CURRICULUM VITAÉ

Full name: Abolfazl Saghafi

E-mail: asaghafi@mail.usf.edu
Postal Address: Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
Tel: 813-317-0892
Education:

2014 – 2017 University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.

Doctoral Candidate in Statistics.
Major Professor: Dr. Chris P. Tsokos distinguished University
Professor of Mathematics and Statistics
2007 – 2012 Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Ph.D. of Applied Mathematics (Honors)
Thesis: Modeling Fracture Strength of Ceramic Tiles using Entropy
Advisor: Dr. Gholamhossein Yari

2004 – 2007 Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

M.Sc. of Mathematical Statistics (Honors)
Thesis: Application of Bernoulli Sequences in Watermarking
Advisor: Dr. Hamideh D. Hamedani

2000 – 2004 Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

B.Sc. of Statistics (Honors)
Project: Simulation, Markov Chains Monte Carlo methods and
Gibbs Sampler.
Advisor: Dr. Hamid Pezeshk
Interests:
BIG DATA, Machine Learning, High Dimensional Data, Brain-Computer Interface,
Parametric/Non-Parametric/Bayesian Analysis and Modeling, Weibull Distribution

Computer Skills:
R, MATLAB, Hadoop Spark, KNIME, WinBugs, MINITAB, SPSS, SPLUS, SAS,
Weibull ++, DERIVE, EEGLAB

Certificates:
Machine Learning by Stanford University on Coursera. Certificate earned on June
12, 2015
Introduction to Big Data by University of California San Diego on Coursera.
Certificate earned on May 25, 2016

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 Hadoop Platform and Application Framework by University of California San Diego
on Coursera. Certificate earned on June 14, 2016
Machine Learning With Big Data by University of California San Diego on
Coursera. Certificate earned on June 28, 2016

Spoken Languages:
English, Persian, Greek (Beginner)
Active Memberships:
American Statistical Association (ASA)
Iranian Statistical Society (ISS)
USF Interdisciplinary Data Sciences Consortium (IDSC)
Statistical Consulting and Analytic Center (SCAC)
Work Experience:
Visiting Research Scholar
02.2011 – 08.2011 University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
Distributions of order k with Dr. Andreas Philippou.

Research Assistant
09.2006 – 09.2007 Shahid Beheshti University, Dep. of Statistics, Tehran, Iran.
Modeling Iran's pistachio data with Dr. Meshkani.

Lecturer
09.2008 – 06.2014 Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran.
09.2011 – 06.2014 Payam Noor University, Karaj, Iran.
02.2008 – 01.2010 Azad University, Karaj, Iran.

Teaching Assistant
08.2014 – University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
02.2007 – 07.2007 Shahid Beheshti University, Dep. of Statistics, Tehran, Iran.
09.2002 – 09.2004 Azad University, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Tehran.

Advisor
03.2010 - 05.2014 B.Sc. Student Advisor
Counseling undergraduate students in their thesis
11.2008 - 02.2009 Joint work on Forex Market
Presenting new functions for market prediction
11.2008 - 12.2008 Asphalt mixtures & Bitumen Research
Analyzing results of new asphalt machines
01.2008 - 08.2008 B.Sc. Thesis, Ceramic major, Defend Aug 2008
Studying statistical fracture mechanics of tile products

