Alireza Asiaee has joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Mississippi. Submitted photo
As an undergraduate chemical engineering major at Shiraz University in Iran, Alireza Asiaee dreamed of one day earning his terminal degree and joining the faculty of a prestigious university. Since then, both dreams have come true.
Asiaee is the newest instructor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Mississippi. He was hired Aug. 1, after receiving both his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and his Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Shiraz University.
“I always had a passion for teaching and transferring chemical engineering knowledge to (the) next generation,” said Asiaee, who previously worked as a process engineer at ideaCHEM Inc. in Rapid City, South Dakota, and as a lecturer at Rajaee Higher Education Institute in Shiraz, Iran. “During my graduate studies, I volunteered to be a teaching assistant for courses in computer programming, thermodynamics and advanced chemical engineering mathematics.”
Asiaee is teaching Programming for Chemical Engineering and Chemical Engineering Lab this fall. Next semester, he will be teaching Programming, Chemical Engineering Lab II and web-based Thermodynamics.
“In addition to teaching the assigned courses, my short-term goals are developing new elective courses in the department, updating the current chemical engineering laboratory, providing support and help to update the existing curriculum, as well as helping and advising students with their research,” Asiaee said.
“My long-term goals include developing new courses and labs related to my research background in computational chemistry and bioprocesses and collaborating with other faculty members to establish research centers in computational and/or supercritical fluid areas.”
In addition to joining the UM chemical engineering department, Asiaee said his most satisfying achievement has been the outcomes of his Ph.D. research, which have established some new methods and procedures in studying and computational modeling of solid-fluid interfaces and heterogeneous catalysis.
“One of my articles was published as an ‘Editor’s Choice Paper,’ where we addressed some of the challenges and discussions between the theoretical results and experimental observations in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process,” he said. “Due to the outstanding methods we developed in the mentioned paper, the company who owns the applied software (Accelrys) has reached out to my previous research group requesting our calculations and procedure in order to update their software packages and develop new procedures for estimation of first-degree reaction rates and parameters.”
Asiaee provides the enthusiasm and energy of a newly graduated Ph.D. to the department, said John O’Haver, chair and professor.
“He is providing the attention and creativity needed for our laboratory classes, as well as providing our freshmen with the fundamentals of using and programming in Excel,” O’Haver said. “He brings research skills that will enable him to collaborate at times with faculty. We are excited to have him in the department.”
Asiaee has a fiancée, who is working in Salt Lake City as an energy engineer. His family includes his parents and sisters.
“My extracurricular activities are mainly sports,” he said. “I am a member of Ole Miss Badminton Club. My other favorite sports are mountain biking, racquetball and playing pool.”