Nader Jalili

Nader Jalili is the Mary and Richard Templeton Dean of Lyle School of Engineering. Formerly professor and head of mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, Jalili is an innovative leader and researcher, known for bringing the resources of engineering education and research to undergraduate and graduate students, industry partners and community outreach programs.

In his four and a half years as head of mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, Jalili led a significant increase in external research awards and enrollment as well as the creation of the Alabama Initiative on Manufacturing Development and Education, designed to better prepare future highly skilled workers through a convergence of education, research and service. The Alabama Initiative has guided multiple research projects in the core areas of automation, human-robot collaboration/integration and augmentation and has partnered with numerous outreach programs to promote new career paths for middle and high school students in the region.

Before joining the University of Alabama, Jalili led the Northeastern Piezoactive Systems Laboratory at Northeastern University in Boston, which was formed in 2010 to model and study micro nano-electromechanical sensors and actuators. He later became associate department chair for graduate studies and research, where he facilitated the creation of several new degree programs in areas such as mechatronics, robotics and human-machine interface, while leading graduate student recruitment and admission and overseeing department research activities.

After completing his graduate education and serving briefly as a visiting professor at Northern Illinois University in 1999, Jalili joined Clemson University in 2000, where he helped create an industry mindset graduate program in automotive engineering at Clemson. The program has since become the main component of a major research and educational center in the Southeast, known for creating a global research and economic development venue for the automotive industry.

An active researcher, Jalili has been PI or Co-PI on more than $17 million in external funding, including grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Defense in the domain of vibration, control and robotic-based manufacturing.

He is the author or co-author of more than 350 peer-refereed technical publications, including 135 journal papers, two textbooks, five book chapters and two U.S. patents. A fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Jalili has chaired numerous society committees and edited several engineering academic journals. In addition, he is the recipient of more than 30 international, national and institutional awards for his research, leadership, teaching and service.

Jalili received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran, and his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut.