My name is Farideh Doost Mohammadi. I was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1988. I received my privileged B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology (IUST) in 2010. I received my M.Sc. degree with first honor in the Electrical Engineering department at Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) in 2012. After finishing my M.Sc. back in my country I moved to United States at the age of 24 to pursue my Ph.D. degree at West Virginia University (WVU).

I am currently working at WVU as a research assistant and my main focus is the modeling and decentralized control of Microgrids. I believe though mature professional education can be obtained at undergraduate level, it can find its fullest expression in the graduate years. By accoutering myself with knowledge of enduring value and by developing the ability to learn anew, I hope to carry out creative endeavors in the future. Moreover, although I have the background of one of the finest engineering curriculums, it may not suffice in the decades to come. The fast rate of technological change makes it almost imperative that I prepare myself to study a world of science and technology which may be very different from the present one.

I became interested in mathematics and physics in my pre-college days. During high school, I spent most of my free time thinking of challenging math problems. As a consequence, I was among the semi-finalists in several Science Olympiads. After finishing high school, I was ranked top 0.1% among more than 450000 competitors in nation-wide examination for universities and even though electrical engineering was mostly chosen by men, my great interest in mathematics motivated me to choose it for undergraduate studies. Electrical Engineering was interesting to me and also had good prospects for the future.

I was in the third year of my B.Sc. when I felt a deep interest in the Power field of Electrical engineering. I was ranked top student in EE department of IUST for the four years of my B.Sc. Upon the completion of my bachelor, I was honorary admitted to start graduate studies in Amirkabir University of Technology, AUT without entrance exam as an “Exceptional Talented” student. I decided to continue my studies in AUT which is a top ranked university of my country known for the excellence of power major in Iran. In the first year, I found my major field of interest which was Power Systems. I passed related courses such as Power System Utilization with useful experiences in programming and simulating projects. I also became familiar with other fields of study in power major such as Power system transient, HVDC transmission, Distributed Generation and Utility network protection. I found my best way of researching at the beginning of my graduate studies. I took my programming projects related to power systems and Renewable Energy field which were my main research interests. Besides my studying and researching in university, I started working in Niroo research institute (NRI) as a part time R&D employee, which was so useful for improving my knowledge and research abilities in power major.

This part time job developed my interest in the power research and motivated me to apply for a Ph.D position so I could improve my research abilities for the future. I had the opportunity to continue my studies in my M.Sc. university; because I was recognized as a talented student with full fund education sponsored by Exceptional Talent Office of AUT. But I believed a new environment entails a lot of new experiences. Based on that reason I came to USA, and now as a woman engineer I am about to finish my Ph.D with a GPA of 4. At this point, I evaluate myself as a successful student not only because of my excellent records, but also because of finding my favorite field of study. I really have passion and tendency to continue and complete my research and studies and finding a fitting career for the near future.

I became involved with Women in Power last year after attending a WiP reception event, which was held at the General meeting conference. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for so many of us who want to contribute and promote diversity and leadership in the power and energy industry. I am honored to be a part of WiP. The Women in Power initiative has pulled together a Leadership Advisory Committee comprised of men and women from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Their stories and their positions in the industry help to motivate you to achieve your goal with a lot of hard work.

I like to spend time with my husband on activities like camping, biking, and traveling. I am a nature lover and recently I found some other activities like horseback riding and white water rafting really adventurous. I do believe that your brain also stays in better shape when you exercise. Watching movies and reading books are also some of my favorite indoor activities. Being a part of this WiP society is a great opportunity to share with everyone the different backgrounds we have, but at the same we all share the same vision which is to promote careers in the power and energy field. Today I invite you to be part of Women in Power.