For the most updated information about my research team, please visit: https://solidlab.network/people/
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Prof. M. Hadi Amini, solid lab Director
Biography: M. Hadi Amini is an Associate Professor at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019, where he received his M.Sc. degree in 2015. He also holds a doctoral degree in Computer Science and Technology. Prior to that, he received M.Sc. degree from Tarbiat Modares University in 2013, and B.Sc. degree from Sharif University of Technology in 2011. His research interests include distributed machine learning algorithms, distributed optimization, federated learning, interdependent networks, and cyberphysical resilience. Application domains include smart cities, healthcare, and energy systems. Hadi is a life member of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN), the honor society of IEEE. He served as President of Carnegie Mellon University Energy Science and Innovation Club; as technical program committee of several IEEE and ACM conferences; and as the lead editor for a book series on ‘‘Sustainable Interdependent Networks’’ since 2017. He has published more than 100 refereed journal and conference papers, and book chapters. He edited/authored ten books. He is the co-recipient of the best paper award from “2019 IEEE Conference on Computational Science & Computational Intelligence”, the Excellence in Teaching Award from FIU School of Computing and Information Sciences in 2020, best reviewer award from four IEEE Transactions, the best journal paper award in “Journal of Modern Power Systems and Clean Energy”, and the dean’s honorary award from the President of Sharif University of Technology.
Contact: amini [at] [cs] [dot] [fiu] [dot] [edu]
Office: Modesto A. Maidique Campus, CASE 238A
Phone: (305) 348-9936
Homepage: www.hadiamini.com
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Ph.D. Candidate: Yasaman Saadati
Yasaman Saadati is a Ph.D. student and Research Assistant at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences (KFSCIS), College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University. She is a member of the Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for Inter Dependent networks laboratory (solid lab), working under the supervision of Dr. Amini. She received her Master's degree from Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in 2018 in Artificial Intelligence, and her Bachelor's degree from Shahid Beheshti University (SBU) in 2015. Her research interests include Deep Learning, Federated Learning, and Data Science. Before joining FIU, she worked as a data engineer for two years.
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Ph.D. Candidate: Ervin Moore
Ervin Moore is a Ph.D. student and DHS CAESCIR Fellow at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences at FIU. He is a member of the Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory (solid lab) working with Dr. Amini and Dr. Rezapour. Prior to that, he graduated with a MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning from Colorado State University-Global, following his BA in Communication Technology from University of Texas at Arlington. Ervin participated in AI related hackathons and has won multiple. His applied research involved using machine learning and large language models to improve user experiences. His current research interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning and their application in critical infrastructure security and resilience.
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Ph.D. Candidate: Marian Temprana Alonso
Marian Temprana Alonso is a Ph.D. candidate in the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences at Florida International University and a member of solid lab under supervision of Dr. M. Hadi Amini. Prior to joining solid lab, she was a member of the Π-CoLab research group under the supervision of Dr. Farhad Shirani. Her research interests include information theory, signal processing, and machine learning, with a focus in energy-efficient compression, communications, and sensing. She earned her B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from Florida International University in 2022. Throughout her Ph.D., she has contributed to projects on energy-efficient task-based quantization, wireless communications with nonlinear analog processing, accuracy and consensus-based sensor fusion, and deep learning-driven multi-modal sensor fusion for CSI compression, leading to publications in IEEE conferences such as ISIT and ITW. Her achievements include receiving a GAANN Fellowship and being part of the winning team for the ISIT 2023 DeepVerse 6G Machine Learning Challenge. Additionally, she has contributed as a research intern at Sandia National Laboratories, working on power grid resilience.
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Ph.D. Candidate: Badhan Chandra Das
Badhan Chandra Das is a Ph.D. student and Graduate Assistant at Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences (KFSCIS) at Florida International University (FIU). He is a member of Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory (solid lab). He is co-advised by Dr. M. Hadi Amini and Dr. Yanzhao Wu. Before joining FIU, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT) for more than 1.5 years. Previously, he received his MS and BS in Computer Science and Engineering from Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. His research interests include Security and Privacy issues in Federated Learning, Deep Learning, Computer Vision, and Optimization.
