“The weather was very similar to here, except more humid,” said Dr. Allamehzadeh.

He developed an interest for electronics in his early childhood.

“I used to take apart radios and other electronic devices and fix them. When I was in elementary school, I think third grade, my mom asked a person who has an electronic repair shop to take me as a helper. I was fascinated with the way he would repair radios and other electronic devices. I was always asking myself, ‘How does he do that? He must be very smart.’ So, when I finished high school I knew exactly what I wanted to be,” explained the electrical engineer.

He finished his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate’s at the University of Oklahoma. During his undergraduate year, he was introduced to his specialty, control systems, because the course was required for his degree.

“I took the course, and the instructor came from one of the top universities in California. He was tough: he would lecture for about 55 minutes and would write on the board nonstop for that entire time. Not many students in the class could keep up with him. Almost half of the students in the class dropped the course. For most of those who stayed, control systems became their area of specialty. I was one of them,” said Dr. Allamehzadeh.

Before joining the Greyhound family he taught at the University of Wisconsin in the electrical engineering department. He taught two control system courses and one general engineering course while there.

He joined ENMU after applying for the job opening and visiting campus.

“I really liked the campus environment and people,” said Dr. Allamehzadeh.

A memorable event for Dr. Allamehzadeh was while he was getting his Ph.D. his advisor received a grant from a company to redesign control systems for an artificial heart.

“This artificial heart was developed by a German company; it was a magnificent piece of equipment. The blood flow was controlled by electromagnetic forces; however, it had one problem, the blood temperature would rise up by a few degrees after operation. Of course, it was undesirable and I was asked to modify the control systems so it would be operational. I worked on the control system for about a year and we had a good progress, however, the company decided to put that project on hold. They spent a lot of money on it while it was in Germany and they could not fund the project for a few more years,” explained Dr. Allamehzadeh.

He has worked on several EET (electronic engineering technology) projects with ENMU students: Magnetic Levitation Project, solar tracking system, ball and beam project, and, the most recent one this semester, a solar powered voice activated golf cart. The project for this semester is funded by ENMU STEM grant.

“I appreciate their support for STEM projects. Four students are working on the project. The golf cart was donated to us by Lee Quick. I appreciate his support for the project. The plan is to make the golf cart powered through two 315W solar panels. Some of the function in the cart would be automatic through voice activation: turn on lights, adjusting solar panels, etc. Hopefully, we will be able to finish the project,” said Dr. Allamehzadeh.

He loves teaching and has been at Eastern for more than 18 years and has seen a lot of students that are first-generation college graduates.

“They completed the program and now work for Sandia Lab, Lockheed Martin, and ONCOR; the largest power company in Texas. For the past three years ONCOR visited our campus for interviewing EET students.

“This semester they interviewed 10 junior and senior students and accepted nine of them for the summer internship with the possibility of a future career path with ONCOR. We have about 11 EET students who currently work for ONCOR. These students are financially secure, and can support their families. To me, it is very rewarding to see these kids get an education here and be successful in their life,” explained Dr. Allamehzadeh.

He is proud of obtaining his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and of all of Eastern’s graduates.

Dr. Allamehzadeh’s first mentor was his mom.

“She always encouraged me to continue my education. My uncle was a big supporter and encouraged me to continue my education all the way through my Ph.D.”

He got married 11 years ago and has two daughters: Roxana and Negan.

He is always working on new things. “The funniest, the sad ending, thing during my period of teaching here is the story of sheep on campus when my office was in the Technology Building, what is now the Art and Anthropology Building. These sheep were housed right behind my office and most people know the rest of the story,” said Dr. Allamehzadeh.

(Wild dogs jumped over the fence and killed a couple of the sheep, while the others ran off and set off a wild search by campus police and others.)

Electronics aren’t the only things he enjoys though, he also has a passion for gardening.

“I used to work on my yard during the weekend. However, after the kids were born I have not had much time to work on my yard. I also enjoy working on vacuum tube electronic radios and devices.”

He became a teacher because during his high school years he used to tutor students in his class.

“I really enjoyed helping other students. I continued tutoring students during my undergraduate and graduate years, too. As a result, I developed an interest for teaching. I really enjoy it.”