"I" am my opinion, and a happy potato (I'm an eight-year old trapped within a 29-year old body!)!

I aspire to be a teacher some day; it doesn't make much difference whether at a university or high school. Researching is another interest of mine, and I exploit any opportunities to engage myself into solving real-life problems ranging from fixing an android tablet to estimating the critical velocity of high-speed trains! Moreover, travelling beckons me badly these days, and I have had a number of short journeys recently. All in all, teaching, researching and travelling are three main aspirations of mine, of which I can't get enough!

With almost ten years of study, research and work experience since 2008, I believe I have acquired a relatively solid background in railway engineering. I also have a great deal of enthusiasm, and have demonstrated my capabilities in the field of research by developing a lateral impact tester for ballasted tracks during my BEng thesis. Ever since I have gained lots of experience about laboratory and field works and technical writing. My previous supervisor, Morteza, taught me not to give up easily, how to collaborate and cooperate with others, work independently and tackle new topics. My curiosity in finding ways to solve engineering problems makes me work hard in laboratory & field environments as well as in data mining, assessment and interpretation.

My research interests encompass railway track engineering (railway infrastructure), laboratory and field testing, data mining, numerical analysis and modeling, railway geotechnics, soil-structure interaction and weather-related natural hazards. My BEng research work on dynamic lateral resistance of sleepers opened a new window to the world of soil dynamics and track lateral resistance.

In the past, I was a research assistant at Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST), a maintenance expert and research engineer in Iranian railways company (RAI), and a researcher at Niroo Research Institute (NRI). I have authored and co-authored seven research papers in peer-reviewed ISI journals. I have also had the privilege to have met or been interviewed by a number of scholars from University of Southampton (UoS), University of Wollongong, University of Huddersfield, and Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

Best wishes,

Ahmad

P.S. My social media websites:

1- https://www.facebook.com/ahmad.hoseini.1485

2- https://twitter.com/Wheil_Balper

3- https://www.instagram.com/sash.1989/

4- https://m.me/ahmad.hoseini.1485

5- https://t.me/SASH1989

6- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVCUv1hhdGxJe8Amm8IyJNA

7- https://sash-1989.tumblr.com

8- https://www.flickr.com/people/162202362@N05/

9- http://www.pinterest.com/sash_1989

10- https://www.goodreads.com/sash1989

11- https://www.goodreads.com/sash1989

12- https://sash1989.wordpress.com/

13- https://www.quora.com/profile/SASH1989

14- https://www.growkudos.com/profile/ahmad_hosseini

15- https://www.mendeley.com/profiles/ahmad-hosseini6/

16- https://iust.academia.edu/AhmadHosseini

17- https://loop.frontiersin.org/people/686666/overview

18- https://publons.com/researcher/1347279/ahmad-hosseini

19- http://www.researcherid.com/rid/C-6378-2019

20- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3746-3450

21- https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57194703321

22- https://www.linkedin.com/in/s-ahmad-s-hosseini-5a5ba081/

23- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ahmad_Hosseini23

24- https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zoPPxkkAAAAJ&hl=en

25- Skype ID: ahmad.hosseini.1989

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To find friends and travel. I googled the most popular travel apps and CS popped out first; so here we are!

I need to get out and get some fresh air!

Interests

Family and friends

During these almost 29 years of my life, It's been proven to me that attention is what everyone looks for in their relationships; at least, this is MY opinion. Regardless of the fact that it may or may not be provided by the family, attention could be reached through invaluable friendships, which may later on lead to an everlasting fraternity.

Animals

We have a cat named Pishoolak (Pishool for short), whom was found by my mother within a carton next to a trash can on the street. He was about two weeks when found. He was also too weak when found! Boy is he a scallywag right now, so handful!

Food

Being a vegan, in my opinion, is very difficult; I mean come on! even milk?! ;-) but I'm going to challenge myself to it one day, maybe next saturday! I've been a vegeterian before for around three months but it doomed to failure soon after :-/ I remember my body used to function better though. All in all, I think a balanced diet with the least amount of meat and dairy products should do the trick for me at least. My favourite Iranian meals that I highly suggest are as follows:

- Appetizer:

1- Borani (yoghurt and spinach as main ingredients)
2- Mast o Khiar (yoghurt and cucumber as main ingredients)
3- Salad Shirazi
4- Zeytun parvardeh (delicious olive!)
5- kashk o bademjan (eggplant cooked in a unique way)
6- Torshi (sour pickles)

- Soup and A'sh:

1- Soup-e morgh (chicken)
2- Soup-e jow (barley)
3- Adasee (lentil)
4- A'sh-e reshteh (noodle)
5- A'sh-e shole ghalamkar (don't know what the heck is in this meal!)
6- A'sh-e doogh (buttermilk)

- Main course:

