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Behrooz Parhami's Curriculum Vitae

On-line CV

Page last updated on 2022 June 13

Affiliation, Contact, and General Information

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Dr. Behrooz Parhami, Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9560, USA Behrooz Parhami's name in Persian
  
- Name pronounced 'Beh-rooz Par-haa-'mee; Persian version in the opposite image
- Position: Professor of ECE (and Computer Engineering Program) Frequently asked questions
- Titles: FIEEE, FIET, FBCS, CEng, CITP
- Skills: Teaching, research, academic administration, and technical consulting
- Languages: English, Persian (Farsi), and some French Biography
- Technical bios (three-sentence, one-paragraph, one-page): See BP's Home Page
- Personal: Born in Tehran, Iran; Married, three childeran; US citizen
- See the top banner for e-mail and website addresses Telephone screen
- Deliveries: Harold Frank Hall, Room 4155
- Office phone: +1 805 893 3211 (please inquire in person for home/cell number)
- Departmental fax: +1 805 893 3262 (e-mail attachments preferred) Diploma scroll

Education

PhD in computer science, 1970-73, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Advised by Prof. Algirdas Avizienis
Major in computer architecture, minors in computing theory and programming languages
Dissertation title: Design Techniques for Associative Memories and Processors
MS in electrical engineering (computer science), 1969-70, Oregon State University, Corvallis
Advised by Prof. Robert A. Short
Thesis title: Stochastic Automata and the Problems of Reliability in Sequential Machines
BS in electromechanical engineering, 1964-68, Faculty of Engineering, Tehran University, Iran
Graduated first among all departments in Faculty of Engineering
Received several awards, including a Scientific Gold Medal from Tehran University

Honors and Recognitions

- Distinguished Contributor (one of 52 Charter Members), IEEE Computer Society, 2022-present
- Fellow, Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association, 2021-present (Certificate) (AAIA Fellows)
- Distinguished Visitor, IEEE Computer Society, 2021-2023 (title will be held for life) [Image]
- Certificate of Appreciation, outstanding and exemplary editorial service, 2020 [Image]
- IEEE Central Coast Section Award for outstanding service and leadership, 2019 [Image]
- Named one of 50 who served Sharif U. Technology with distinction over its 50-year history, May 2016
- Certificate of Appreciation, IEEE Computer Society, for service as Assoc. Editor of IEEE TC, May 2014
- Meritorious Service Certificate as a "Top Reviewer" for IEEE Trans. Computers, April 2014
- Certificate of Appreciation, IEEE Computer Society, for service as Assoc. Editor of IEEE TPDS, June 2013
- Life Fellow, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), 2013-present
- Award for top-cited article during 2005-10 in J. Parallel and Distributed Computing [Publ. 224], 2010
- Fellow, IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology), 2010-present
- IET Circuits, Devices & Systems Premium Achievement Award [best paper award for Publ. 242], 2009
- Listed in four Who's Who in: the World, American Education, Finance & Business, 2006-present
- Listed in two Who's Who in: Science and Engineering, Engineering Academia, 2005-present
- Chartered Fellow, British Computer Society, 2004-present
- Chartered Information Technology Professional, United Kingdom, 2004-present
- Listed in Who's Who in Engineering Education and Marquis Who's Who in America, 2002-present
- Citation for "Best Technical Paper in Two Decades" on the occasion of ISI's 20th anniversary, 1998
 (along with "Honorable Mention" for eight other papers)
- Fellow, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), 1997-present
- Fellow, BCS (British Computer Society), 1995-present
- Chartered Engineer, Engineering Council of the United Kingdom, 1990-present
- Distinguished Member, ISI (Informatics Society of Iran), 1985-present
- IEEE Centennial Medal, honoring exceptional service to the profession, 1984
- Alborz Cultural Foundation Award, honoring distinguished graduates in selected disciplines, 1968
- Scientific Gold Medal for graduating first in the Faculty of Engineering, Tehran University

Positions Held

Professor Parhami has held academic positions since earning his first engineering degree in 1968. These positions, as well as formal advisory or consulting ties to various organizations, are listed below in reverse chronological order of the end dates. Short-term consulting/advisory roles are covered under "Service and Consulting Profile" below. Teaching, supervisory, research, publication, professional, and service activities associated with academic positions are described in other parts of his CV and its appendices.

