Email: phz @ berkeley.edu
Hometown: Tehran, Iran
Research: I came to Berkeley in 2008 and graduated in 2013 with degrees in mathematics (MA) and mechanical engineering (PhD). As a graduate student in the CFD lab, I worked on 3D vortices in geophysical and astrophysical flows. Such vortices are abundant in nature (ocean, atmosphere, accretion disks, etc.) and their dynamics is controlled by the rotation, density stratification, and shear of their environments. Understanding the physics of these vortices is crucial in answering intriguing questions such as the color, color-change, and longevity of Jovian vortices (e.g. Great Red Spot); impact of oceanic eddies on general circulation and climate dynamics (e.g. Agulhas rings); and star and planet formation in the protoplanetary disks. In my PhD I used theoretical techniques and high-resolution numerical simulations to study various aspects of the dynamics of 3D vortices.
I became interested in fluid dynamics and computation during my undergraduate studies at the University of Tehran (2001-2005). In 2005 I moved to Canada and in 2007 I received a master’s degree from the University of Waterloo, where I worked on computational radiation heat transfer. In 2013, I joined Harvard University as a Ziff Environmental Fellow in the Center for the Environment and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. My research in Harvard focuses on climate change and extreme weather events.
My PhD dissertation: Baroclinic Vortices in Rotating Stratified Shearing Flows: Cyclones, Anticyclones, and Zombie Vortices (PDF)
My MA thesis: Optimal Transport from Wall to Wall (PDF)
My website can be found here.