I was born in Tehran as the second child in my family. Growing up alongside my elder sister, I have always enjoyed the warmth and support of my close-knit family. Today, I continue to live with my parents and sister, who have played a significant role in shaping my values and fueling my academic and personal pursuits.
My journey into astrophysics began during high school, where I dedicated three years to studying for the Astronomy Olympiad. This period started my deep dive into astrophysics and astronomy as I took on challenging courses to fuel my growing curiosity. My hard work culminated in a silver medal in Iran’s National Astronomy Olympiad. This milestone solidified my passion for this field.
Following my success in the Astronomy Olympiad, I chose to pursue mechanical engineering, believing that the challenges of this field would complement my deep understanding of physics. The Olympiad had equipped me with a solid foundation in physics, and I saw mechanical engineering as an opportunity to apply that knowledge in innovative ways. However, my passion for astronomy remained unwavering, so I consistently tailored my projects and academic activities toward space-related topics, ensuring that astronomy continued to play a central role in my studies.
During my time at university, alongside my coursework, I took on two significant activities that shaped my journey. Frist, I co-founded the Astronomy Center at Amirkabir University, reviving it in 2016 after a decade of inactivity. Under my leadership as head of the center for two years, we transformed it into the most active student-run astronomy organization in the country. Today, it remains a thriving hub, guided by the next generation of students.
Second, I began teaching Astronomy Olympiad material to students, passing on my knowledge and passion for the field. This gave me the opportunity to connect with the younger generation. I was able to train students who are working in the best universities and research centers today. My skill in teaching was far beyond my skill in passing the Olympiad. Because of this, my students surpassed me. Every year, my students won national and international medals in Astronomy Olympiad. If you are a follower of IOAA competitions, you probably know that Iran gets brilliant results in these competitions every year.
In these years, I have taught astrophysics, celestial mechanics and spherical astronomy. I consider teaching as an excuse to learn more and I owe most of what I know in these fields to teaching. This gave a lot of depth to my learning. For this reason, even though my bachelor’s field was not physics, I never lost my connection with astrophysics and I was constantly learning this field.
I decided to go back to astronomy for my master’s degree. Therefore, I registered for the entrance exam for the master’s level, which is called “Konkor” in Iran, and in this exam, I was ranked 30th in the field of physics. This is the highest rank for someone who is engaged in astrophysics. In this way, I completed my master’s degree at Sharif University under the supervision of dear Prof. Dr. Rahvar.
This period was fateful for me. I won first place in all astrophysics and astronomy courses and finished these courses with the highest grade.
