Profile
I have spent my career at the intersection of deep engineering, leadership, and venture building, working to turn complex ideas into systems that scale, endure, and create real-world impact. My path has taken me across academia, industrial innovation, and high-growth technology companies, shaping a conviction that transformative progress in manufacturing does not come from technology alone, but from the careful alignment of talent, capital, and long-term vision. Today, my work is increasingly focused on building the structures and ecosystems that allow advanced technologies to move from laboratories into industry at scale.
My journey began at Sharif University of Technology, where I completed a BSc in Engineering and an MSc in Materials Science and Engineering with a focus on metal forming and welding. A thesis developed in collaboration with Peugeot France led me into Industrial and Scientific Services at SAPCO during a period of rapid growth in Iran’s automotive sector. These early years grounded me in how complex systems operate in practice, how supply chains respond to pressure, how engineering decisions ripple through organizations, and how ideas only become meaningful when they meet real industrial constraints. Presenting this work nationally and internationally sparked an ambition to contribute on a global stage.
A pivotal moment came at a conference in Graz, Austria, where a conversation with Dr. John Goldak, one of the pioneers of Computational Welding Mechanics, opened a new direction. That encounter led me to Carleton University for a PhD, where I learned how rigorous scientific thinking and industrial relevance can reinforce one another. Alongside my academic work, I applied computational welding methods through Goldak Technologies to strengthen real welded structures, reinforcing a pattern that would define my career. Research is most powerful when it is inseparable from application. During my doctoral studies, I received Carleton’s research award each year and was nominated for the University Medal for the most outstanding thesis.
Following my PhD, a FedDev Ontario Postdoctoral Fellowship brought me to the University of Ottawa, where I worked with academic and industrial partners to study fracture and fatigue through both computational and experimental lenses. I later continued as an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia, expanding into multi-scale fracture in biomaterials. While this research was deeply rewarding, it also clarified something fundamental for me. My greatest impact would come from environments where advanced engineering could be translated into operational systems and deployed at scale.
That realization drew me back into industry. After a chance reconnection at a post-IIW workshop, I joined SKC Engineering in Vancouver, where I established a new computational engineering business line. What began as targeted work for Babcock Canada and the Department of National Defence grew into a core capability spanning fitness-for-service, fracture assessment, and advanced integrity evaluations aligned with international standards. When SKC was acquired by Applus, my scope expanded globally, supporting projects across North America, Europe, and India. During this period, my focus deepened into artificial intelligence and machine learning, culminating in the development of an AI-powered welding digital twin that combined physics-based simulation with small-data learning. Strong market interest in this work reinforced my belief that AI-enabled manufacturing represents one of the most transformative opportunities of our time.
My return to welding automation came through Novarc Technologies, where I joined first as Vice President of Innovation and later as Deputy CTO. In these roles, I helped shape the company’s technical and strategic direction, leading efforts that integrated AI, machine vision, digital twins, and cloud-based systems into commercial robotic welding solutions. Beyond technology development, I was deeply involved in turning early concepts into scalable products, working across Series A and Series B financing, grant programs, strategic partnerships, and revenue-driven growth. This experience fundamentally reshaped how I think about innovation. Success depends not only on technical excellence, but on timing, governance, capital structure, and the discipline to scale responsibly.
A significant milestone in my professional evolution was joining Cohort 5 of the Venture Institute, where I immersed myself in venture capital, equity structures, and the mechanics of financing innovation. This experience gave me firsthand insight into how investors evaluate risk, how value is created over long horizons, and how capital can accelerate or constrain technological progress. It strengthened my conviction that welding and advanced manufacturing innovation can move faster and farther through explicitly designed venture-building models, where technology, leadership, and capital are aligned from the outset.
Teaching and mentorship have remained central throughout my journey. I developed a blended course on weld engineering and simulation for the University of Ottawa, later expanding it at the University of British Columbia with advanced simulation laboratories that connect theory to hands-on computational practice. My goal has always been to prepare engineers not just to use tools, but to think systemically about how digital technologies will shape the future of manufacturing.
Looking forward, I am focused on building a venture builder ecosystem in welding and advanced manufacturing, one that bridges deep technical capability with disciplined venture formation, leadership development, and aligned capital. I am motivated by the opportunity to create platforms that enable multiple innovations to emerge, rather than advancing one technology at a time. My work increasingly centers on designing environments where ambitious ideas can be tested, financed, scaled, and sustained, contributing to the long-term evolution of intelligent manufacturing systems.
I see learning as a lifelong pursuit, grounded in curiosity, humility, and a commitment to building what does not yet exist. Experiences across academia, industry, entrepreneurship, and innovation ecosystems have allowed me to contribute meaningfully to the fields of welding, automation, and digital manufacturing, and to continue growing alongside them.
Behind every step of progress stands a circle of people who make the journey meaningful. My wife, Sharareh, is the steady light that grounds me, and my daughters, Jana and Viana, are the inspiration that lifts every goal higher. I carry the values of my parents, Pouran and Hashem, with me, strengthened by the kindness of my in-laws, Zahra and Hossein. My brothers, Mazyar and Kamyar, and my sister-in-law, Shahrzad, together with their families, complete a family whose support has shaped who I am. Their belief is the quiet force that turns effort into impact and aspiration into purpose. Everything I build is, in some way, a reflection of the family who stands with me.