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Ph.D. Candidate: Md Jueal Mia
Md Jueal Mia is a Ph.D. student and Graduate Assistant in the Computer Science Department at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences (KFSCIS), Florida International University (FIU), since January 2023. He is a member of the Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory (solid lab) and is advised by Dr. M. Hadi Amini. Before joining FIU, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, for more than 6 years. Previously, he received his MS and BS in Computer Science and Engineering from Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. His research interests include Privacy and Security in Federated Learning, Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Data Mining. He has published 30 peer-reviewed journals and conference publications. As a Ph.D. student, one of his papers is under review in a journal.
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Ph.D. Candidate: Hojat Salehi
Hojat Salehi is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in Computer Science at Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences (KFSCIS) at Florida International University (FIU), Miami, FL, USA. He is a member of Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory (solid lab). He received his B.Sc. degree in Control Engineering from Tabriz University and his M.Sc. degree in Control Engineering from Sharif University of Technology. He was a Research Fellow with K.N. Toosi University of Technology. He is currently a Graduate Research Assistant with Florida International University. His recent work includes developing correlated quantization methods for distributed learning, graph neural network explainability, and privacy-preserving federated learning mechanisms. His research interests include information theory, distributed source simulation, privacy-preserving machine learning, and quantum information theory.
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Ph.D. Fellow: Ruth Hammond
Ruth Hammond is a Ph.D. student and NSF Bridge to Doctorate Fellow at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences at FIU. She is a member of the Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory (solid lab), working with Dr. Amini. Before that, she was recognized as an Apple Scholar at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology where she graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering in May 2023. Her current research interests include Security and Privacy issues in Federated Learning, High-Performance Computing, and Deep Learning.
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Ph.D. Candidate: Anthony Devesa
Anthony is a dedicated researcher and engineer with a versatile educational background, holding an AA in Computer Information Science from Miami Dade College, a BA in Computer Science from FIU, and an MS in Data Science - AI. He will start his PhD in Computer Science from Spring 2024 under co-supervision of Dr. M. Hadi Amini and Dr. Leonardo Bobadilla. His extensive qualifications encompass industry-standard certifications, including N+, A+, and Windows MCP. With a profound interest in robotics and a creative problem-solving approach, he explores designing, manufacturing, and programming innovative robots. He is studying the intriguing field of marine robotics, inspired by his background as a Navy veteran. Currently, his research focuses on marine perspectives and object detection, while his future aspirations involve pioneering autonomous vehicles that can collaborate effectively, with the hopes of making the world a better place.
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Ph.D. Fellow: Ahmed Aljohani
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Ph.D. Student: Joaquin Molto
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Ph.D. Alumnus: Dr. Ahmed Imteaj
Ph.D. Defense, Summer 2022
M.Sc. En Route to Ph.D.: Fall 2021
Dissertation Title: Distributed Machine Learning Algorithms for Resource-Constrained Heterogeneous IoT Environments
Ahmed Imteaj is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences at Florida International University (FIU), working with Professor M. Hadi Amini. His research interests span Federated Learning, Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain. He has published over 35 peer-reviewed journals and conference publications. Ahmed received his B.Sc. degree in Computer Science and Engineering from CUET, Bangladesh, and received his Master’s in Computer Science from FIU with the recognition of the “Outstanding Master’s degree graduate Award”. He also received the “2022 Outstanding Student Life Award” (the Graduate Scholar of the Year Award) from the Division of Academic and Student Affairs at FIU, “2021 Best Graduate Student in Research Award” from the School of Computing and Information Sciences at FIU, is the recipient of the Best Paper Award from the 2019 IEEE CSCI’19 conference, nominated for “Outstanding Scholar Award” at FIU, recipient of 3 travel scholarships, and also one of the two winners at 2021 Florida International University Graduate Student Appreciation Week. During his PhD, Ahmed mentored 8 undergraduate and graduate students, and was actively involved in NSF REU and RET program. Ahmed is also the lead author of the book, “Foundations of Blockchain: Theory and Applications” and was invited and recognized for his book at FIU Book Authors Ceremony 2021.
