Mohammad Malakooti

Education

• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, 2015
• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, 2013
• M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, 2010
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, 2008

Previous appointments

• Research Scientist, Carnegie Mellon University, 2017 – 2019
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan, 2015 – 2017

Research Statement

My research program seeks to create materials that match the extraordinary adaptability, rich multi-functionality, and embodied intelligence of natural material systems by bridging the gap between nanoscale engineering and system-level functionality.  Although there has been remarkable progress with synthesizing nanoscale structures and materials, it remains difficult to harness their properties to create mechanically robust and long-lasting sensors, actuators, and energy harvesting transducers at the scale of biological tissue and organs.  My group will address this bottleneck with a research program that will tackle grand challenges in materials synthesis and integration, controlled stability (i.e. dimensional, crystalline, physical, and chemical) of multiphase materials at the micro/nanoscale level, and versatile manufacturing of functional materials that exhibit durability and longevity under real-world conditions.  Progress within these core areas will have immediate impact in printed electronic skin, multifunctional composites, integrated nanoscale devices, stretchable tactile sensors, and other emerging application domains.

Select publications

1. Han, Y., Rohewal, S., Gupta, S., Paul, S., Bowland, C.C., and Malakooti, M.H., 2025, “Conductive Liquid Metal Vitrimer Composites for Reconfigurable and Recyclable Flexible Electronics”, Advanced Functional Materials, e11119.
2. Zhou, L., Menon, S.S., Li, X., Zhang, M., and Malakooti, M.H., 2025, “Machine Learning Enables Reliable Colorimetric Detection of pH and Glucose in Wearable Sweat Sensors”, Advanced Materials Technologies, 10:2401121.
3. Han, Y., Tetik, H., and Malakooti, M.H., 2024, “3D Soft Architectures for Stretchable Thermoelectric Wearables with Electrical Self-Healing and Damage Tolerance”, Advanced Materials, 36:2407073.
4. Chiew, C., and Malakooti, M.H., 2021, “A Double Inclusion Model for Liquid Metal Polymer Composites”, Composites Science and Technology, 206:108752.
5. Malakooti, M.H., Kazem, N., Yan, J., Pan, C., Markvicka, E.J., Matyjaszewski, k., and Majidi, C., 2019 “Liquid Metal Supercooling for Low-Temperature Thermoelectric Wearables”, Advanced Functional Materials, 1906098.
6. Yan, J., Malakooti, M.H., Lu, Z., Wang, Z., Kazem, N., Pan, C., Bockstaller, M.R., Majidi, C., and Matyjaszewski, k., 2019, “Solution Processable Liquid Metal Nanodroplets by Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization”, Nature Nanotechnology, 14: 684–690.
7. Tavakoli, M., Malakooti, M.H., Paisana, H. Ohm, Y., Marques, D.G., Alhais Lopes, P., Piedade, A.P., de Almeida, A.T. and Majidi, C., 2018, “EGaIn-Assisted Room Temperature Sintering of Silver Nanoparticles for Stretchable, Inkjet-Printed, Thin-Film Electronics” Advanced Materials, 30:1801852.

Honors & awards

• NSF CAREER Award, 2025
• ASME Best Paper Award in Mechanics and Material System, 2025
• Emerging Investigator by the Royal Society of Chemistry, 2025
• ASME Best Paper Award in Active and Multifunctional Materials, 2022
• Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow Award at The University of Michigan, 2017
• ASME Best Paper Award in Energy Harvesting, 2016

News