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Publications:
Journal Articles
A. Saghafi, C.P. Tsokos, M. Goudarzi, H. Farhidzadeh, Random Eye State Change
Detection in Real-Time using EEG Signals, Under Review.
A. Saghafi, C.P. Tsokos, R.D. Wooten, On Heredity Factors of Parkinson’s disease: A
Parametric and Bayesian Analysis, Under Review.
H. Ramezani, A. Saghafi, Optimization of composite double-walled cylindrical shell lined
with porous materials for higher sound transmission loss by using Genetic Algorithm,
Mechanics of Composite Materials, 50(1) (2014) 71-82.
K. Ahmadi, A. Saghafi, Psycho-social Profile of Iranian Adolescent’s Internet Addiction,
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 16(7) (2013) 543-548.
C. Georghiou, A.N. Philippou, A. Saghafi, On the Modes of the Poisson Distribution of
Order k, The Fibonacci Quarterly. 51(1) (2013) 44-48.
G.H. Yari, A.R. Mirhabibi, A. Saghafi, Estimation of the Weibull parameters by
Kullback-Leibler divergence of Survival functions. Applied Mathematics &
Information Sciences (AMIS). 7(1) (2013) 187-192.
G.H. Yari, A. Saghafi, Unbiased Weibull modulus estimation using Differential
Cumulative Entropy. Communications in statistics - Simulation and Computation. 41
(2012) 1372-1378.
A.N. Philippou, A. Saghafi, Problem 11-005, A Conjecture on the modes of the Poisson
distribution of order k, Problems and Solutions, SIAM, (2011).
A. Saghafi, A.R. Mirhabibi, G.H. Yari, Improved Linear Regression Method for
Estimating Weibull Parameters. Theoretical and applied fracture mechanics. 52
(2009) 180-182.
Conference Articles
G.H. Yari, A.R. Mirhabibi, A. Saghafi, A.F. Farahani, A Bayesian approach for
modeling ceramic's fracture strength. Proceeding of the 11th Iranian Statistical
Conference, 28-30 Aug (2012).
M. Zarabian, B. Eftekhari Yekta, A. Saghafi, V. Jafarniya, Statistical analysis of
flaws in glazed and unglazed ceramic tiles via the Weibull distribution. QUALICER
2012, the Global Congress on Ceramic Tile, 13-14 Feb (2012).
G.H. Yari, A. Saghafi, Past Renyi Entropy of Reliability Distributions. Proceeding of
the 7th Seminar on Probability and Stochastic Processes, (2009).
M. Zarabian, B.A. Yekta, A. Saghafi, H. Malaei, Prediction of Ceramics Average
Strength Using Weibull Statistical Model. Proceeding of the 7th Iran Ceramics
Congress, (2009).

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 H.D. Hamedani, A. Saghafi, Gambler’s Ruin Problem: a Relative Wealth Model with
Variable Step Probabilities, Proceeding of 31st Conference of Stochastic Processes
and their Applications, Paris, France, July 2006.
Presentations:
Dec 01-02, 2010 Lecture, 7th International Workshop on Stochastic Processes,
Iran University of Science & Technology.
Aug 03-05, 2010 Lecture, 10th Iranian Statistical Conference,
University of Tabriz.
Aug 13-14, 2009 Lecture, 7th Seminar on Probability and Stochastic Processes,
Isfahan University of Technology.
Apr 22-24, 2007 Lecture, 1st Workshop in Applied Stochastic Processes,
Isfahan University of Technology.
Aug 22-24, 2006 Lecture, 8th Iranian Statistical Conference,
Shiraz University.
Jul 17-21, 2006 Poster, 31st Conference of Stochastic Processes and their
Applications, Paris, France.
Honors:
* 2016 Tharp Endowed Scholarship Fund Graduate Award.
* 2011 Research Grant from Iran Ministry of Science, Research and Technology for
a 6-month sabbatical in Greece and work with Dr. A.N. Philippou.
* 2006 Travel Grant from Shahid Beheshti University to present a poster in "31st
Conference of Stochastic Processes and their Applications" in Paris.
* 2005 Rank 1 between graduated bachelors, class of 2000.
* 2004 Rank 8 (out of more than 700 applicants) in entrance exam for M.Sc.
References:
Dr. Chris P. Tsokos, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Mathematics
and Statistics, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA
CTsokos@usf.edu
Dr. Gangaram S. Ladde, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics,
University of South Florida, Tampa, USA
GLadde@usf.edu
Dr. Gholamhosein Yari, Associate Professor, School of Mathematics, Iran University
of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Yari@iust.ac.ir