Homepage | Google Scholar | LinkedIn
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Ph.D. Alumna: Dr. Leila Zahedi
Ph.D. Defense, Summer 2022
M.Sc. En Route to Ph.D.: Fall 2021
Dissertation Title: An Evolutionary Optimization Algorithm for Automated Classical Machine Learning
Leila Zahedi is a Ph.D. Candidate at Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory (solid lab), Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University (FIU). She received her B.Sc. from the University of Isfahan (UI) in 2011, her M.Sc. from Yazd University (YU) in 2016, and her other M.Sc. in Spring 2021 from FIU. Her research interests include Machine Learning Optimization, Data Science, and Educational Data Mining. Leila received the “2022 Outstanding Student Life Award” (the Graduate Leader of the Year Award) from the Division of Academic and Student Affairs at FIU. She received several scholarships from Anita Borg Institute and National Foundation of Science to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC17, GHC19) and Richard Tapia Conference (TAPIA19, vTAPIA20). Also, she recently got the Student Government Association (SGA) Graduate Students Scholarship. Besides her academic activities she served as Chair of Graduate and Professional Student Committee (GPSC) and Graduate Senator at Student Government Association. She published more than 10 journal and conference papers.
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Ph.D. Alumnus: Dr. Khandakar Mamun Ahmed
Ph.D. Defense, Summer 2024
Dissertation Title: Computer Vision for Anomaly Detection: From Centralized to Distributed Learning
Khandaker Mamun Ahmed is a Ph.D. student and Graduate Assistant at Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory (solid lab), Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University (FIU). He received his B.Sc. from the Institute of Information Technology, University of Dhaka (IIT, DU) in 2016. His research interests include Federated Learning, Deep Learning, Computer Vision, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine learning, and Optimization Algorithms. Before joining FIU, he served as a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Brac University for more than 1.5 years. He published 2 journals papers and 2 conference papers are under review.
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Ph.D. Alumna: Dr. Namrata Saha
Ph.D. Defense, Summer 2024
Dissertation Title: Coupled Reinforcement Learning for Resilient Interdependent Networks
Namrata is a Ph.D. student and Research Assistant at Sustainability, Optimization, and Learning for InterDependent networks laboratory (solid lab), Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University (FIU) since August 2019. Prior to that, she was a Data Scientist/Product Manager at Loosely Coupled Technologies. She received her B.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) from MIST in 2018. Her research interests include Machine Learning, Deep Reinforcement Learning, Neural Network and Optimization Algorithms.
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Ph.D. Alumnus: Dr. Luiz Pereira
Ph.D. Defense, Summer 2025
Dissertation Title: Optimal Transport for Machine Learning: from Federated Learning to Complex Network Resilience
Luiz Manella Pereira is a Ph.D. student and DHS CAESCIR Fellow at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences at FIU. He is a member of solid lab working with Dr. Amini. Prior to that, he was an Undergraduate DHS CAESCIR Fellow with solid lab. He graduated as a Worlds Ahead Scholar in the Fall of 2019 with a BBA in Finance, followed by a BS in Applied Mathematics Fall 2020. He is very passionate about tackling real-world problems from a mathematical point of view. His current research interests are the theory of machine learning and its applications in network resilience.
