People

Lab Members

 Hamidreza Najafi, Ph.D.

  Associate Professor

  Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering

  Florida Institute of Technology

  150 W. University Blvd. Melbourne, FL 32901-6988

  F.W. Olin Engineering Complex, Office 211

  Email: hnajafi@fit.edu Phone: (321) 674-8408

 

 

 

Dr. Hamidreza Najafi is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Innovations in Sustainable Energy and Thermal Systems (ISETS) group at the Florida Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the design and optimization of thermal and energy systems, computational heat transfer, and sustainable built environments. He has authored or co-authored over 70 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, as well as a book (Wiley, 2023) and a book chapter (Springer, 2021). Dr. Najafi's work has been funded by prominent agencies such the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), ASHRAE, and various private industries. He is an Executive Committee member of the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers (ASTFE), Associate Editor of the ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities and co-chair of the ASME Computational Heat Transfer Technical Committee. In the past, Dr. Najafi has held prominent roles, including General Conference Chair of the 2023 ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Chair of the ASME Renewable Energy and Energy Conversion Technical Committee, Technical Program Chair of the 9th Thermal and FLuids Engineering Conference (TFEC 2024) and Guest Editor for both the ASME Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer and the Journal of Energy Resources Technology. He is also serving as the ASHRAE Student Branch Advisor of Florida Institute of Technology since 2015 and served as the Vice-Chair of the ASHRAE TC 9.13 Space (2022-2024). Before joining Florida Tech, Dr. Najafi was a lead graduate student and engineer at the Alabama Industrial Assessment Center (funded by the U.S. DOE) from 2011 to 2015, where he worked on improving the efficiency and decarbonization of industrial energy systems.

 

Doctoral Students:

 

Mariana Migliori

Mariana received her bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2018 and MS degree in 2021 from Florida Institute of Technology. She is currently a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering with specialization in Thermal Fluid Sciences. Her research interest includes: optimization of energy efficiency in buildings, building automation, energy efficient measures in K-12 schools, energy forecasting using intelligent algorithms, and heat transfer.

 

 Muhammed Salih

Muhammed Salih is a PhD student at Florida Institute of Technology specializing in energy systems and thermal-fluids engineering. His research is focused on designing and optimization of sustainable and climate-resilient buildings. With expertise in sustainability, CFD analysis, and hybrid energy solutions, he aims to develop cost-effective strategies for built environments. 

  

Masters Students:

  Moataz Alghamdi

Moataz is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology. With a keen interest in zero energy buildings and renewable energy,  is focused on advancing sustainable solutions for the future. This includes researching innovative technologies and methods to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprints in the building sector.

 

 

Alex Larrivee - Alex received his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering in May 2024. His research is focused on energy efficient built environments and innovative designs for thermal systems. In his free time he enjoys running on the Florida Tech cross country and track team and participating in ultra endurance events. 

 

 

 

 

ALUMNI

 

Ph.D. Students:

Puyi Yang - Ph.D. (Dec 2021)- Currently D&R Engineer, CHN Energy United Power Technology Company 

[Dissertation: Application of Ensemble Methods for Solving Offshore Wind Farm Layout Optimization Problems]

 

Modess Seyednezhad - Ph.D. (Dec 2021) - Currently Senior Thermal Engineer at Blueshift Materials 

[Dissertation: Thermoelectric-Based Cooling Systems for Building Application: A Sustainable Solution]

 

 

 

Obinna Uyanna- Ph.D. (May 2021)-Currently Senior Hardware Engineer at Dell Technologies 

[Dissertation: Inverse Approaches for Near-Real Time Estimation of Surface Heat Flux in Thermal Protection Systems for Space Vehicles ]

 

 

  David Sykes - Ph.D. (May 2018) - Currently Thermal Controls Technology Group Lead at Mainstream     Engineering Corporation  [Dissertation: Effect of Cavitation Regimes on Stepped Diesel Injectors ]