Manuchehr Shirmohamadi tackles life just like he approaches an engineering problem, employing formulas, equations and experiments to obtain a satisfactory outcome. The semi-retired engineer has applied the skills acquired throughout his 32-year career to found two companies, invent devices and methods to advance the power industry and, most importantly, reclaim his health, which has been threatened twice by cancer.

A native of Iran, Shirmohamadi excelled at math and science from and early age.

“At that time, everyone who did well in school was targeted to become an engineer,” he said. “I went along with it, but then I learned that I really liked it.”

After studying electrical engineering for one year at Iran's Sharif University of Technology, political unrest persuaded Shirmohamadi to immigrate to the United States.

“I came to the United States when I was 19,” he recalled. “It was a big shock, but I adjusted quickly. After only two months here, I hitchhiked from Athens, Ohio, to Toronto, Canada, and back to visit my brother.”

Shirmohamadi graduated from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.) in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and enrolled at the University of Washington (Seattle, Washington, U.S.) to pursue his masters' degree in civil engineering. Here he met Marjan, his wife of 29 years. Upon completion of his degree, he joined CYGNA Energy Services in San Francisco, California, U.S., followed by stints at INNOVA, Reactor Controls and Pacific Gas & Electric, where he spent six years as a research and senior consulting engineer on geothermal, fossil, nuclear and hydro power plants. He also developed new ways of solving old problems and came up with a few inventions for various industries.

“During this time, I developed a passion for renewable energy,” he remarked. “Later in my career, I became involved with renewable power-generation projects all over the world, and I performed research and developed new solutions for solar-thermal energy storage.”

He also returned to school at the University of California, Berkeley, and obtained his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. In 1992, Shirmohamadi founded Material Integrity Solutions, an engineering consulting company. Like many entrepreneurs, he put in long hours at the office.

“Running the company was stressful, but I enjoyed what I was doing,” he said. “I considered myself to be in good physical and mental health, so I didn't worry about the stress I was under.”

That changed in 2001 when Shirmohamadi found out he had colon cancer. According to the engineer, he was scared but decided to put all of his energy into fighting the disease.

“I had the surgery that the doctors recommended, underwent chemotherapy and finally went into remission,” he said. “I thought I had beaten the cancer, and I jumped back into a high-stress lifestyle.”

After three years in remission, the cancer returned “with a vengeance,” and doctors gave him only a 10% chance of survival. He decided to put his analytical nature to use and take a hands-on approach to treatment.

“In addition to conventional cancer treatments, I learned about alternative approaches,” he said. “However, there is a lot of information out there, and not all of it is good.”

In true engineer fashion, Shirmohamadi developed a set of criteria to help him sift through the data, and then created a decision tree, assigned risk factors to each step and considered his options.

“My doctor wanted to perform surgery again, but it seemed high risk with low return,” he noted. “I chose to forgo surgery. With the support of my new integrative oncologist, I underwent a new chemo-radiation cycle, and today I am cancer free.”

Given another chance at life, Shirmohamadi sold his company to pursue a low-key lifestyle that includes spending time with his wife, their grown daughter, Samar, who is a martial artist, and their large circle of friends. They also enjoy growing their own grapes and making wine.

In addition, Shirmohamadi founded his second company, Power Transmission Solutions, where he is concentrating on technical but not managerial tasks.

This company is marketing one of his inventions known as SLiM, which stands for sagging line mitigator. The device allows transmission capacity to be increased on existing lines rather than constructing new lines. He is also continuing his work with renewable energy, his main passion.

“I put my money where my mouth is,” he laughed. “I use solar energy at my home and office, I drive a Tesla electric car, and my other car is a hybrid.”

Perhaps most importantly, Shirmohamadi has chosen to maintain a positive outlook on life and to live in the moment.

“My experience with cancer taught me that happiness is the most important thing,” he said. “Good health is a bonus, but without happiness, nothing else has a lot of value.”