Mahammad Valiyev
PhD in Petroleum Engineering
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
It is hard to pick the single best one. Probably, the following one: whatever the situationis, maintain your confidence and values.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
Ability to walk away from lucrative and lower-risk industry jobs that I have been offered,to pursue a much riskier plan that involved extensive self-study and studying for a not-so-desired MSc degree with the aim to eventually get admitted into a top PhD program in the US and making this plan actually, work.
What's your favorite impulse purchase from the past 12 months?
Probably, the fitness tracker watch. By the way, with the availability of so many great products and very fast deliveries, it is really hard to resist impulse buying in the US.
Please describe a little about your research and what excites you about it
I currently work on two projects: the first one is about the development of new model calibration workflows using deep learning and the second one is on developing predictive models for hydraulic fracturing operations using again machine/deep learning models. I would say there are several aspects to my research projects that make them exciting. Model calibration research is exciting because it is a general problem, that spans many fields, not just being limited to petroleum engineering, whereas hydraulic fracturing project is cool because it is one of the most widely used methods for optimizing oil and gas development in the North America. Therefore, they are both high-impact and relatively easier to justify research projects which do matter, and these features make them very exciting. Also, the fact that we address those problems with modern deep/machine learning algorithms makes them even more fun to work on, since I enjoy statistics/probability, coding, and being on the cutting edge.
If you could choose any other profession outside of engineering or computer science, what would it be?
If exclude engineering and computer science, I’d again go for highly quantitative majors such as applied math or economics.
What are some factors that helped you decide to pursue your PhD at USC?
My research advisor, reputation of university and program, the location and weather.
If you were to recommend to an incoming student 3 places to go in California/Los Angeles, what would they be?
Since I have arrived in the US just 2 months ago, I have not been able to go outside of LA, therefore I would stick to LA for my recommendations. The first thing I did just after settling down after my arrival to LA, was to go Hollywood walk of fame. Maybe I am somewhat biased, but I think it is a landmark, cultural icon, thus a top attraction in LA. Then, probably, it would be nice to visit Universal studios and one of the many cool beaches. Generally, LA and California have something to offer for everyone!
What is a memory you'll cherish about your time at USC?
Considering that I am just in my 2nd semester, I think most of the memories to be cherished are still waiting for me!
What's one thing about you that might surprise me?
Maybe the fact that I am not a fan of dogs. It is not like I do not like them, I am just indifferent.
What are your plans after graduation?
To work in industry as a Research/Applied Scientist.
Hometown (city, country)
Baku, Azerbaijan
Personal Website (if any)
No, but I can share my linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahammadvaliyev1/ and
facebook profiles https://www.facebook.com/mahammad.valiyev1/
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Behnam Jafarpour