1- Jujeh kabab
2- Kabab koobideh
3- Kabab-e barg
4- Gheime
5- Ghorme sabzi
6- Fesenjan
7- Tahchin
8- Khoresh-e Karafs (selery)
9- Khoresh-e Alu-esfenaj (spinach)
10- Khoresh-e Bademjan (eggplant)
11- Sabzi polow (usually with fish)
12- Lubia polow (polow means rice)
13- Adas polow (lentils)
14- Baqala polow
15- Kuku Sabzi or Seebzameany (herbs or potatos)
16- Kotlet

- Desserts:

1- Fereni
2- Sholezard
3- Halva
4- Bastani zaferani (saffron ice-cream)
5- Falude Shirazi
6- Mixture of 4 and 5 is highly recommended!
7- Samanu

- Snacks:

1- Koluche: cookies
2- Zoolbia bamieh (if having blood sugar, don't pass by this one from the radius of 1 km!)
3- Baqlava
4- Gaz (you may find best ones in Esfahan)
5- Sohan
6- Qottab
7- Pashmak (cotton candy)

- Drinks:

1- Doogh (cold yoghurt drink)
2- Pomegranate juice (itself or with ice-cream) - use salt and Persian hogweed (golpar) if your blood pressure easily drops
3- Carrot juice (alone or with ice-cream)
4- Khak-e shir (good for digestive system if you catch my meaning!)
5- Sekanjebin (honey and vinegar) + or - lettuce

I'm not that picky when it comes to food yet the taste of food is important! Aside from Iranian cousine, I've only tried Thai food and must say some of them are really tasty.

Fun

Let's have fun! I love cycling, running, jogging, hiking, mountain climbing, camping, backpacking, travelling or any other adventures in the nature!

When indoor, on the other hand, I tend to listen to music, watch videos, play with our cat - Pishool, hanging out with my family if they are down to, read a book (I'm not lying!)

Sleep

It's highly unlikely that someone would not cherish a deep comfy sleep, especially those who are so much active in their life. Patients suffering from mental issues, particularly those including insomnia, are always prescribed sleep medications so that their brain could rest. So sleep tight! ;-)

Mental health

The stigma which considers many mental disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD) or obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) of any degree, as spiritual diseases should be broken, rather they are completely organic. In other words, there is something physically wrong in the brain, which could be cured or treated.

This means that similar to when we go to, let's say, a general physician to get rid of the flu, we had better visit a psychiatrist when dealing with mental disorders. Unfortunately, many people - especially the youth - refuse to do so because they think the world is going to end ;-) Is this their fault? I'd definitely say NO. Then whose fault is that? It doesn't matter that much; let's help eachother instead by raising the awareness required.

Almost everyone goes through mid-life crises throughout their life. In fact, it is these ups and downs that spice up the life, and give meaning to it. I myself have also dealt with mental situations, and well know that the first thing a patient needs is two sympathetic and empathetic ears. This could be a family member, a good friend or even a stranger (in my opinion, this is a vital step and the responsibility of others in highly depressed patients because they are extremely passive; otherwise devastating consequences shall be inevitable).

Some say depression is swallowed anger. A good friend lets their depressed friend lighten their chest (albeit, this is very tricky because they might be in a situation where they would not want to speak even with their best friend) - premature advice only makes things worse; unless they ask you. As a practical approach, it is a nice idea to show them your vulnerabilities (for example tell them I'm depressed even if you're not); this would show them that they are not alone in that, and probably escalate the chance of their mental release; this, however, does not mean that the problem is solved.

The patient is indeed in need of relevant medications. This is why going to a psychologist alone does not help at this stage. Instead, visiting a psychiatrist nearby would go a long way in order to address the situation. Nobody is supposed to force others to do something. The best and final thing that you can do for your loved ones who are dealing with mental disorders is to convince them to go to a psychiatrist. The commitment to visiting the doctor and consuming their drugs on a regular basis is something beyond our authority, obviously.

Railway Engineering

- Trains:

Whenever a train traversing a track catches my eyes, I always contemplate the meaning of life; there is a start point, there is an end; there is track A, there is track B; there are ups and downs on the way; there are sharp curves, on which the train must not exceed a certain speed, otherwise it will derail. Trains bring order and peace for me in this chaotic world. I intend to build a collection of model trains and train sets one day :-)

- Railway track research:

Professional researchers exactly know the problem with which they are dealing, thoroughly gather the contemporary technical literature, learn from others' experiences, apply sound science to improve them, get it out into practice and really make a difference. This, in my opinion, is the case for every aspect of life - college and university career, work, relationships, etc.

