Zahra Forootaninia

Zahra Forootaninia is a Senior Research Engineer currently employed at Wētā FX, with previous experience at Unity x Wētā Digital in the same role. Zahra's academic background includes a Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of Minnesota, where multiple graduate research assistantships were completed, focusing on physics-based animation and galaxy cluster evolution. Zahra has also held internships at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and DreamWorks Animation, contributing to projects in research and development, as well as software engineering. Teaching experience includes multiple roles as a graduate teaching assistant in astronomy courses at the University of Minnesota.