Curriculum Vitae

Education

• Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA (Sep 2024 – Present)
  Research Areas: Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning, Neuro-Symbolic AI, Generative AI
  GPA: 4.0 / 4.0

• M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (Sep 2019 – Mar 2022)
  Research Areas: Reinforcement Learning, Computer Vision, Robotics, Dynamics & Control
  GPA: 4.0 / 4.0

• B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, K. N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (Sep 2015 – Sep 2019)
  Relevant Courses: Flight Dynamics & Control, Control & Navigation, Automatic Control
  GPA: 3.65 / 4.0

Experience

• Research Assistant, Intelligent Autonomous Systems Lab (IASL), The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA (Sep 2024 – Present)
  • Developed a decentralized-centralized training, decentralized execution multi-agent reinforcement learning framework using attention mechanisms for safe separation of heterogeneous sUAS fleets (NASA-funded project; under preparation for ITSC 2026).
  • Designed a novel attention-based neuro-symbolic differentiable rule extractor (ANDRE) capable of learning logical rules in continuous rule spaces via attention-based conjunction/disjunction operators (accepted at NeSy 2026).
• Visiting Researcher, Connected and Automated Vehicles Lab (CAV-Lab), University of Surrey, Guildford, UK (Jan 2023 – Dec 2023)
  • Developed a safe neuro-symbolic reinforcement learning framework for autonomous driving systems, published in Transportation Research Record (TRR).
  • Proposed a symbolic imitation learning framework using inductive logic programming to extract human-like behavioral rules in highway driving (under review at Applied Sciences).
• Research Assistant, Control Lab, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (Sep 2019 – Mar 2022)
  • Developed a self-tuning PID controller using hybrid actor-critic neural networks for quadcopters (published at ISME 2022).
• Teaching Assistant, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran (Sep 2019 – Mar 2022)
  • Assisted in graduate courses: Fuzzy Systems & Control, Advanced Applied Mathematics
  • Assisted in undergraduate courses: Automatic Control, Differential Equations

Publications

ANDRE: An Attention-based Neuro-symbolic Differentiable Rule Extractor for Inductive Logic Programming

I. Sharifi, P. Wei, and S. Fallah. (2026). "ANDRE: An Attention-based Neuro-symbolic Differentiable Rule Extractor for Inductive Logic Programming." International Conference on Neurosymbolic Learning and Reasoning (NeSy), 2026.

Fine-Tuning Large Language Models for Cooperative Tactical Deconfliction of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems

I. Sharifi, A. Zongo, and P. Wei. (2026). "Fine-Tuning Large Language Models for Cooperative Tactical Deconfliction of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems." CVPR Workshops, 2026.

Separation Assurance between Heterogeneous Fleets of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems via Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning

I. Sharifi, H. T. Kim, M. H. Ahmed, M. Ghasemi, and P. Wei. (2026). "Separation Assurance between Heterogeneous Fleets of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems via Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning." IEEE ITSC, 2026.

Reinforcement Learning Enhancement Using Vector Semantic Representation and Symbolic Reasoning for Human-Centered Autonomous Emergency Braking

V. Asodia, I. Sharifi, and S. Fallah. (2026). "Reinforcement Learning Enhancement Using Vector Semantic Representation and Symbolic Reasoning for Human-Centered Autonomous Emergency Braking." arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.05079.

A Survey of Security Challenges and Solutions for UAS Traffic Management (UTM) and Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS)

I. Sharifi, M. Ghazanfari, A. Taye, P. Wei, G. Biswas, B. Ward, X. Koutsoukos, M. Ghasemi, V. Gupta, A. Chen, A. Shirkhodaei, S. Hasan, I. Amundson, F. Fotiadis, U. Topcu, et al. (2026). "A Survey of Security Challenges and Solutions for UAS Traffic Management (UTM) and small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS)." AIAA SciTech Forum, 2026.

