Sasan Nouranian conducts research in the chemical engineering laboratory.
When Sasan Nouranian completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Amirkabir University of Technology, he was already in the fast track for academic advancement in higher education. Once he completed his doctorate at Mississippi State University and began working there, he was certain he would remain at MSU indefinitely.
Buy after three years as a postdoctoral associate and six months as an assistant research professor, Nourianian was offered an opportunity too good to pass up. This fall, he became the newest assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Mississippi.
“In the ‘Meet the Faculty’ poster session of the 2013 annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, I was introduced to Dr. (Paul) Scovazzo,” he said. “I learned about an open assistant professor position at Ole Miss, and I later applied.”
Nouranian accepted the position because he knew the university well and was collaborating with Ole Miss faculty while at MSU.
“I saw a potential for growth and an excellent opportunity to build a multidisciplinary research group at Ole Miss,” Nouranian said.
Nouranian is a welcome addition to the chemical engineering department, said Clint Williford, chair and professor of chemical engineering.
“Dr. Nouranian’s expertise combines molecular modeling and experimentation in the material science field,” Williford said. “He adds a new facet to the capabilities supporting our strategic vision. Energetic new professors, such as Sasan, will play an important role in rejuvenating our department into the future.”
Nouranian enjoys family time with his wife, daughter and son.
Nouranian is teaching Introduction to Chemical Engineering I, a freshman course with 80 students divided into two sections, this fall. In the spring, he plans to teach Plant Design II, as senior course in chemical engineering.
“My short-term goals are to establish my own research lab and recruit graduate students to get my research started,” Nouranian said. “My long-term goals are threefold. I want to find better ways to interact with students and help them realize their potential and succeed. I want to establish a polymer processing lab as well as a molecular dynamics simulation lab to conduct multidisciplinary experimental and computational materials research, advance the graduate program in the department, and mentor undergraduate and graduate students.
“With respect to service, I want to make contributions to the university, my professional society and my community in general.”
Among his many professional achievements, Nouranian said he is most proud of having had opportunities to collaborate with internationally renowned scholars in the field of computational materials research.
“I was involved in a pioneering work on the development of an interatomic potential for polymers,” Nouranian said. “I am excited to advance this work further and establish my computational materials group at Ole Miss.”
When not at work, Nouranian enjoys reading books and spending time with his wife, their 4-year old daughter and 10-month old son.