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Mahdi Bodaghi

Senior Lecturer

School of Science & Technology

Staff Group(s)
Engineering

Role

Dr Mahdi Bodaghi (BSc, MSc, PhD, PGCAP, FHEA, CEng, MIMechE) is a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Mechanical Engineering in the School of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University. He is the module leader for the Solid Mechanics and Dynamics, and Medical Applications of Smart Materials UG and PG modules. Mahdi acively pursues research on Smart Materials, Composite Structures, 3D, 4D Printing (Additive Manufacturing) Technologies and Biomedical Device Design (h-index: 30, citations: 2870). He has founded and heads the 4D Materials & Printing Laboratory (4DMPL) that hosts a broad portfolio of projects focusing on the electro-thermo-mechanical multi-scale behaviours of smart materials and 3D/4D printing technologies. His 12-year research activities has led him to co-found 4D Printing Society in 2021 and to co-edit the book series, Smart Materials in Additive Manufacturing (Vol. 1 & 2)  published by Elsevier.

Taught Modules at NTU:

Solid Mechanics and Dynamics (2018-19/2019-20/2020-21/2021-22)

Medical Applications of Smart Materials (2019-20/2021-22)

Innovation and Engineering Solutions (2018/2019) (partially involved)

Industrial Design & Product Case Studies (2018/2019) (partially involved)

Career overview

Mahdi received his BSc, MSc and PhD Degrees in Mechanical Engineering in 2007, 2010 and 2015, respectively. For his doctoral research, he developed constitutive models for functional Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) and Piezoelectrics and assessed their sensory and actuation performance in controlling shape and vibration of smart wing-like Composite Structures by non-linear Finite Element Analysis. He received the Best Doctoral Thesis Award in 2015. During his PhD training, he also served as a Teaching Assistant and a Lecturer for the modules of Mechanics of Materials (I, II, III), Engineering Plasticity and its Applications, and Manufacturing Processes and Technologies.

From July 2015 to July 2018, he was working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Smart Materials and Structures Laboratory at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He worked with Prof. Wei-Hsin Liao to develop advanced multi-functional shape-memory structures fabricated by 3D and 4D Printing Technologies for Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Applications.  Since October 2018, Mahdi has been with the Department of Engineering at Nottingham Trent University (NTU). He received Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice from NTU in November 2020. Mahdi has been ranked amongst top 2% of the most influential researchers in 2021 and 2020 in the world by Elsevier and Stanford University (Published: 8 October 2020; 19 October 2021). He has served as Chairman and member of Scientific Committees for 10 International Conferences, as Guest Editor for 10 Journals, as Editorial Board Member for 8 scientific Journals, and as Reviewer for over 130 Journals. Mahdi’s research awards include the Best Doctoral Thesis Award of 2015, 2016 CUHK Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Annual Best Paper Award in Mechanics and Material Systems presented by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2017, 2018 Horizon Postdoctoral Fellowship Awardee, and 2021 IJPEM-GT Contribution Award recognized by the Korea Society for Precision Engineering.

Research areas

Research Expertise:

  • Computational Mechanics
  • Mechanics of Composite Materials
  • Biomechanics
  • Smart Materials and Structures
  • Meta-materials
  • Soft  Robotics
  • Bio-inspired Design
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • 3D and 4D Printing Technologies
  • Machine Learning

Mission:

Developing and exploiting emerging capabilities of Smart Materials and Structures, 3D and 4D Printing Technologies to create and support innovative advanced device technologies for Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Applications.

Research Topics:

  • Computational and experimental mechanics of advanced materials
  • Materials testing and characterisation
  • Design principles for intelligent environments
  • General purpose sensors/actuators based on multi-functional active materials
  • Piezoelectric sensors for structural health monitoring and energy harvesting
  • Piezoelectric sensors-actuators for structural vibration control
  • Piezoelectric micro-sensors/actuators
  • Innovative mechanical energy absorbers
  • Martensitic-austenitic phase transformation
  • Adaptive structures with shape memory alloys and polymers (SMPs) for aerospace applications
  • Innovative mechanical/bio-medical devices with SMA/SMP actuators
  • SMA damping devices for mechanical and civil applications
  • Innovative hybrid composite structures with SMA/SMP fibres
  • Advanced Nano-carbon-fibre composites
  • Bio-inspired design of materials and composites
  • Sustainable materials for smart structures and products
  • Fatigue life of advanced composite structures
  • Functionally graded materials and additive manufacturing
  • Material extrusion for additive manufacturing
  • Sustainable 3D and 4D printing technologies
  • Lattice medical implants and auxetics customised by 3D printing
  • Bio-materials and scaffolds by 3D printing
  • Self-folding/shrinking/expanding biomedical structures by 4D printing
  • Self-tightening surgical sutures, self-conforming splints and self-deploying stents by 4D printing
  • Electronic memory devices like tactile displays and surface adaptive structures by 4D printing
  • Recoverable rolling-up chiral meta-materials by 3D printing
  • Load-resistance supportive auxetics by 3D printing
  • Soft meta-material tissues by 3D printing
  • 4D printing self-morphing structures
  • Advanced biological particle detectors
  • Topology optimization of 4D printed soft actuators
  • Nano-to-macro multi-scale analysis
  • Finite element method and simulation
  • Mesh-free computational methods
  • Constitutive material modelling
  • Autonomous damage recognition by deep learning
  • Visual inspection of laminated composite structures

Open PhD Research Topics:

  • Self-funded PhD Position in Smart Materials, Bio-Functional/Inspired Materials, Meta-Materials, 3D and 4D Printing Technologies, and Biomedical Device Design

Opening:

1) A fully funded PhD position on "towards the next generation drag controlling mechanisms with smart skin technology". Apply here (deadline: Friday 14 January 2022)

2) Enquires are very welcome from those who are keen to pursue PhD and MPhil degrees in the areas identified above. Please contact Mahdi directly to discuss future opportunities. Further information may be obtained on the NTU Research Degrees website.

External activity

Professional Society:

Journal Service:

Member of organising/international committee of the following conferences:

Public Engagement:

  • Social media coordinator of the Department of Engineering

Sponsors and collaborators

Collaborators:

  • Deakin University
  • Amirkabir University of Technology
  • The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Delft University of Technology
  • University of Glasgow
  • University of the West of England, Bristol
  • Tarbiat Modares University
  • Changwon National University
  • University of Southern Denmark

Publications

Mahdi’s research has led to the publication of 132 scientific papers in leading journals in the mechanics, manufacturing and materials science, and the presentation of his work at major international conferences. A list of publications can be found at Google Scholar, IRep, and ORCID.

See all of Mahdi Bodaghi's publications...

Press expertise

  • Smart medical devices
  • Intelligent environments
  • Green design
  • Sustainability
  • Manufacturing the future
  • 4D printing technology