picture of me

Erfan Nozari

Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Cooperating)
Department of Bioengineering (Cooperating)
Neuroscience Graduate Program
University of California, Riverside
E-mail: erfan[dot]nozari[at]ucr[dot]edu

I am an Assistant Professor at UCR Department of Mechanical Engineering. Prior to this I was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Pennsylvania under the joint supervision of Prof. George Pappas and Prof. Danielle S. Bassett. I received my B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering-Control from Isfahan University of Technology, Iran in 2013 and an interdisciplinary (joint) Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences (Mechanical Engineering) and Cognitive Science under the supervision of Prof. Jorge Cortes from University of California San Diego in 2019.

Curriculum Vitae

Recent 'Meet & Greet' interview with the IEEE Control Systems Society Technical Committee on Healthcare and Medical Systems

An older interview with the IEEE Control Systems Magazine

Research

● Dynamical Systems and Control Theory
● Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience
● System Identification and Machine Learning
● Systems and Network Neuroscience
● Complex Systems and Network Science

Group



Gagan Acharya

Ph.D. Student

Epilepsy - Computational Modeling - Seizure Prediction - Seizure Control

Toktom Samiei

Ph.D. Student

Multiscale Dynamics - Neuronal Decoding - Optimal Spatiotemporal Resolutions

Sina Seyedi

Ph.D. Student

Causal Discovery - Network Neuroscience - Neuroimaging - Multimodal Data

Hafiz Fareed Ahmed

Ph.D. Student

Multiscale Dynamics - Averaging in Networked Dynamical Systems - Time-Frequency Analysis

Mina Toufani

Undergraduate Student

Time-Frequency Analysis - Intracranial EEG Processing - Computational Modeling

Alumni

● Fahimeh Arab (Ph.D., 2024); now Postdoctoral Scholar at UCSF
● Sabbir Ahmed (M.S., 2022); now Ph.D. Student at SUNY Binghamton

Publications


Google Scholar

Journal Articles

  1. Re-Engineering the Disordered Mind: Clinical Experimentation, Dynamical Systems, and AI for Personalized Psychiatry
    M. Kheirkhah, B. Shariatpanahi, T. Hahn, V. Tiruvadi, G. Koppe, E. Nozari, S. G. Hofmann, H. Jamalabadi
    Submitted

  2. Neural Constraints on Cognitive Experience and Mental Health
    B. Shariatpanahi, E. Nozari, S. Daftarian, F. Arab, M. Kheirkhah, F. P. Bernhard, S. Khodadadi, E. J. Giltay, K. Hebbrecht, S. G. Hofmann, T. Hahn, H. Jamalabadi
    Submitted
    PDF arXiv BibTeX

  3. Whole-brain causal connectivity during decoded neurofeedback: a meta study
    F. Arab, A. E. Ghassami, H. Jamalabadi, M. A. K. Peters, E. Nozari
    Submitted
    PDF biorXiv BibTeX

  4. Linear-Threshold Network Models for Describing and Analyzing Brain Dynamics
    M. McCreesh, E. Nozari, J. Cortes
    IEEE Control Systems Magazine, in press
    PDF arXiv BibTeX

  5. Whole-Brain Causal Discovery Using fMRI
    F. Arab, A. E. Ghassami, H. Jamalabadi, M. A. K. Peters, E. Nozari
    Network Neuroscience, pp. 1-25, 2025
    PDF MIT Press biorXiv BibTeX

  6. Predictive Modeling of Evoked Intracranial EEG Response to Medial Temporal Lobe Stimulation in Patients with Epilepsy
    G. Acharya, K. A. Davis, E. Nozari
    Communications Biology, Vol. 7, No. 1, p. 1210, 2024
    PDF SpringerNature biorXiv BibTeX

    megaphone  Behind the Paper in SpringerNature Research Communities

  7. Optimal Decoding of Neural Dynamics Occurs at Mesoscale Spatial and Temporal Resolutions
    T. Samiei, Z. Zou, M. Imani, E. Nozari
    Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, Vol. 18, 2024
    PDF Frontiers biorXiv BibTeX

    megaphone  Featured highlight in IEEE Control Systems Magazine

  8. Macroscopic resting-state brain dynamics are best described by linear models
    E. Nozari, M. A. Bertolero, J. Stiso, L. Caciagli, E. J. Cornblath, X. He, A. S. Mahadevan, G. J. Pappas, D. S. Bassett
    Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2023
    PDF SpringerNature bioRxiv Slides BibTeX

    megaphone  Nat. Biomed. Eng. Research Briefing: Multimodal evidence suggests the linearity of brain dynamics at the macroscale