A Survey of Security Challenges and Solutions for Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Aircraft

M. Ghazanfari, I. Sharifi, A. Taye, P. Wei, G. Biswas, B. Ward, X. Koutsoukos, M. Ghasemi, V. Gupta, A. Chen, A. Shirkhodaei, S. Hasan, I. Amundson, F. Fotiadis, U. Topcu, et al. (2026). "A Survey of Security Challenges and Solutions for Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Aircraft." AIAA SciTech Forum, 2026.

Integrating Neurosymbolic AI in Advanced Air Mobility: A Comprehensive Survey

K. Acharya, I. Sharifi, M. Lad, L. Sun, and H. H. Song. (2025). "Integrating Neurosymbolic AI in Advanced Air Mobility: A Comprehensive Survey." IJCAI, 2025.

Agricultural Spraying Drones: A Comprehensive Review

A. Talaeizadeh, I. Sharifi, Sh. G. Samani, and A. Alasty. (2025). "Agricultural Spraying Drones: A Comprehensive Review." Smart Agricultural Technology, 2025.

Towards Safe Autonomous Highway Driving Policies using a Neuro-Symbolic Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach

I. Sharifi, M. Yildirim, and S. Fallah. (2025). "Towards Safe Autonomous Driving Policies using a Neuro-Symbolic Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach." Transportation Research Record, 2026.

Symbolic Imitation Learning: From Black-Box to Explainable Driving Policies

I. Sharifi, M. Yildirim, and S. Fallah. (2025). "Symbolic Imitation Learning: From Black-Box to Explainable Driving Policies." Applied Sciences.

Self-Tuning PID Control via a Hybrid Actor-Critic-Based Neural Structure for Quadcopter Control

I. Sharifi and A. Alasty. (2022). "Self-Tuning PID Control via a Hybrid Actor-Critic-Based Neural Structure for Quadcopter Control." ISME Conference, 2022.

(Selected Publications)

1. I. Sharifi, P. Wei, and S. Fallah, “ANDRE: An Attention-based Neuro-symbolic Differentiable Rule Extractor for Inductive Logic Programming,” International Conference on Neurosymbolic Learning and Reasoning (NeSy), 2026.
2. I. Sharifi et al., “Towards Safe Autonomous Driving Policies using a Neuro-Symbolic Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach,” Transportation Research Record (TRR), 2025.
3. I. Sharifi et al., “Integrating Neurosymbolic AI in Advanced Air Mobility: A Comprehensive Survey,” IJCAI 2025.
4. I. Sharifi et al., “Agricultural Spraying Drones: A Comprehensive Review,” Smart Agricultural Technology, 2025.
5. I. Sharifi et al., “A Survey of Security Challenges and Solutions for Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Aircraft,” AIAA SciTech Forum 2026.

(Full list available on Publications page.)

Peer Review Activities

• Journal Reviews:
  • Journal of Aerospace Information Systems (2 papers, 2025)
• Conference Reviews:
  • AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (4 papers, 2025)

Selected Courses

• Machine Learning (A)
• Deep Reinforcement Learning (A)
• Large Language & Vision Models (In Progress)
• Computer Vision (A)
• Nonlinear Control (A)
• Advanced Mathematics (A)
• Advanced Control (A)
• Advanced Dynamics (A)
• Fuzzy Systems & Control (A)
• Control Systems Design (A)

Technical Skills

• Programming: Python, MATLAB/SIMULINK, Prolog, ProbLog
• Libraries: NumPy, Pandas, PyTorch, OpenCV, Scikit-Learn, Matplotlib, Pygame
• Tools: Git, GitHub, VS Code, PyCharm, VirtualEnv, Linux (Ubuntu), LaTeX
• CAD: SolidWorks

Achievements

• George Washington University Fellowship (NASA ULI-funded, 2024 – Present)
• Master’s GPA Distinction, Top 3 in Dynamics & Control, Sharif University of Technology (2022)
• Bachelor’s Thesis Award, Iranian Aerospace Association (2019)
• National Entrance Exam Distinction, Top 1% nationwide (2015 & 2019)

References

• Dr. Peng Wei, Associate Professor, Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, GWU
  Email: pwei@gwu.edu

• Prof. Saber Fallah, Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University of Surrey
  Email: s.fallah@surrey.ac.uk