, university teaching, and French literature, with a focus on 19th and 20th-century French literary studies. She has extensive experience in public speaking and interdisciplinary education, bridging language studies with international law and cultural studies.
With a distinguished teaching career spanning multiple institutions, Dr. Mesbah continues to contribute to language education, literature, and cultural studies at Georgia Tech, fostering intellectual growth and global perspectives among her students.
Email: rmesbah3@gatech.edu
Dr. Seyyed Hashem Mousavi Anijdan
Research Scientist
Email: sanijdan3@gatech.edu
Ruoqi (Rosie) Gao
Doctoral Student
Rosie received their B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology in 2019. Their undergraduate research focused on process-structure-property relationship in ferroelectric polymers.
Before joining IMM lab, Rosie was working on synthesis and characterization of noble-metal nanocrystals for the first two years of their PhD journey.
Rosie's current research focuses on simulation of thermo-mechanical processes, crystallographic texture, materials properties, and residual stress in laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing.
Email: rgao46@gatech.edu
Navid Nasajpour-Esfahani
Doctoral Student
Navid Nasajpour-Esfahani is a Ph.D. candidate distinguished by his extensive expertise in nanotechnology, materials science, and fluid mechanics.
His research spans a broad spectrum of critical topics, such as the modeling and simulation of heat transfer processes, exploration of the mechanical properties of nanomaterials, and the advancement of sophisticated numerical methods to simulate complex fluid dynamics.
His current focus is on assessing residual stress in additive manufacturing, aiming to enhance the quality and performance of 3D printed materials.
Email: nesfahani3@gatech.edu
Homa Borna
Doctoral Student
Homa Borna is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in biomedical materials, tissue engineering, and additive manufacturing for medical applications.
She currently serves as a Graduate Research Assistant at Georgia Tech, where she focuses on advanced computational modeling and experimental techniques for material design, contributing to innovative biomedical solutions.
Homa earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology. Before joining Georgia Tech, she gained hands-on laboratory experience as a Student Intern at the Pasteur Institute of Iran, where she worked on cell culture, pharmaceutical chemistry, and medical biotechnology.
At Georgia Tech, Homa continues to integrate computational and experimental approaches to advance research in biomedical materials and medical applications.
Email: hborna3@gatech.edu
Ali Amirnasiri
Doctoral Student
Ali received his B.S. in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering (2013), M.S. in Petroleum Equipment Engineering (2015), and Ph.D. in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering (2021) from Amirkabir University of Technology. Throughout these years, he contributed to several research projects, notably including “Investigation of the microstructure and mechanical properties of high-strength, low-alloy (HSLA) welded steel,” “Design of joint and brazing of Tungsten Carbide (WC-Co) to low alloy Chromium Molybdenum (CrMo) steel,” and “Design of joint and brazing of B4C ceramics with Ni-based filler alloys,” among others.
In 2022, he joined the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech to pursue his second Ph.D. Initially, he worked on a project about “Design, fabrication, and characterization of nanoporous-Cu (NP-Cu) preforms as high-performance die-attach solution.” Currently, his research focuses on “Materials design of high strength and corrosion resistant steel” and “Innovative surface treatments for high strength steel alloys to enhance corrosion resistance”.
Hande BAHAR
Master's Student
Hande is a Fulbright Scholar pursuing a Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech, with a focus on superconducting thin films. She completed her undergraduate studies at Yildiz Technical University, in Turkey.
Hande has diverse professional experience, including working full-time as a Die/Mold Design Engineer at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Turkey, where she contributed to manufacturing processes and die design for vehicle production. She also worked as a Project Engineer at Proses Recycling & Refining, specializing in mechanical and chemical recycling processes for lithium-ion batteries and precious metals. Additionally, she participated in a year-long Erasmus at University of Bologna in Italy and internship in Germany, gaining research experience at Christian-Albrecht University, where she worked on material preparation and characterization techniques such as XPS and SEM.
Her research interests are centered around superconducting materials, and she aims to contribute to advancements in high-performance materials for energy applications.
Email: hbahar3@gatech.edu
Alexandra Seesee
Undergrad's Student
Alexandra Seesee is a third-year Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering student here at Georgia Tech currently pursuing the Research Option, a concentration in Biotechnology, and a minor in German. On campus, she is involved as a research and teaching assistant, as well as a member of several clubs. Her hobbies include painting, reading, tennis, puzzles, and cooking.
Email: alexandra.seesee@gatech.edu
Marissa Reichelscheimer
Undergrad's Student
Email: marissareich@gatech.edu