Office: Modesto A. Maidique Campus, CASE 238
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M.Sc. Student: Samuel Muvdi
Samuel decided to go to Florida International University as an undergraduate student in computer science. He will receive his B.Sc. on December 2022. While at FIU he received DHS CAESCIR fellowship to pursue research on machine learning, which helped him to publish a paper called “A Federated Learning Framework for Automated Decision Making with Microscopic Traffic Simulation” under the joint supervision of Dr. Jason Liu and Dr. Amini. He is currently working on developing a framework for detecting and deterring reckless driving. He is now in the accelerated 4+1 program. He was able to start his career as a Data Quality Solution Consultant at Ataccama to use my strengths and passion for data and database administration to help clients have better governance of their data and quality. This is a quote from Samuel: "In 5 years I see myself having both of my degrees now earned, I would hope to be a senior solutions consultant, having more responsibility and having learned tons in the past 5 years".
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Former M.Sc. Student: Naadir Kirlew
Naadir Kirlew is a MSc student at the Knight Foundation School of Computing and Information Sciences, College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University (FIU). He is an alumnus of the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University where he received his B.Sc. of Mechanical Engineering in 2019. His research interests include Optimization, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, and autonomous control and navigation of robotics. As an undergraduate student he has worked as a Design Engineer at FIU’s Wall of Wind and was the Programming and Hardware Lead for FIU’s team in the NASA Swarmathon competition enabling the team to place in the Quarterfinals in 2018. For the past two summers, Naadir has worked at Lockheed Martin in multiple roles developing applications to optimize efficiencies and strengthen existing initiatives across the company. As a graduate student, he worked on Machine Learning and Autonomous multi-robot collaboration.
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Former M.Sc. Research Assistant: Aaron Turransky (Fall/Spring 2020)
Aaron Turransky is a current student at Florida International University, currently pursuing his second masters degree in the field of cybersecurity. Previously, Aaron already obtained a BSBA from the University of Miami in the field of International Finance and Marketing, and an MBA from Northern Illinois University. Within cybersecurity, Aaron is most intrigued by the risk-benefit that companies and individuals must face when making decisions. When it comes to cybersecurity, Aaron knows that there is no fool-proof plan and decisions must be made including cost, risk, time-frames, and thousands of others. Aaron plans to use his combination of business skills and cyber skills to help companies navigate those areas.
Although his focus and passion are cybersecurity, Aaron is no stranger to the healthcare industry. For several years, he worked side by side with physicians and their practices to help patients get the necessary medications that they needed. After that, Aaron worked with a consulting firm that helped life-science companies be compliant with the FDA on IT-related issues. Upon completion of his masters degree, he will be armed with the technical know-how to help move corporations forward while best protecting themselves. As the field of cybersecurity grows and expands, there will always be changes and new things to learn. As a result, Aaron considers himself to be a life-long student, always looking to develop his skills and improve his knowledge.
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Former Undergraduate Research Fellow: Luiz Pereira (March 2020-December 2020) [Currently a solid lab PhD student]
Luiz Pereira has graduated as a Worlds Ahead Scholar with a BBA in Finance from FIU in 2019. Based on his interest in math, he is now working towards earning his BS in Applied Mathematics. He is very passionate about tackling real-world problems from a mathematical point of view; this drove him to work on research with Dr. Sun on blind signal separation, and with Dr. Amini on the theory and applications of machine learning and network resilience. He is currently a member of the solid lab at FIU SCIS where he continues to work with Dr. Amini and tries to merge his ongoing research with his previous research experience.
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Former Undergraduate Research Fellow: Calvin Mark (Spring/Summer 2020)
Calvin Mark is currently an undergraduate student studying at the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University. While working towards his BS in Computer Science, Calvin has pursued his passions in the field of Physics where he has also completed his minor. Calvin’s fields of interests lie in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Digital Signal Processing and Applied Computing in Real-Time Audio Processing. Calvin is currently an Undergraduate Research Assistant for Solid Lab with Dr. Hadi Amini on the theory of social dynamics, power distribution and resilient networks. Calvin will graduate in the summer of 2020 from Florida International University and will continue on to pursue his PhD.
