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Nima Vakili
Date of Birth:August 28th, 1987
Email:nima.vkl@gmail.com
Cell Phone:(347) 707-8075
Website:www.minim-v.com

Education

2012-2015:MArch/MFA, Media Arts and Architecture [dual-degree] Program (MAAP), SUNY at Buffalo, NY
GPA: 3.80 out of 4
Spring 2014:MSc, MediaArchitecture Program [exchange semester], Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, Germany
2005-2011:Bachelor of Architecture, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
GPA: 17.20 out of 20 (equivalent to 3.85 out of 4)
(Graduated on July 5th, 2011)
2001-2005:Mathematics and Physics Diploma, Amirkabir High School, Tehran, Iran

Interests  ◌  Collective Skills

Interactive design (architecture, installation, interface)
Internet of Things (IoT), physical computing
Parametric design
Rapid prototyping/fabrication
Data visualization
App design/development (Android, web)

Work Experience

2015-presentSenior Physical and Interaction Designer at Local Projects
Fall 2014:Sensing Lab's manager/technical staff, Department of Media Study, SUNY at Buffalo
Main responsibilities: assisting students with their projects, organizing the inventory, operating 3D printer
Summer 2013:Intern at Local Projects working as programmer/designer
2010-2011:Architectural designer at Pouya Rah Alborz Co. (architecture firm)
2010-2011:Designed a villa independently, construction finished in 2012, located at northern Iran
2009-2010:Intern at Teknahid Co. working mainly as a supervisor on construction site of “Aftab Towers”, Tehran
2007-2008:Building facade designer and 3D modeler at SAS Co. (aluminum composite general contractor)
2006-2011:Freelance 3D modeler and realistic renderer
2003-2007:Freelance web-developer and designer

Teaching/Research Experience

Fall 2013:(TA) Voids in the Internet of Things (graduate level), Marc Böhlen, Department of Media Study, SUNY at Buffalo
Main responsibility: holding the lab section; teaching Python, Processing, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi
Fall 2013:(TA) Arch Design Studio 5: Situated Technologies (graduate level), Jordan Geiger, School of Architecture, SUNY at Buffalo
Main responsibility: technical assistant for physical computing
Spring 2013:(RA) Teri Rueb, Department of Media Study, SUNY at Buffalo
Main responsibility: Android app development for location-based media (e.g. sound walks): Grimpant, Other Order
Fall 2012:(TA) Numbers & Numeracy Practices (graduate level), Marc Böhlen, Department of Media Study, SUNY at Buffalo
Main responsibility: holding the lab section; teaching Python and Processing for live data extraction/visualization
Spring 2012:(TA) Large Scale Biosensing Systems (graduate level), Marc Böhlen, Department of Media Study, SUNY at Buffalo
Spring 2010:(TA) Building Technical Design (undergraduate level), Dr. Sattarian, College of Fine Arts, University of Tehran

Honors and Awards

Exhibited work at Media Architecture Biennale 2014. It was awarded the aed Neuland's first-prize in Exhibition and Public Design category, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar's Kreativfonds, and Univeristy at Buffalo's Techne Insitute Funding.
Exhibited work at ACADIA 2013 conference.
Full tuition scholarship + teaching assistantship from Department of Media Study, SUNY at Buffalo for two years (2012 and 2013)
Ranked in upper 0.5% among all the Iranian students (500,000) who participated in the Nationwide Undergraduate University Entrance Exam in 2005.

Software Skills

Rhinoceros, 3ds Max, Vectorworks, AutoCAD, and SketchUp
Plugins: V-Ray (3ds Max, Rhino), mental ray (3ds Max), T-Splines (Rhino), RhinoCAM (Rhino)
Adobe Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, After Effects, and Audition

Programming Language Skills

Grasshopper
Plugins: Kangaroo Physics, T-Splines, CAMel
Java
Processing
Android
Python
Arduino
Max/MSP
HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript
Cross-platform mobile programming
OpenGL/WebGL
PHP
SQL
GIT
Content Management Systems
Auto QA/Test Suit development
Selenium (RegEx, XPath)
Behavior Driven Development (BDD) using Behat/Mink and Lettuce
Continuous Integration (CI) using Jenkins
Microsoft Visual Basic

Other Skills

Good grasp of electronics, sensors, actuators, and robotics
Good grasp of computer networks and wireless technologies
Good grasp of computer hardware
Good grasp of audio hardware, sound, mixing and mastering
Good grasp of projection technologies
Operating laser cutter, 3D printer, and 5-axis CNC machine (familiar with G-Code)
Professional photography

Language Skills

Fluent English
Native Farsi (Persian)
Familiar with Arabic