Email
nrahbar@wpi.edu
Office
Kaven Hall 106
Phone
+1 (508) 8315000 x6567
Affiliated Department or Office
Mechanical Engineering
Education
BS Sharif University of Technology 1998
MS Northeastern University 2003
PhD Princeton University 2008

My research and teaching activities in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are in the area of the mechanics of materials and structures. At WPI, my favorite aspect of teaching is working one on one with graduate and undergraduate students on research projects. I like to excite students’ curiosity towards discoveries and creative scientific advancements. In our research group, we focus on the fundamental principles that control the behavior of materials in engineering and biology at multiple scales. I am particularly interested in the bioinspired design of materials and structures. In this field, studying biological materials leads to the design of high-performance materials and structures. For example, we have created bioinspired dental ceramic crowns that lasts longer than the current dental crowns; we have also studied the fracture properties of bamboo as a sustainable structural material. We also have a few projects focusing on fracture and fatigue of materials and structures such as visco-elastic crack-bridging mechanisms in ceramics; We have also been involved with the repair of the Adam statue at the New York Metropolitan Museum by studying the mixed-mode fracture of marble/adhesive interfaces. I encourage you to visit my website for more details about my research group at WPI.

Our latest work is focused on introducing a new paradigm in self-healing concrete using enzymes. 
 

Scholarly Work

Effects of Heat Treatment and Moisture on Mechanical Properties of Bamboo P Kotowski, N Rahbar AIP Conference Proceedings
Interfacial Failure of Dentin Adhesively Bonded to Quartz-Fiber Reinforced Epoxy R Melo, N Rahbar, W Soboyejo Minerals, Metals and Materials Society/AIME, 420 Commonwealth Dr., P. O. Box ...
Nano-second UV laser processed micro-grooves on Ti6Al4V for biomedical applications AY Fasasi, S Mwenifumbo, N Rahbar, J Chen, M Li, AC Beye, CB Arnold, ... Materials Science and Engineering: C 29 (1), 5-13
Nano-and microscale adhesion energy measurement for Au–Au contacts in microswitch structures Z Zong, Y Cao, N Rahbar, W Soboyejo Journal of applied physics 100 (10), 104313
Contact behavior of soft spherical tactile sensors S Youssefian, N Rahbar, E Torres-Jara IEEE Sensors Journal 14 (5), 1435-1442
Fracture toughness of the sidewall fluorinated carbon nanotube-epoxy interface Y Ganesan, H Salahshoor, C Peng, V Khabashesku, J Zhang, A Cate, ... Journal of Applied Physics 115 (22), 224305
Professional Highlights & Honors
Life Science Moment Award
University of Massachusetts
NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER)
TMS Structural Materials Division Young Leader Professional Development Award
Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship
Wright-Patterson Air Force Laboratory
Princeton Graduate Fellowship
Science Daily
Developing a sustainable concrete substitute

Science Daily covered the continued collaboration between Professor Suzanne Scarlata and Associate Professor Nima Rahbar to develop their Enzymatic Construction Material – a sustainable, low-cost replacement for concrete that can also heal itself. Scarlata and Rahbar recently received a nearly $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to refine the material, explore its ability to repair cracks in glass, and create educational programs for girls in Worcester and Nigeria.

BBC Earth
Is it possible to heat our homes without heating our planet?

BBC Earth featured the self-healing concrete developed by Associate Professor Nima Rahbar and Professor Suzanne Scarlata in an episode about climate-friendly ways to heat residential homes. The self-healing concrete uses an enzyme found in red blood cells to heal itself, thereby filling cracks before they cause larger structural issues.