Amirasalan Moatazedian - ECE PhD Student of the Month - January 2025
Amirarsalan Moatazedian has been a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering at NJIT since Fall 2024. He is advised by Dr. Joerg Kliewer and his research interests include information theory, generative adversarial networks and privacy preserving encoding. Before he entered his current Ph.D. program, he was a Ph.D. student at Villanova University in Pennsylvania for one academic year, and before that, a Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for one semester. He completed my M.Sc. in electrical engineering (Telecommunications) in Germany in 2020 and he completed my B.Sc. in electrical engineering (Telecommunications) in Iran in 2016.
What would you say that could be the next big thing in your area of research?
My research heavily relies on machine learning models such as generative adversarial networks. The competitive nature in a model such as a generative adversarial network allows us to optimize a generator network that optimally achieves certain objectives. Such networks are becoming increasingly more popular among researchers. I believe the next big thing in my research would be more sophisticated AI-based models to replace powerful existing models such as generative adversarial networks.
In your current area of research, what mathematical tools/theories do you think are the most useful?
I would say information theory, probability and statistics. I use Python to program the math-heavy research that I am focused on. Much of the math that I need for my research is like that found in a book like "Elements of Information Theory."
You have spent time in other areas of the U.S. before joining NJIT. How do you like the location and surroundings of NJIT so far?
Like most people, I prefer spring weather over cold winters and hot summers, however, between a cold winter and a hot/humid summer, I always prefer the cold winter. That is why I did not enjoy the weather in Tennessee, and neither did I enjoy the surroundings there. The weather/surroundings in Villanova/Pennsylvania are actually similar to that of Newark/New Jersey. Nevertheless, the proximity of NJIT to NYC makes NJIT a more appealing place for me. The three major airports in the greater New York area make traveling very easy. The weather can be too cold for a few weeks during the winter here. However, since the summer is not that hot, I find the weather very good overall.