On top of the world

Nima Yazdipour is irrefutable proof that Deakin’s researchers always aim high.

He has just completed a climb to the top of Mt Everest, along the way becoming the first Iranian to ascend the mountain by the North Face.

With the full support of Professor Peter Hodgson, the Director of Research at Deakin University’s Institure for Technology Research Innovation, Nima took a break from completing his thesis to make the climb.

One of the first things he did on the way down was to send a message of thanks to Professor Hodgson.

“I am grateful to you for giving me the chance to make a dream the truth,” Nima wrote in an e-mail from base camp.

Professor Hodgson said the news that Nima had not only successfully made the climb but made it down was greeted with both excitement and relief by his colleagues.

“I just returned from India to hear that not all that far away from where I was, but a little higher up perhaps, Nima had fulfilled his dream, much to our relief here at ITRI, I must say,” he said.

“Climbing Mt Everest is no walk in the park.

“It is extremely hazardous and requires full concentration.

“That’s why I gave Nima the complete break from his PhD studies. I didn’t want him thinking about writing up his thesis when he should have been focussing on where his next step on the mountain should be.

“When we first got Nima to Deakin, I knew he was a keen mountain climber.

“It just took a while for us to discover how keen he was.

“Nima is also an avid photographer. I can’t wait until he gets back here to Geelong to see his photographs of Mt Everest. I am sure they will be utterly stunning because in everything he does, Nima is a perfectionist.

“I know his fellow Iranian students here within ITRI are very proud of what he has done.

“All our Iranian students tend to strive to over-achieve, but I think Nima has taken that to new heights.”

Nima Yazdipour is a member of the Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation within ITRI.

His research work focuses on materials solutions for advanced manufacturing particularly modelling and multi-scale simulation.

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