Arshad Mehmood
Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Arshad Mehmood is a Senior Research Scientist at DoIT - Research Computing, Informatics & Innovation, and the Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS). He specializes in high-performance scientific computing, with a particular focus on modeling the photochemistry of molecules and nanomaterials, nonadiabatic molecular dynamics, and the development of electronic structure visualization tools. Dr. Mehmood has made significant contributions to the field, including developing a GPU-accelerated method for simulating ultrafast spectra in collaboration with leading experimentalists. His work with the NSF Center for Adapting Flaws into Features (CAFF) demonstrates his ability to integrate theoretical modeling with experimental research. Additionally, his expertise in open-source software development, quantum crystallography, and computational resource management makes him an invaluable asset to the research community. Born in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, Dr. Mehmood holds M.Sc. and M.Phil degrees in Chemistry from The Islamia University of Bahawalpur. He earned his Ph.D. in Computational Chemistry in 2020 from Texas Christian University, where he received the Outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation Award. His postdoctoral work at Stony Brook University under Prof. Benjamin G. Levine further honed his skills in scientific computing and mentorship. Dr. Mehmood has an extensive background in teaching, having served as a lecturer at GC University Lahore from 2012 to 2015, where he earned the "Best Teacher Award" in 2014. Recognized as a finalist for the NVIDIA GPU Award at the ACS national meeting in Fall 2023, he has secured substantial high-performance computing resources for research purposes. His extensive experience in mentoring students at various academic levels and his dedication to scientific computing and project design will greatly enhance our research initiatives and institutional growth.