AME Welcomes Farzad Mashayek as Department Head

Farzad Mashayek is the new department head of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering

Mashayek began teaching in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2000. After being named department head in 2009, he spent the next 13 years doubling the size of the faculty, increasing undergraduate enrollment by 85%, and growing graduate enrollment by 120%. He also led development of the department’s first five-year strategic plan. It included the goal of tripling research expenditures for the department, which was surpassed. He looks forward to helping AME see similar growth.

“When I came for my interviews, I liked the vision of the dean and of the university as a whole,” said Mashayek, who earned his BS and MS in mechanical engineering at Sharif University of Technology and his PhD in mechanical engineering at State University of New York at Buffalo. “I think there is a good opportunity to make an impact and build in some very niche areas.”

Mashayek’s own research is in part focused on two-phase turbulent reactive flow, and his research group has been working toward developing a software for numerical simulation of supersonic combustion in advanced engines. He also has ongoing research activities in energy storage and batteries, as well as electrostatic atomization.

A fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Mashayek has received both an NSF CAREER Award and an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award.

Mashayek joins two additional new department heads at the College of Engineering: Kray Luxbacher of mining and geological engineering, and Michael Wu of electrical and computer engineering.

“We are thrilled to have these exceptionally well-qualified department heads and delighted that we continue to attract such top talent to the college,” said David W. Hahn, Craig M. Berge Dean of the College of Engineering.