People

Faculty

Dr. Hadis Anahideh, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Dr. Anahideh’s research objectives center around Black-box Optimization, Active Learning, Machine Learning, Responsible AI, and Algorithmic Fairness. She primarily seeks to develop innovative learning and optimization methodologies that have potential utility for multiple fields within engineering operations, design, and social systems. By bridging fairness, transparency, and efficiency, her work has broad implications for building trustworthy, high-performing systems in domains like manufacturing, logistics, and large-scale decision-making processes.

Dr. Anahideh Personal Webpage

Ph.D. Students

Nazanin Nezami

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Nazanin is a Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at UIC. Before joining UIC, Nazanin received her master’s degree in Industrial Engineering at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She also has a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Sharif University of Technology. She currently conducts research as a Research Assistant in the OPLEX research lab. Her main research interests are in data-driven decision making, machine learning, and deep learning. She enjoys traveling and being exposed to new places, people, and cultures.

Sina Almasi

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Sina is a Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at UIC. Prior to joining UIC, Sina received his master’s degree in Mathematical Sciences at Michigan Technological University. He also got his bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Shahid Beheshti University. He is currently conducting research at the OPLEX research lab. Sina’s primary research areas of interest are optimization, machine learning, and data science. Aside from academia, he is an Avgeek, super passionate about airplanes and aviation.

Parian haghighat

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Parian is a Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at UIC. She holds an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.Sc. in the same field from Sharif University of Technology. She conducts research, at the OPLEX research lab, that explores the implications of machine learning algorithms in sensitive societal applications. Her work emphasizes the fairness and transparency of algorithms, which are critical in building a more equitable society.

M.Sc. Students

Samuele Scaglioni

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Samuele is a M.Sc. student engaged in a double degree program, pursuing Management Engineering at Politecnico di Milano and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, which included an exchange period at XAMK in Finland. His current research focuses on “Quantifying Intervention Impact: Individualized Treatment Effects for Unseen Observations.” Samuele has a passion for traveling and fitness outside his academic pursuits.

Lorenzo Picchiarini

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Lorenzo Picchiarini is pursuing a master's degree in industrial engineering at UIC and is part of a double-degree program with Politecnico di Milano, specializing in industrial engineering and management engineering. His current focus involves evaluating the fairness of machine learning algorithms through various methodologies and different domains. Beyond academia, he enjoys playing football and traveling with friends.

Francesco Vaina

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Francesco is a dedicated M.Sc. student currently pursuing a double degree at UIC (Industrial Engineering) and Polytechnic of Milan (Management Engineering). With a Bachelor’s degree in Management Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Francesco brings a strong foundation in engineering and management to their current research pursuits. Currently focused on the fascinating field of algorithmic fairness, he is delving into advanced imputation techniques. This involves exploring methods to mitigate bias and ensure equitable outcomes in algorithmic decision-making processes. Beyond academia, Francesco is an avid sports enthusiast with a particular passion for soccer.

Alumni

Francesco Di Carlo

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Francesco was a M.Sc. student in Industrial Engineering at UIC. He completed his Double Degree Program between UIC and Polytechnic of Milan and already held a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnic. He was a Research Assistant in the OPLEX research lab, working on making fair models accessible to everyone. He had a passion for fitness and was a massive soccer fan.

Simone Lazier

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Simone was a M.Sc. student in Industrial Engineering at UIC and Management Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. He obtained his bachelor’s in Management Engineering at Politecnico di Milano before embarking on a double degree program with UIC. He researched fairness in data mining in the OPLEX lab. Outside of university, he worked as a software developer and enjoyed traveling and music.

Francesco Bolognesi

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Simone was a M.Sc. student in Industrial Engineering at UIC and Management Engineering at Politecnico di Milano. He had obtained his bachelor’s in Management Engineering at Politecnico di Milano before enrolling in a double degree program with UIC. He researched fairness in data mining in the OPLEX lab. Outside of university, he worked as a software developer and enjoyed traveling and music.

Frantishek Akulich

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Frantishek was a Ph.D. student in Industrial Engineering at UIC, where he also received his Bachelor’s degree. He conducted research as a Research Assistant in the OPLEX research lab, focusing on machine learning methodologies for fuel ignition systems. He was an automotive enthusiast with a passion for motorsport, research in the AI field, and an active lifestyle.

Ana Escoto-Cardenas

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Ana was a master student in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research at UIC. She received bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After graduation, she was out in the industry for 3 years where she had the chance to work in a variety of roles such as Material Analyst, Quality Engineer, and Manufacturing Supervisor in the aerospace sector. She was conducting research in the OPLEX research lab. Her research interests included process improvement through Machine Learning. Ana enjoys traveling and collecting vinyl records.

Page updated

Report abuse