Research featured by FIU News, FIU CEC News, and FIU SCIS News (Link 1) (Link 2) (Link 3)
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Former Undergraduate Research Fellow (Supported by NSF REU Program): Meleik Hyman (Spring-Fall 2020)
Meleik Hyman is currently a senior studying at the College of Engineering and Computing at Florida International University working towards a B.S. in Computer Science. He recently completed an internship at Starbucks as Data Scientist. Prior to that, he interned at The Boeing Company, where he designed and implemented reporting dashboards/visualizations based on three years of financial data to assist upper management to better allocate funds. Resulted in significant cost savings in the last two weeks of his internship. During Summer 2020, he was a part of NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate Students program under supervision of Dr. Amini. As a part of this research, he incorporates models that forecast the novel coronavirus outbreak, the correlation between past market behaviors during recessions and pandemics, and actions that can be taken to assist in economic recovery. In his spare time, he enjoys walking, learning new things and entrepreneurship.
Research featured by FIU News, FIU CEC, FIU CEC LinkedIn, FIU SCIS, FIU SCIS LinkedIn
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Former Undergraduate Research Fellow (Supported by NSF REU Program):
Raghad Alabagi (Summer 2021)
Raghad Alabagi is a rising junior in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. She has had a passion for software at a young age and is now working towards her bachelor’s degree in both Software Engineering and in Mathematics. While attending the University of Arizona, she has made the dean’s list along with being accepted into a competitive program for STEM majors. She worked on federated learning algorithms for distributed decision-making.
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Senior Design Team: “Distributed Machine Learning for Mobile Programmable Robots: From Programming to Distributed Intelligence” (Spring 2020)
News Coverage: “Students rise against the odds to complete their senior design project on machine learning for robotics” by FIU College of Engineering and Computing News and FIU School of Computing and Information Sciences News
Undergraduate Student: Glenda Gonzalez
Glenda Gonzalez is an aspiring software engineer who will be interning at Wells Fargo this summer. She will be graduating from Florida International University in 2020, with bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science and Psychology. Her interests include human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
Together with her teammate, she worked on her senior design project entitled “Distributed Machine Learning for Mobile Programmable Robots: From Programming to Distributed Intelligence”. As a part of this senior design project, students explored the potential deployment of machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms on mobile robots. To this end, they used programmable intelligent robots, implemented and expanded on built-in features of the robot such as obstacle avoidance, color classification, QR codes, and facial detection. Additionally, they explored the robot’s capabilities pertinent to computer science research and education, with the goal of determining whether it is a suitable platform for modeling distributed machine learning algorithms.
Undergraduate Student: Ricardo Boetto
Ricardo Boetto is a Computer Science student graduating May 2020, and will be starting as a software engineer at American Express in August 2020. His main focus during his tenure at FIU was computer graphics and multiprocessing. He also has a degree in English Literature with an emphasis on critical literary theory.
Together with his teammate, he worked on his senior design project entitled “Distributed Machine Learning for Mobile Programmable Robots: From Programming to Distributed Intelligence”. As a part of this senior design project, students explored the potential deployment of machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms on mobile robots. To this end, they used programmable intelligent robots, implemented and expanded on built-in features of the robot such as obstacle avoidance, color classification, QR codes, and facial detection. Additionally, they explored the robot’s capabilities pertinent to computer science research and education, with the goal of determining whether it is a suitable platform for modeling distributed machine learning algorithms.
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Research Experience for Teachers, Supported by NSF: The main goals of this program are to (1) build long-term collaborations between Kindergarten-through-12th grade (K-12) STEM teachers and the research community; (2) increase K-12 teachers’ knowledge of cutting-edge research topics; (3) build K-12 teachers’ technology competency through research and professional development programs; and (4) assist teachers in developing class curriculum based on their experience.
Summer 2020: Zhaleh Hosseinian, Project Title: “A Mobile Application to Assist in Maintaining Social Distance and Illustrate COVID-19 Situations”
Summer 2021: Marisa Behar and Yoandra Abad, Project Title: “Federated Learning Algorithms for Distributed Decision-making”
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