1. Uncertainty and hostility management in multi-agent systems:
   The goal of this research is to address competition within an organization, in which knowledge sharing is impossible. We develop and present an incomplete game theoretical based decision making method for competitive agents. (Received 2 best paper awards) (Funded by NSERC).
2. Agent-based Software Engineering (Agent-SE) Methodology:
   In this research we formalize the development process of multiagent systems as well as the knowledge representation and sharing of agents for cooperative and coordinative agents and use the results in large scale multi-agent system design. (2 keynote lectures)
3. Methodological support for interactive software agents:
   The goal of this research is to devise theories, techniques and measures for enhancing quality and reliability of agent-based systems. Unique points with this research are (a) focus on agent system reliability and quality; (b) focus on agent interactions by starting with a complete set of possible interactions among software agents; and (c) focus on decision making based on multiple threads of control rather than reasoning based on a single thread of control.
4. Distributed Software Agents for Network Fault Management:
   This research offers a radically different local solution to network fault management as opposed to the centralized techniques that are commonly used in practice. The agents on local nodes are responsible for collecting data, correlating them using a Bayesian network and report only major events to the control station. (Received 2 best paper awards) (Funded by IPA, Japan).
5. Distributed Multiagent Learning and Tutoring System based on Learning Ecology:
   The goal of the research is to develop an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) that adapts the delivery of instruction according to the learner’s needs, by taking into account learner’s motivation states. Due to computational convenience, many other systems rely only on the learner response to exercises to assess his/her needs. In our approach, however, we looked at one step deeper, the learner’s learning drives, in order to find out what parameters affect the willingness to engage in learning.
6. Enterprise Knowledge Management Using Knowledge Orchestration Agency:
   In this research, knowledge orchestration is equivalent to peer-to-peer knowledge management using models of organizational interactions characterized by three concepts: flow of information among individuals (people or departments), decentralized management and modularization. The agents work on a body of information and have reasoning and representation mechanisms appropriate for that type of information. Reusable modules (library, package, subsystems, COTS, etc.) for representing and reasoning with the body of information will further reduce the long term operational costs.
7. Intelligent project lifecycle knowledge management and decision support:
   Mission critical decision making in enterprises depends heavily on intelligent systems for extracting, analyzing and interpreting information from multiple heterogeneous, distributed data and knowledge sources. It is assumed that data warehouses (DW), data marts (DM) are required for optimized data accessibility and use. This research propose a novel architecture based on multiagent technology to support information and knowledge extraction over distributed data sources in order to use them in the decision making process. The proposed framework is applied to a real-world project lifecycle case that is EPC (Engineering Procurement and Construction) project.
8. Commercial off-the-shelf software components evaluation method using multiagent technology:
   The target problem for this research, i.e., COTS selection, is selected to bring together the agent-based and decision support methodologies. This provides us with a test bed for methods of interaction (e.g., negotiation, competition, etc.) and traditional decision theories (e.g., maximum utility, game theory, etc.). The target has a very high potential for commercialization.
9. Knowledge management in automatic software design:
   In Software Creation project we build a computer aided software engineering (CASE) tool that can imitate the design steps of human designers. There are two types of knowledge involved in human design: detailing knowledge represented by conversion and detailing rules; and the knowledge required for hierarchical expansion, represented by micro design rules. The former refers to the design product knowledge and the latter maps to the design process knowledge. The system incorporates both types of knowledge. (Received 1 best paper award)
10. Methodologies for automating transition from stakeholders' requests to skeleton code:
    In this project we focus on use-case driven object elicitation, class modeling and skeleton code generation based on natural language requirements and tailor it to the IBM’s Rational Extended Development Environment (XDE). We implement a couple of tools and plug-ins that enhance the functionality of XDE by accepting natural language requirements as their input and generating skeleton code as their output. The whole process is divided into two parts based on two main concerns. The first part, called Use Case Model Generator (UCMG), addresses natural language (NL) requirements analysis and use-case modeling. The second part, called Use Case driven Development Assistant (UCDA), is concerned with the use-case realization, object/class elicitation and skeleton code generation.
11. Intelligent Software Measurement System:
    Software measurement, in order to be effective, must be focused on specific goals; applied to all life-cycle products, processes and resources; and interpreted based on characterization and understanding of the organizational context, environment and goals. The Goal-Question-Metric (GQM) was developed in response to the need for a goal-oriented approach that would support the software measurement. In this research the Intelligent Software Measurement System (ISMS) is developed following the goal-driven software measurement process. In the ISMS project we automate the 10 steps of the process. The main development tasks of ISMS are eliciting the knowledge and experience from software measurement experts, representing it in a flexible yet well-structured way, and building a knowledge base infrastructure for the system.