1988- Now Professor, Dept. Electrical & Computer Engineering, Univ. of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
2009-2012 Associate Dean for Academic Personnel, College of Engineering, UCSB. Coordinated College of Engineering's faculty merit and promotion cases, generating the formal input from Dean's office into the multilevel campus-wide process that begins at the departments and ends with an Associate Vice Chancellor.
1990-1992 Vice Chairman, Dept. Electrical & Computer Engineering, UCSB. Administered graduate recruitment, awarded financial aid, and served as departmental graduate advisor.
1984-1988 Professor, Dept. Mathematics & Computer Science, Sharif Univ. of Technology (SUT), Tehran. Was qualified to become Full Professor in 1982, but due to the closure of Iranian universities for the so-called "Cultural Revolution," no promotion was awarded during 1980-83.
1987-1988 Visiting Professor, School of Computer Science, Carleton Univ., Ottawa, Canada (on sabbatical leave from SUT). Participated in teaching and independent research.
1986-1987 Visiting Professor, Dept. of Computer Science, Univ. of Waterloo, Canada (on sabbatical leave from SUT). Some teaching, plus association with the Systems on Silicon Research Group.
1974-1985 Organizer and Editor, Computer Systems Laboratory (CSL) Report Series, SUT.
1979-1985 Coordinator of Computer Science Programs, Dept. Mathematics & Computer Science, SUT.
1977-1984 Associate Professor (tenured from 1978), Dept. Mathematics & Computer Science, SUT.
1976-1981 Automation Planning Consultant, Iran Ports and Shipping Organization, Tehran. Supervised a multiyear project for developing computerized payroll and personnel systems and provided advice to management on hardware, software, and educational needs.
1978-1979 Senior Technical Advisor, Plan and Budget Organization, Government of Iran. Consulted on educational programs, networking, standardization, project evaluation, and related areas.
1975-1978 Data Processing Consultant, Parsons-Jurden International Corp., Tehran, Iran. Provided guidance on running cost accounting and other software on SUT's CDC Cyber 74 computer system.
1977-1978 Vice Chairman, Dept. Mathematics & Computer Science, SUT. Assisted in departmental administration and managed the computer science group.
1974-1977 Assistant Professor, Dept. Mathematics & Computer Science, SUT.
1975-1976 Director, Student Affairs Data Processing Unit, SUT.
1972-1974 Technical Consultant, Ultrasystems Inc., Newport Beach, CA. Participated in contract work on advanced spacecraft computers and reliable hardware design.
1973-1974 Acting Assistant Professor, Computer Science Dept., Univ. of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Duties included teaching, contract management, and independent research.
1970-1973 Research Assistant & Post-Graduate Research Engineer, Computer Science Dept., UCLA.
1968-1969 Laboratory Instructor, Faculty of Engineering, Tehran Univ., Iran.
1967-1968 Engineer-in-Training (two summers), Karaj Dam & Tehran Regional Power Company, Iran.

Research Program and Publications

Professor Parhami has been involved in computing research for four decades. During this period, he has participated in many research endeavors and has published more than 270 technical papers in journals and international conferences (see B. Parhami's list of publications). Within the rather broad field of computer design and architecture, his active interests span three subareas:

Computer Arithmetic, where he studies unconventional number representation schemes and has pioneered the discussion of generalized signed-digit number systems, along with associated encoding schemes and arithmetic algorithms, as a unified framework for dealing with redundant representations and finding optimal designs with a wide range of technologies including binary, multi-valued, and optical logic implementations. He also works on arithmetic error-detecting and error-correcting codes, as well as on efficient table-based implementation schemes for basic and high-level arithmetic functions. More details

Parallel Processing, where he deals with scalability issues, interconnection architectures, and cost-effective designs for various application areas, including special-purpose search processors. His contributions in this area include the design of one of the first database processors, a widely referenced classification and survey of associative processor architectures, and, more recently, design of robust algorithms for meshes, proposal and evaluation of a number of new interconnection architectures (periodically regular chordal rings, swapped, and biswapped networks), unifying theories for interconnection structures, and a variety of hierarchical or multilevel interconnection networks. More details

Dependable Computing, also known as fault-tolerant computing, where he has contributed to the design of fault-tolerant associative processors, studied properties of arithmetic error codes, and proposed a systematic data-driven methodology for the design and evaluation of ultrareliable hardware/software systems and associated voting schemes. He also works on the design of robust parallel algorithms that exhibit graceful degradation even without redundant hardware resources and on the robustness attributes of interconnection networks for parallel processing. More details

Besides the aforementioned areas of current research interest, Professor Parhami was heavily involved in research on technology transfer and language-dependent issues in computer technology and applications until the late 1980s. He made numerous contributions to adapting information technology to the needs of Persian-language computing and user interfaces and is recognized as a pioneer in this area. More details

