Saber Dinpazhouh

About

I am a third-year Ph.D. student in Computational and Applied Mathematics and Operations Research at Rice University, under the supervision of Dr. Illya V. Hicks. My current research focuses on Combinatorial Optimization methods applied to Quantum Hardware Design.

I am actively seeking internship opportunities for summer 2026. Please feel free to send me an email if my background interests you, or if you’d like to connect and collaborate.

After completing my studies, I plan to continue my career in industry as a Research Scientist.

Education

Ph.D. in Computational and Applied Mathematics and Operations Research, Rice University (May 2025 – Present)
Advisor: Dr. Illya V. Hicks

M.A. in Computational and Applied Mathematics and Operations Research, Rice University (Aug 2023 – May 2025)
Advisor: Dr. Illya V. Hicks
Thesis: Optimizing Cost Hamiltonian Compilation for Max-Cut QAOA on Unweighted Graphs Using Global Controls and Qubit Bit Flips

B.Sc. in Computer Engineering, Sharif University of Technology (2017 – 2022)
Advisor: Dr. Hamid Beigy
Thesis: Iran Highschool Scheduling Using Metaheuristics

Honors

Ranked 1st nationwide in Iran's university entrance exam (Math and Physics), May 2017

Research Interests

Combinatorial Optimization, Graph Theory, Optimization in Quantum Computing, Linear and Integer Programming

Skills

Programming Languages: C, C++, Java, Python, Julia, R

Machine Learning: Python (NumPy, Pandas, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, Keras, PyTorch); Concepts: Dimensionality Reduction, Feature Engineering, Data Visualization

High Performance Computing: Async Programming, Multithreading, CUDA C

Design & Analysis of Algorithms: Dynamic Programming, Greedy, Randomized, Sublinear, Graph Algorithms, Streaming Algorithms

Optimization: Convex Optimization, Gurobi, Mixed-Integer Programming; Metaheuristics: Tabu Search, Genetic Algorithm, Simulated Annealing, Swarm Optimization

Quantum Computing: Cirq, Qiskit, Pennylane

Developer Tools: Git, Linux Shell Scripting, LaTeX

Experience

AI Intern — Ramzinex Crypto Exchange, Mar 2022 – Jul 2022

• Developed a Reinforcement Learning-based trading agent for the futures market.
• Contributed as a software engineer to launch Iran's first crypto index-following fund, Ramzbox.

Freelance Software Engineer, Jul 2022 – Dec 2022

• Built an arbitrage bot to exploit price differences between Ramzinex and KuCoin crypto exchanges across multiple markets.

Extracurricular Activities

Event Coordinator — Rice SIAM Student Chapter, Aug 2025 – Present

Treasurer — Rice Iranian Society, 2023

Languages

Persian (Bilingual)

Azerbaijani (Bilingual)

English (Professional working proficiency)

Interests Outside of Work

• Sim Racing
• Chess
• TV Shows

Contact