Tracks and trains are two inseparable components of railway engineering; at least for now; maybe someday we have trains that traverse on oceans!! It means that you cannot analyse tracks without having trains rolling on them, or trains without tracks beneath! They kinda are a couple ;-)

All the research that has been going on to date aims at increasing the speed and axle-load (tonnage) of trains without risking the infrastructure (track and the structures along it), reducing maintenance tasks and expenses, developing new forms of rail tracks, and etc.

For me, China is the coolest country in terms of high-speed railways; they have almost 27000 km in operation - just high speed! - and almost 11000 km under construction. The operating speed is 350 km/h; that is insane! I love it. I think China may be Mecca for those willing to work or study in this field.

Politics

I'm not that into politics because there are better things to do instead of dwelling on it. This doesn't mean that one should not be aware of what happens in the world or think about or analyse them. All I know is that this too shall pass, and tyrants will see the result of their actions; this is the Newton's third law: for every action, there is a reaction. History repeats itself!

• animals
• photography
• politics
• video games
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• sports
• engineering
• psychology
• food
• nature
• sleeping
• snow
• stand up comedy
• pink floyd
• trains
• research
• family and friends
• coldplay
• railways
• psychoanalysis
• having fun
• psychiatry
• british accent
• linkin park
• series and movies

Music, Movies, and Books

Music

I would not confine myself into a specific genre of music since I believe - depending on one's mood - it is possible to listen to any type of music to get satisfaction. Anyway, my favourite musicians and bands are:

- Iranian traditional music: Jalil Shahnaz, Farhang Sharif, Parviz Meshkatian, Ahmad Ebadi, Jalal Zolfonoon, Parviz Yahaghi, Habibollah Badi'e, Asadollah Malek, Homayoun Khorram, Majid Najahi, Faramarz Payvar, Naser Eftetah, Naser Cheshmazar, Javad Maroufi, Shahrdad Rouhani, Iraj Bastami, Mohammadreza Esfahani, Ehsan Khajeh Amiri and some others...

- Classical: I've listened to some pieces created by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Clayderman, Vivaldi and Chopin. I love the album Amelie from Montmartre by Yann Tiersen, Secret Garden, Schindler'slist

- Yanni (one of the most underrated musicians)

- Instrumental rock: Joe Satriani (Satch) - another underrated musician

- Rock and nu metal: Linkin Park, Pink Floyd

- Pop-rock: Coldplay

- Heavy metal/rock: Apocalyptica (I love the Worlds Collide album), Anathema (Natural disaster - the best album I've ever listened to, it's like a book)

- Techno and Trance music like Armin Van Buuren and etc.

- Limited Iranian rap songs mostly by Yas and a bit by Hichkas (Hichkas means "nobody" in English)

Videos

- Movies: Pulp Fiction, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Starwars, Startrek, Home Alone, How Grinch Stole Christmas, Friday the 13th, Sinister, Conjuring, Grudge, 12 Angry Men, Toy Story and ...

- Series: Friends, Breaking Bad, The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Family Guy, and ...

- Youtube channels:

1- Dashie: he has three channels (he's the funniest person I've ever seen in my entire life! he swears and screams a lot though; so using headphones with low sound level is highly recommended!)

2- Joey Engelman: he creates very innovative and creative videos, which sometimes make you watch them twice or even more to get them fully!

3- KiandJc: two best friends who joke around, prank eachother, play games and stuff like that. They're hilarious!

4- DanAndPhilGames: two best friends who play various video games in a comedic way!

5- Swiftor: a gamer who streams a lot, playing a variety of minigames mostly
in Call of Duty.

Books

I used to read books a lot, but now I've become much lazy! here are my favourite books:

1- Jalal Al-e-Ahmad: The School Principal, By the Pen, The Tale of Beehives, The setar, Of our suffering, A Journey to the Land of Israel...

2- William Glasser: Choice Theory, Mental Health or Mental Illness, Reality Therapy...

3- Animal Farm by George Orwell

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A while ago, I met an extraordinarily amazing person from Southampton, UK. He'd come all the way for a business and to see me as well. He does possess a wonderful scarce personality. I was highly impacted and influenced by him in just three days. I do wish to see him again soon.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm not an awesome teacher nor an awesome learner, but I teach and learn well!

In particular, I love talking to people with different languages - but that's a dream! Also, I'd be glad to help those of you willing to learn Persian. Let's learn together. Let's start with swear words!

What I Can Share with Hosts

1- We can share a joke or two; I'm a bit funny
2- Stories (even though I seem to be terrible at telling them)
3- I can help you do chores and run errands
4- I can cook (scrambled egg and anything that has to do with eggs)
5- Cultural exchange
6- Helping your kid(s) with their math
7- And stuff like that

What I Can Share With Guests

1- Showing them around
2- Hanging out
3- Helping them if any requests that I'd be able to address

In the near future, I'm gonna have my own place - so this option is not available at the moment.

Countries I’ve Visited

Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Iran