Rate My Professor Ali Motamedi

Ali Motamedi, Ph.D., MFA, is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems in New York City. He holds the position of 2024–2025 Faculty Fellow at the Helene and Grant Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship. In this role, Motamedi leads the project "Art, AI, and Community Engagement - A Nonprofit Showcase," which harnesses art and artificial intelligence to tackle social issues through collaborations with local nonprofits. The initiative features a curated exhibition, an academic paper, and a public talk, with students contributing to research, exhibition design, and public outreach using AI-generated art and interactive displays to foster community discussions on critical challenges. Another ongoing project, "The Evolving Digital Collective Book: AI, Language, and Cultural Exchange," processes multilingual texts contributed by participants via AI to generate a continuously evolving hybrid language. This multimedia exhibit employs phonetic, syntactic, and morphological analysis alongside real-time information visualization to explore shifts in language, identity, and collective creation, challenging traditional concepts of authorship and meaning.

Motamedi earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, specializing in Quantitative Risk Management using Advanced Statistical Techniques, from The University of Akron in 2013, and his MFA in Visual Studies, Artificial Intelligence, and Technology from Hunter College, The City University of New York, in 2025. His academic career includes serving as Full-Time Faculty in Analytics at Harrisburg University from 2016 to 2023, Adjunct Professor in Analytics at Columbia University School of Professional Studies in 2017, Lecturer in Computer Science and Digital Communications at Pace University since 2023, and Assistant Professor in Information Visualization at Rutgers University since 2025. He has instructed courses such as Introduction to Data Science, emphasizing data visualization and narrative data storytelling, as well as Analytics, Digital Communications, and Creativity. An interdisciplinary artist, writer, and Fellow of the Machine Learning Association, Motamedi explores themes of language, immigration, identity, and cultural expression by merging technical methodologies from analytics and engineering with artistic practices in visual culture and generative art. Notable publications include the personal essay collections “I Had to Tell Someone I Was Here” (Khane Publication, 2024) and “The Train on Which We Hopped” (Dastan Publication, 2018); “Persona,” an essay collection on Andy Warhol (Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, 2021); the photo book “228” (Silk-road Art Gallery, 2018); and the academic paper “Probabilistic landslide hazard assessment using Copula modeling technique” (Landslides, 2014). Awards encompass a fully funded Ph.D. scholarship from The University of Akron (2009–2013), national top student award in Iran (2001), university honors from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (2001), and third-place in the Five Photo Award (Saless Gallery, Tehran, 2020).