13 things about University of Cape Town alum Hossein Dehnavifard from Iran

Hossein Dehnavifard is an alumnus of the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Established on October 1, 1829, it is the oldest university in the country.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in Tehran, Iran, Dehnavifard is fluent in Arabic, Persian and English. Before entering the University of Cape Town, he graduated from the Amirkabir University of Technology-Tehran Polytechnic in Tehran.

Dehnavifard is an Iranian design software control engineer. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He lived in Edgewood, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States.
2. From Edgewood, he moved to Bothell, Washington, USA.
3. From 2004 to 2008, he attended the Amirkabir University of Technology-Tehran Polytechnic where he earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering.
4. From 2008 to 2011, he attended the Amirkabir University of Technology-Tehran Polytechnic where he earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering.
5. From January 2010 to September 2012, he worked at Cement Industry Export Development Company in Tehran as an electrical engineer and technical consultant.
6. From January 2013 to December 2016, he attended the University of Cape Town where he earned his PhD in electrical engineering. In the same period, he worked as an electrical engineer and a research assistant at the university’s machine’s lab.
7. From June 2014 to July 2016, he volunteered as a mathematics tutor at South African National Agency.
8. From February 2017 to October 2018, he was a postdoctoral scientist at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, USA.
9. From October 2018 to July 2021, he worked for GE Transportation in Erie, Pennsylvania as an embedded software control engineer.
10. From July 2021 to July 2024, he was a senior design software control engineer at Komatsu Mining in Peoria, Illinois, USA.
11. In 2023, he was arrested in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County.
12. In 2024, he became a Boeing employee.
13. In June 2025, he will turn 40.

TIMELINE

As an engineer, Dehnavifard designed, prototyped and tested a micro-doubly-fed induction generator. He specializes in electric machines, drives and power electronics for transportation, aviation and renewable energy systems. 

2016

• He, Mohamed Azeem Khan and Paul S. Barendse co-authored “Development of a 5kW Scaled Prototype of a 2.5 MW Doubly-Fed Induction Generator”, which was published on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer (IEEE) Transactions on Industry Applications on November 15, 2016.

2018

• He, Ghadir Radman and Mohamedreza Kalyan co-authored Design and Comparison of High-Speed Induction Machine and High-Speed Interior Permanent Magnet Machine”, which was published on International Review on Modelling and Simulations on July 7, 2018.

2019

• He, Oladapo Omotade and Akrama Khan co-authored “Deployment of onshore wind turbine generator topologies: Opportunities and challenges”, which was published on International Transactions on Electrical Energy Systems on December 25, 2019.

2022

• In February 2022, he obtained his certification in battery modeling and algorithm development with Simulink from MathWorks.
• In June 2022, he obtained his certification in power electronics control design with Simulink and Simscape from MathWorks.

2023

• He, Gerald Murray Brown and Muhammad Barkat Saifee are the inventors of 2-level buck-boost DC-to-DC converters with virtual grounds. On May 1, 2023, Komatsu America Corp. filed for its patent, which was published on November 16, 2023.
• While residing in Edgewood, he arrived late at Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh just after 4:30 p.m. on May 10, 2023. He was travelling to Iran and was refused entry on his American Airlines flight to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After airport staff refused to allow him to board, he allegedly told the American Airlines gate agents that his luggage contained a bomb, which was heard by at least two airline employees. But the incident may have been a misunderstanding, according to his defense attorney Turahn Jenkins. More than 100 passengers on the American Airlines flight were deboarded. Allegheny County Police Department officers and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents searched the aircraft and found no threat. Later that day, he was arrested, taken to the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh for arraignment and charged with terroristic threats and threat to use weapons of mass destruction. At his arraignment, Magistrate Xander Orenstein set no cash bail and ordered him released on his own recognizance.
• On May 12, 2023, authorities asked Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski at a hearing to keep him in prison. At the hearing, Jenkins argued for his release.

2024

• In July 2024, he joined Boeing in Everette, Washington as a senior systems modeling engineer.