Old research topics:

1. Intelligent Agents for Electronic Commerce
2. Qualitative Functional Reasoning
3. Qualitative Sensitivity Analysis
4. Qualitative Reasoning in Supervisory Control

1. SENG421: Software Metrics (3rd year, Software Engineering Course) (updated: Jan. 2006)
2. SENG401: Analysis and Design of Large Scale Software II (3rd year, Software Engineering Course) (updated: Jan. 2008)
3. SENG521: Software Reliability and Testing (4th year, Software Engineering Course) (updated: Jan. 2008)
4. SENG 697: Agent-based Software Engineering (MSc., MEng. Software Engineering Course) (updated: Sept. 2006)
5. SENG 637: Dependability, Reliability, and Testing Software Systems (MSc., MEng. Software Engineering Course) (updated: Jan. 2007)
6. ENEL 619.36: Uncertainty Management and Uncertain Programming Techniques (MSc., MEng. Software Engineering Course) (updated: Jan. 2005)
7. SENG 609.23: Object Oriented Analysis and Design (MSc., MEng. Software Engineering Course) (updated: Jan. 2004)

All the slides and notes can be viewed on-line using Netscape Navigator or MSIE (version 3.x or later) browsers. Copy of the slides in PDF format is available on-line.

• Agent-Based Software Engineering (2 days)
• Software Reliability Engineering (2 days)
• Software Measurement and Metrics (2 days)

1. HTML and CGI Lecture Notes. A unique on-line html and CGI manual (html, Japanese). A 130 pages course document in Japanese is also available for download (PostScript and PDF, Japanese).
   
2. Knowledge Engineering (53240) (For B3 undergraduate students) (in Japanese).
3. Advanced Lectures on Knowledge Engineering (TI-25) (For MSc. graduate students) (slides in English).
4. Fundamentals of Computer Programming (For B1 undergraduate students) (in Japanese).
5. Automaton Theory and Formal Languages (53130) (For B2/B3 undergraduate students) (in Japanese).
6. Software Engineering (53160) (For B3 undergraduate students) (in Japanese).
7. Advanced Lectures on Distributed Artificial Intelligence (D 425) (For PhD. students)
8. Experiments in Information Engineering: RDBMS (53040) (For B3 undergraduate students) (in Japanese).
9. Information Management Systems (TI-26) (For M1 graduate students)

All the slides and notes can be viewed on-line using Netscape Navigator or MSIE (version 3.x or later) browsers. Copy of the slides in PDF format is also available on-line for download.

• Developing a multi-agent system for network fault diagnosis using high performance RMON (2000-2001, Selected by the highly challenging competition of Japanese New Frontiers of Software Engineering Initiative, Sponsored by Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan).
• Developing an agent based systems for electronic commerce (1998-2000, supported by a grant from Japanese Science and Technology Agency).
• Development of Software Creator System a highly efficient distributed expert system to support software design. I personally developed the prototype and releases one and led the development team through later releases (1993-1999, supported by grants from Japanese Ministry of Higher Education, Japanese Telecommunications Promotion, NTT and HITACHI).

• Developing electronic syllabuses (WebSYL) system for the Faculty of Engineering, Saitama University featuring high reliability and zero maintenance. If you are interested in such system, please contact me.

• I have made a font pack to make Ghostscript display double-byte characters (i.e., Japanese Kanji) in Postscript files. It is downloadable and distributed freely. Please see instructions for Unix and Windows systems.

• And many other works ...

Including a collection of Persian classic literature and poems in Persian and English. These are all parts of my own contribution to my The Online Library of Persian Art and Literature.

• If you want to know more about Iran, please visit Welcome to Iran: The Country of The Nobles page. This is a collection of articles related Iran. I've arranged and compiled this material in order to answer to many questions I've been asked, related to Iranian culture and customs, together with introducing a few interesting sites to visit. It may give you a better idea of Iran and its cultural inherits.

