Sohail Forouzan-sepehr's Website: Introduction

Who am I?

I am a Bridge Engineer working in the Structures Division of Mouchel’s Office in Chelmsford, Essex, UK. I joined Mouchel in January 2008 and have worked on different stages of projects as well as mentoring civil engineering students of Anglia Ruskin University, acting as SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment & Quality) Champion and Environmental Coordinator.

I have worked for about six years in Iran on several important bridge design projects as well as lecturing at universities and workshops following the completion of my BSc and MSc courses with the first and second ranks, respectively. Then after, I passed the entrance exam of PhD course in structural engineering with the first rank and attended the course during my professional career. I have also cooperated in some academic research projects and engineering software design/development.

In 2007, I decided not to defend and publish my PhD thesis and leave not only University of Tehran where I was studying and teaching, but also my beloved country, Iran. Over all, it was a gray and gloomy year in my life!

I started my professional career (structural/bridge engineering) in Iran as a student engineer and elevated to the design team leadership position within five years before relocating to UK and starting my new professional career with Mouchel.

About my name

Some of my friends ask about the meaning of my name. My first name, “Sohail”, is the name of the second brightest star in the night-time sky after “Shabahang” (known as “Sirius” or “Alpha Canis Majoris” in English). The English equivalent of my name is “Canopus” or “Alpha Carinae”. Further information about the star “Sohail/Canopus” is available at Wikipedia Encyclopaedia.

My family name, “Forouzan-sepehr”, consists of two Persian words: “forouzan” which means “bright”, “luminous” and “sepehr” which is the Persian equivalent of “sky”. Therefore, my family name can be translated as an adjective in English which means “someone who has bright sky or simply is lucky!”

My qualifications

Qualification	Major	University	Year
MPhil	Structural Engineering	School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran	2007
MSc	Structural Engineering	School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran	2001
BSc	Civil Engineering	Faculty of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Amir Kabir University of Technology (Polytechnic of Tehran)	1999
Diploma	Mathematics & Physics	Alborz High school	1995

Fields of research

Mesh-free methods, error estimation and adaptivity, computational contact mechanics, mechanics of composites (See relative pages for further information)

Brief autobiography

Jun 1977	I was born in London, UK
1986	I lived in Hamburg, Germany and went to school there (Aber, ich habe Deutsch vergessen. So, ich kann es nicht verstehen!)
1991	I won the first award in Olympiad of Mathematics in Tehran, Iran and then passed the entrance exam to Alborz High school.
1995	I got my Diploma in mathematics and physics with the GPA 18.36 out of 20 (91.8%) and passed the general entrance exam to university. I went to Amir Kabir University of Technology (Polytechnic of Tehran) to study civil engineering.
1996	My first book in mathematics (including 900 problems for top young students) was published. It has been published several times in Iran so far (see abstract).
1996-97	Teaching statics for BSc students as Teacher-Assistant at Polytechnic of Tehran.
1999	I got my BSc in civil engineering with the GPA 17.29 out of 20 (86.45%) and first rank and passed the general entrance exam to master course at Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran. My second book in mathematics (including text, problems/solutions and tests for top young students) was also published then (see abstract).
Sep 2001	I defended my master thesis successfully in 26th September 2001 (20 out of 20) and got my MSc in structural engineering. My GPA was 18.36 out of 20 (91.8%) with the second rank among the students of the major. Then I passed the PhD course entrance exam at the same university with the first rank (75.79%) and immediately started my PhD course in structural engineering.
2002-04	Teaching engineering courses for BA students at Dept of Industrial Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran
2003-08	Working as bridge design engineer at HEXA Consulting Engineers, Tehran, Iran
Mar 2005	My third book in intellectual skills improvement was published (see abstract).
2007	I was promoted to bridge engineering team leader at Hexa Consulting Engineers. However, this year was a gray and gloomy year for me; so, ...
Jan 2008	I relocated to UK to challenge a new life and work as bridge designer at Mouchel Plc.
2009	I have started to be in touch with university environment again by mentoring 2nd year civil engineering students of Anglia Ruskin University.

Personal interests

Music, Photography, Painting, Arts & Architecture, Classical Literature, History & Archaeology, History & Archaeology, Travelling, Other Cultures & Civilisations, Psychology, Cycling, Yoga, ...