1. Kasra Mokhtari
Contact
Information
130 Farmstead Lane, Apt 176 Cell Phone:+1(814)441-7524
State College, PA, USA 16803 Email: kbm5402@psu.edu
Education The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (Jan. 2016 - Present)
(Expected Graduation Date: July 2021)
Dissertation title: Incorporating Social Information into an Autonomous Vehicle’s Decision-Making
Process and Control
Research advisor: Alan. R. Wagner, assistant professor in the aerospace engineering department
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (Jan. 2016 - Mar. 2020), GPA: 3.96 /4.0
Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering (Aug. 2010 - July 2014), GPA: 3.97/4.0
Technical
Skills
• Programming Languages: Python, C++, MATLAB
• Technologies: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Tensorflow, Keras,
OpenAI Gym Toolkit, Autonomous Driving Simulation (CARLA), Simulink, Linux, Microsoft Win-
dows
Work
Experience
(Portfolio)
Graduate Research Assistant, Aug. 2018 - Present
Robot Ethics and Aerial Vehicle Lab., The Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA
• Developed a pedestrian collision avoidance framework achieved zero collision rate out of 1000
attempts for AVs at unsignalized intersection using Deep Q-Network (DQN)
– Trained three deep reinforcement learning (DRL) agents such as deep Q-learning (DQN), double
DQN (DDQN), and DDQN with prioritized experience replay (DDQN/PER) for AV navigation
at unsignalized intersection assuming Markov Decision Process (MDP) environment constructed
in autonomous driving simulation; CARLA
– Designed a noise-canceling pedestrian observation LSTM model in the case of imperfect obser-
vation
– Derived an LSTM model to predict future pedestrians trajectories
– Demonstrated a collision-detection algorithm for AVs navigation
– Developed a safe deep reinforcement learning (SDRL) agent using DDQN integrated with PER
assuming a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) environment constructed
in CARLA.
• Designed a novel pedestrian density-based path recognition and risk prediction approach for AVs
– Developed a discretized pedestrians density model along an autonomous vehicle path
– Applied Centroid-Based Concept Learning (CBCL) and LSTM-based classification for AVs
path recognition and risk prediction
• Developed a risk-aware decision-making algorithm for unmanned AV operations (supported by Air
Force Office of Scientific Research)
– Designed a Bayesian Network (BN) for autonomous systems to estimate probabilities of the
possible failure events using Monte Carlo Simulation (MSC)
– Demonstrated a risk evaluation approach capable of computing the anticipated risk over a wide
variety of the autonomous systems options
• Generated an open-source Pedestrian Pattern Dataset to benefit the Autonomous Vehicles (AVs)
research community
– Collected pedestrian data along three different paths at six specific timeslots and seven days a
week over a period of twenty-one consecutive days
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2. Graduate Research Assistant, Aug. 2017 - June 2018
Modeling and Optimization of nonlinear Dynamical Systems Lab., The Pennsylvania State University,
PA, USA
• Developed a model-based estimation of pollutants at a Three-way Catalyst (TWC) exhaust
– Generated a Simulink model for a high-dimension and coupled PDEs of TWC dynamic model
– Derived a reduced-order TWC model using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) to reduce
the simulation time
– Applied PDE model order reduction using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) on TWC
dynamic model and Implemented the reduced-order model on Simulink
Teaching Assistant, Jan. 2016 - Jun. 2017
The Mechanical Engineering Department., The Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA
• Taught ”Simulation of Dynamic Systems and Control (ME450)”
Relevant
Graduate
Coursework
Advanced Machine Learning, Computer Vision I, Computer Vision II, Advanced Mechatronics, Pow-
ertrain Systems, Energy Systems, Optimal Control, Nonlinear Control and Optimization, Advanced
Math, Numerical Methods in Partial Differential Equations, Fundamentals of Model Order Reduction
Publications 1. Mokhtari, Kasra and Alan R. Wagner. ”Don’t Get Yourself into Trouble! Risk-aware Decision-
Making for Autonomous Vehicles.” submitted to 2021 24th IEEE international conference on
Intelligent Transportation.
2. Mokhtari, Kasra and Alan R. Wagner. ”Safe Deep Q-Network for Autonomous Vehicles at
Unsignalized Intersection.” submitted to IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles.
3. Mokhtari, Kasra and Alan R. Wagner. ”Pedestrian Collision Avoidance for Autonomous Vehi-
cles at Unsignalized Intersection Using Deep Q-Network.” submitted to 2021 32nd IEEE Intelligent
Vehicles Symposium.
4. Mokhtari, Kasra, Kendra Lang and Alan R. Wagner. ”Don't go that way! Risk-aware Decision
Making for Autonomous Vehicles.” In 2020 12th IEEE International Conference on social robotics
(ICSR), pp. 517-524. IEEE.
5. Mokhtari, Kasra, Ali Ayub, Vidullan Surendran, and Alan R. Wagner. ”Pedestrian Density
Based Path Recognition and Risk Prediction for Autonomous Vehicles.” In 2020 29th IEEE Inter-
national Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), pp. 517-524.
IEEE.
6. Mokhtari, Kasra and Alan R. Wagner. ”Pedestrian Pattern Dataset.” In Fall 2019 Association
for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) symposium.
7. Mokhtari Kasra, Sarvestani, Alborz Aghamaleki, Mohammad Eghtesad, Farimah Fazlollahi,
and Alireza Goshtasbi. ”Dynamic modeling of an out-pipe inspection robot and experimental
validation of the proposed model using image processing technique.” Iranian Journal of Science
and Technology, Transactions of Mechanical Engineering 40, no. 1 (2016): 77-85.
Conference
Presentations
• Mokhtari, Kasra, Kendra Lang and Alan R. Wagner. ”Don't go that way! Risk-aware Decision
Making for Autonomous Vehicles.” In 2020 12th IEEE International Conference on social robotics
(ICSR), virtual conference, Golden, Colorado, DC, November 14-16, 2020.
• Mokhtari, Kasra, Ali Ayub, Vidullan Surendran, and Alan R. Wagner. ”Pedestrian Density Based
Path Recognition and Risk Prediction for Autonomous Vehicles.” In 2020 29th IEEE International
Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), virtual conference, Au-
gust 31-04 September, 2020.
• Mokhtari, Kasra and A. R. Wagner. ”Pedestrian Pattern Dataset.” In Fall 2019 Association for the
Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) symposium, Washington, DC, November 7-9, 2019.
Professional
Membership
• Member since 2018, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)
• Member since 2019, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
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