• If you are interested in Iranian history, you may want to visit the detailed history of Iran: pre-Islamic era which covers the ancient history of the Mesopotamia and Elam, Acheamenian Empire, Alexander and the Seleucids, Parthian (Arsacid Dynasty), Zoroastrianism and Sassanian Empire.

• You may also visit the Persepolis page which describes the history of the Acheamenian Empire along with the details of the ancient city of Persepolis, originally named Parsa, which is one of the most important archeological sites of the world and a very popular site for tourists.
  This introduction covers a brief introduction to 23 nations including, Sagartians, Parthians, Egyptians, Aryans, Arachosians, Elamites, Medes, Sogdians, Gandharians, Scyths, Cilicians, Babylonians, Armenians, Indians, Bactrians, Lydians, Cappadocians and Assyrians, which were member nations of the Great Persian Empire.

• If you are interested in Persian literature, visiting the English translation of The Gulistan of Sa'di and The Bustan of Sa'di are recommended. Each page is rewritten every time you access it and a new poem is displayed randomly.

• You may want to visit the English translation of The Epic of Shahnameh of Ferdowsi or the hero tales of ancient Persia. This poem is one of the definite classics of the world created by Hakim Abol-Ghasem Ferdowsi Toosi, world famous Persian (Iranian) poet (940-1020). All 18 chapters are displayed separately and each chapter is divided into a few parts and you can easily move back and forth between parts.

• You may want to visit the English translation of Masnavi e Ma'navi or the spritual couplets of Maulana Jalaluddin Mohammd Rumi (1207- 1273). The words used by Dante in reference to the Divine Commedia would serve excellently as a description of the Masnavi: The poem belongs to the moral or ethical branch of philosophy, its quality is not speculative but practical, and its ultimate end is to lead into the state of felicity, those now enduring the miserable life of man. Rumi's mysticism is not doctrinal but experimental. He appeals to the heart more than to the mind.

• Omar Khayyam (about 1048-1123) is the most famous Persian mathematician and poet. His Robaiyyat (quatrains) are translated to more than 40 languages. Please visit Robaiyyat (Quatrains) of Omar Khayyam in Persian and Fitzgerald translation in English. Although there are many other presentation of Khayyam's quatrains on the Web, this is definitely the best and the most informative one. You can browse the quatrains at random or in order, and even listen to the quatrains. You can download and print the Robaiyyat collection. Check it out.

• Do you know who is the most popular poet in Iran? All Iranians will definitely name Khajeh Hafez Shirazi (1320 - 1397). Hafez popularity is due to his Gazaliyyat (Sonnets). A Gazal or Sonnet is an eight to fifteen verses joint in meaning by a kind of symbolic inspiration and in style by the same melody. Each verse has two parts. In Ghazal, the second part of all verses share the same ending word or sylab.
  You can hardly find other presentation of Hafez's Sonnets on the Web and I can proudly say that this is the first and the best. You can browse the Sonnets in Persian at random or in order, whichever you wish.
  The Hafez Sonnets with English translation ^New! is also available for download. (Part 1; 100 Sonnets. Other parts will be availble soon).
  There is also a new collection of Robaiyyat of Hafez ^New! which is presented in Persian with English translation. You can download and print the collection, too. Check it out!

• Let's look at the Divan of Parvin Etesami (in Persian). Parvin (1906-1941) is the most famous female Iranian poet of the 20th Century. Her work is unique in the sense that she describes recent social problems using classic Persian poetic style.

• Now comes my little contribution to the Web as a tool for implementing an Online Library of Persian Arts and Literature. If you have got a Java enabled browser (i.e., Netscape 3.x or MSIE 3.x, or better, you may want to use my FREE Java applet JavAneh which is designed to display Persian text on the Web. Give it a try!!
  These are some example documents using JavAneh:
  
  • JavAneh: Robaiyyat Khayyam Part 1
    
  • JavAneh: Robaiyyat Khayyam Part 2
    
  • JavAneh: Sonnets of Hafez:
    Part 1 --- Part 2 --- Part 3 --- Part 4 --- Part 5 --- Part 6 --- Part 7 --- Part 8