  9. Special Section on Analysis and control design for neurodynamics
    S. Pequito, E. Nozari, F. Pasqualetti
    Annual Reviews in Control, Vol. 54, 2022, pp. 324-326
    PDF ScienceDirect BibTeX

  10. Brain Modeling for Control: A Review
    G. Acharya, S. F. Ruf, E. Nozari
    Frontiers in Control Engineering, Vol. 3, 2022
    PDF Frontiers arXiv BibTeX

  11. Network controllability measures of subnetworks: implications for neurosciences
    J. E. Stocker, E. Nozari, M. van Vugt, A. Jansen, H. Jamalabadi
    Journal of Neural Engineering, Vol. 20, No. 1, 2023, p. 016044
    PDF IOPscience biorXiv BibTeX

  12. Interrelated effects of age and parenthood on whole-brain controllability: protective effects of parenthood in mothers
    H. Jamalabadi, T. Hahn, N. R. Winter, E. Nozari, J. Ernsting, S. Meinert, E. Leehr, K. Dohm, J. Bauer, J. Pfarr, F. Stein, F. Thomas-Odenthal, K. Brosch, M. Mauritz, M. Gruber, J. Repple, T. Kaufmann, A. Krug, I. Nenadic, T. Kircher, U. Dannlowski, B. Derntl
    Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, Vol. 15, 2023
    PDF Frontiers biorXiv BibTeX

  13. Towards a Network Control Theory of Electroconvulsive Therapy Response
    T. Hahn, H. Jamalabadi, E. Nozari, N. R. Winter, J. Ernsting, M. Gruber, M. J. Mauritz, P. Grumbach, L. Fisch, R. Leenings, K. Sarink, J. Blanke, L. Kleine-Vennekate, D. Emden, N. Opel, D. Grotegerd, V. Enneking, S. Meinert, T. Borgers, M. Klug, L. Leehr, K. Dohm, W. Heindel, J. Groß, U. Dannlowski, R. Redlich, J. Repple
    PNAS Nexus, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2023, p. pgad032
    PDF Oxford University Press arXiv BibTeX

  14. Structural Characterization of Oscillations in Brain Networks with Rate Dynamics
    E. Nozari, R. Planas, J. Cortes
    Automatica, Vol. 146, December 2022, p. 110653
    PDF ScienceDirect arXiv BibTeX

  15. Teaching Recurrent Neural Networks to Modify Chaotic Memories by Example
    J. Kim, Z. Lu, E. Nozari, G. J. Pappas, D. S. Bassett
    Nature Machine Intelligence, Vol. 3, 2021, pp. 316-323
    PDF Springer Nature arXiv BibTeX

  16. Energy-transfer edge centrality and its role in enhancing network controllability
    P. V. Chanekar, E. Nozari, J. Cortes
    IEEE Transactions on Network Science and Engineering, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2020, pp. 331-346
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  17. Models of communication and control for brain networks: distinctions, convergence, and future outlook
    P. Srivastava, E. Nozari, J. Z. Kim, H. Ju, D. Zhou, C. Becker, F. Pasqualetti, G. J. Pappas, D. S. Bassett
    Network Neuroscience, Vol. 4, No. 4, 2020, pp. 1122-1159
    PDF MIT Press arXiv BibTeX

  18. Hierarchical Selective Recruitment in Linear-Threshold Brain Networks, Part I: Single-Layer Dynamics and Selective Inhibition
    E. Nozari, J. Cortes
    IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 66, No. 3, March 2021, pp. 949-964
    PDF IEEE Xplore arXiv BibTeX

  19. Hierarchical Selective Recruitment in Linear-Threshold Brain Networks, Part II: Multi-Layer Dynamics and Top-Down Recruitment
    E. Nozari, J. Cortes
    IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. 66, No. 3, March 2021, pp. 965-980
    PDF IEEE Xplore arXiv BibTeX

  20. Event-Triggered Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems with Time-Varying Sensing and Actuation Delay
    E. Nozari, P. Tallapragada, J. Cortes
    Automatica, Vol. 113, March 2020, p. 108754
    PDF ScienceDirect arXiv BibTeX

  21. Heterogeneity of Central Nodes Explains the Benefits of Time-Varying Control Scheduling in Complex Dynamical Networks
    E. Nozari, F. Pasqualetti, J. Cortes
    Journal of Complex Networks, Vol. 7, No. 5, October 2019, pp. 659-701
    PDF Oxford University Press arXiv BibTeX

  22. Network Identification with Latent Nodes via Auto-Regressive Models
    E. Nozari, Y. Zhao, J. Cortes
    IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, Special Issue on Approaches to Control Biological and Biologically Inspired Networks, Vol. 5, No. 2, June 2018, pp. 722-736
    PDF IEEE Xplore arXiv BibTeX