Teaching, Mentoring, and Textbooks

Professor Parhami enjoys teaching at all levels, but the bulk of his formal teaching load has been at the graduate level. In Iran, this was due to a dearth of expertise at his level and here at UCSB, it has been primarily due to scheduling considerations and the need to cover all major course offerings in computer engineering. He regularly teaches undergraduate courses on computer design and architecture as well as graduate-level courses on computer arithmetic, parallel processing, and fault-tolerant computing. In recent years, he has been teaching a seminar of his own design that uses mathematical and logical puzzles to introduce computer engineering freshmen to challenging problems in their field of endeavor. More details

Professor Parhami has graduated four PhD and a large number of MS students. He is quite active in advising students via his open office hours locally, and through e-mail communication internationally. More details

Professor Parhami's many years of teaching experience have led to the publication of comprehensive textbooks on parallel processing (Plenum, 1999), computer arithmetic (2nd ed., Oxford, 2010; int'l ed., Oxford, 2012), and computer architecture (Oxford, 2005; Spanish translation published by MaGraw-Hill Mexico in 2007). These books have been used by educational institutions worldwide, and they have also been popular as reference volumes for specialists. A preliminary version of a forthcoming textbook on dependable and fault-tolerant computing is already in use by professors and students at several universities. More details

Until 1986, Professor Parhami was also heavily involved in programs to teach computing fundamentals to nonspecialists and high-school students. A "Computer Appreciation" textbook that he wrote based on these experiences was a best-selling Persian-language book on computing for over a decade after its initial publication in 1984. Professor Parhami's teaching-related professional activities in the past have included participating in curriculum development for Iranian high schools, leading curriculum development efforts for computer engineering education at the college level, contributing to a series of TV science programs on computing, organizing a "Teaching of First CS Course" conference, and giving numerous public lectures under the auspices of the Informatics Society of Iran.

Service and Consulting Profile

Professor Parhami is a Fellow of both the IEEE and the British Computer Society, a Distinguished Member of the Informatics Society of Iran, and a Professional Member of the ACM. He has served or is currently serving on the editorial boards of several technical publications, including three IEEE Transactions. He referees technical papers and research proposals and participates in other professional activities on a regular basis. He has an extensive record of service on academic committees and has served the broader community in a variety of ways over the past four decades. More details

Professor Parhami's consulting activities revolve around the design and evaluation of high-performance digital systems, from the chip and board levels all the way to the system integration level. His hardware expertise includes the use of customization and pipelining techniques, as well as the application of (massive) parallelism at various levels of granularity. His work has also involved intellectual property considerations and patent litigation. In these domains, he has helped a number of companies and consulting firms with their efforts pertaining to high-performance computer system design. He has also assisted several organizations as an expert, by preparing technical briefs relating to the state of the art in various technology domains as well as intellectual property claims.

Appendices to the CV

The following appendices contain details that complement B. Parhami's CV. Numbers in square brackets identify items in B. Parhami's list of publications.

Appendix A: Articles and Other Writings: Tutorial, review, and semitechnical articles in newspapers and magazines, interviews, technology reviews/updates, and broad-based papers in unrefereed periodicals.
Appendix B: Bibliographic Citations: Partial list of citations of Professor Parhami's work by other scholars. These are research papers and other documents that Professor Parhami has encountered in his own literature review. Many more citations exist. For example, as of June 11, 2013, Google Scholar lists 1118 citations of Professor Parhami's book on computer arithmetic [179], 275 citations of his book on parallel processing [162], 162 citations of his 1994 IEEE Trans. Reliability paper on voting algorithms [101], and 158 citations of his 1990 IEEE Trans. Computers paper on generalized signed-digit number systems [66].
Appendix C: Critical Reviews Published: Book and paper reviews appearing in various publications, such as Mathematical Reviews, as well as book and book proposal evaluations for publisers.
Appendix L: Lectures and Presentations: Lectures that were delivered in professional conferences, invited seminars at various academic/industrial organizations, short courses, and public forums.
Appendix N: Notes and Course Readers: Lecture notes and readers written/compiled for various undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as for special technical seminars.
Appendix R: Reports and Proposals: Technical reports, progress/final reports for research projects, standing and ad hoc committee reports, and research proposals.
Appendix T: Translations and Adaptations: Published technical translations—mostly from English into Persian—summaries, and free adaptations of books/papers that are ofbroad interest.

A Japanese Proverb

"Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare."