Professor
Computer Science Research Group
Gran Sasso Science Institute
L'Aquila, Italy
Other Affiliations:
amir.goharshady@gssi.it
amir.goharshady@cs.ox.ac.uk
goharshady@gmail.com (preferred)
https://www.youtube.com/@Goharshady
[I am not on any social media]
My name is Amir Kafshdar Goharshady (امیر کفشدار گوهرشادی). I always prefer to be called by my first name only, especially if you are a student sending me an email. I would also appreciate it if you write to me in Persian, Arabic, German or English, in that order.
I am a “Professore Ordinario“ of Computer Science at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), a superior graduate school (Scuola Superiore Universitaria) in the lovely Abruzzo region of Italy.
I am fortunate to lead the ALPACAS research group, an amazing team of talented young mathematicians and computer scientists. Our research interests are in theoretical computer science, specifically formal program verification, parameterized algorithms, compiler optimization and blockchain.
My educational background is, unsurprisingly, at the intersection of Mathematics and Computer Science. I did my PhD in Theoretical Computer Science at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria, where I was highly privileged to be supervised by Professor Krishnendu Chatterjee. I also have an MSc in Computer Science (Systems) from Georgia Tech and did my undergraduate studies in math and computing at the Universities of Yazd and London.
I concurrently serve as an associate member of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a Visiting Professor at IIT Bombay. I am also an advisor to the Sundar STEM school, where I helped establish the Pakistani Informatics Olympiad and train the first batches of IOI medalists from Pakistan. Previously, I was an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Oxford and a Fellow of St Catherine's College. Before that, I was an Assistant Professor of Computing and Mathematics at HKUST.
On the personal side, I am in love with and happily married to my dear wife, Safa Mezabia (صفاء مزابية). We live in a gemütlich home in L'Aquila overlooking the majestic Gran Sasso d'Italia. I was born and grew up in Mashhad, Khorasan, Iran. I feel equally at home in Yazd, Vienna, Tulln, Lahore, Algiers, Oxford, Madrid, Hong Kong and Mumbai, and have a feeling that L'Aquila will soon be added to this list. My favorite travel destination is Bukhara. I am an ardent supporter of Palestine.