  23. Differentially Private Distributed Convex Optimization via Functional Perturbation
    E. Nozari, P. Tallapragada, J. Cortes
    IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, Vol. 5, No. 1, March 2018, pp. 395-408
    Outstanding Paper Award Winner
    PDF IEEE Xplore arXiv BibTeX

  24. Differentially Private Average Consensus: Obstructions, Trade-Offs, and Optimal Algorithm Design
    E. Nozari, P. Tallapragada, J. Cortes
    Automatica, Vol. 81, July 2017, pp. 221-231
    PDF ScienceDirect arXiv BibTeX

Conference Proceedings

  1. Mapping Causal Brain Interactions in fMRI Decoded Neurofeedback
    F. Arab, A. Ghassami, M. A. K. Peters, E. Nozari  
    Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, 2024, to appear
    PDF CCNeuro BibTeX

  2. On the Linearizing Effect of Temporal Averaging in Nonlinear Dynamical Systems
    S. Ahmed, E. Nozari  
    Proceedings of the American Control Conference, San Diego, CA, 2023, pp. 4185-4190
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  3. On the Linearizing Effect of Spatial Averaging in Large-Scale Populations of Homogeneous Nonlinear Systems
    S. Ahmed, E. Nozari  
    Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Cancun, Mexico, 2022, pp. 641-648
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  4. Network Modification Using a Novel Gramian-Based Edge Centrality
    P. V. Chanekar, E. Nozari, J. Cortes  
    Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Nice, France, 2019, pp. 1686-1691
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  5. Oscillations and Coupling in Interconnections of Two-Dimensional Brain Networks
    E. Nozari, J. Cortes  
    Proceedings of the American Control Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 2019, pp. 193-198
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  6. Selective Recruitment in Hierarchical Complex Dynamical Networks with Linear-Threshold Rate Dynamics
    E. Nozari, J. Cortes
    Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Miami Beach, Florida, USA, 2018, pp. 5227-5232
    Best Student Paper Award Winner
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  7. Stability Analysis of Complex Networks with Linear-Threshold Rate Dynamics
    E. Nozari, J. Cortes
    Proceedings of the American Control Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, 2018, pp. 191-196
    Best Student Paper Award Winner
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  8. Time-Invariant versus Time-Varying Actuator Scheduling in Complex Networks
    E. Nozari, F. Pasqualetti, J. Cortes
    Proceedings of the American Control Conference, Seattle, Washington, USA, 2017, pp. 4995-5000
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  9. Event-Triggered Control for Nonlinear Systems with Time-Varying Input Delay
    E. Nozari, P. Tallapragada, J. Cortes
    Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 2016, pp. 495-500
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  10. Differentially Private Distributed Convex Optimization via Objective perturbation
    E. Nozari, P. Tallapragada, J. Cortes
    Proceedings of the American Control Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 2016, pp. 2061-2066
    PDF IEEE Xplore BibTeX

  11. Differentially Private Average Consensus with Optimal Noise Selection
    E. Nozari, P. Tallapragada, J. Cortes
    5th IFAC Workshop on Distributed Estimation and Control in Networked Systems, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 2015, vol. 48, issue 22, pp. 203-208
    PDF ScienceDirect BibTeX


Awards

  1. Outstanding Poster Award, International Conference for Technology and Analysis of Seizures (ICTALS), Montreal, Canada (2025)

  2. NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2023)

  3. Fellowship Award, Society of Hellman Fellows (2023)

  4. Regents Faculty Fellowship Award, University of California Academic Senate (2023)

  5. Outstanding Reviewer, IEEE Control Systems Letters (2021, 2024)

  6. 2019 Robert Skelton Systems and Control Dissertation Award, UCSD Center for Control Systems and Dynamics (2020)

  7. Outstanding Paper Award, IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems (TCNS) (2019)

  8. Best Student Paper Award, the 57th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), Miami Beach, FL, USA (2018)

  9. Best Student Paper Award, the 2018 American Control Conference (ACC), Milwaukee, WI, USA (2018)

  10. Distinguished Fellowship Award, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego (2018)

  11. Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Recruitment Fellowship, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego (2014)

  12. Campus-wide Best Undergraduate Student Award, Isfahan University of Technology (2013)

  13. Exceptional Talents Scholarship (3 times), Isfahan University of Technology, for acquiring the 1th rank in class of electrical engineering (2010, 2011, 2012)



Teaching

Undergraduate

● ME 120: Linear Systems and Controls (Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022)

Graduate

● ME 234: Data-Driven Optimal Control (Spring 2022, Spring 2023)

● ME 224: Computational Methods for Robotics (Winter 2022, Fall 2022)

● ESE 617 (Penn): Nonlinear Systems and Control (Fall 2019)