Farhad Farzbod
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Mississippi
Lab info: i-mechanics.com
Youtube Channel:
Brief Professional Bio:
Farhad Farzbod is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where he has been a faculty member since Fall 2015.
Prior to joining Ole Miss, Dr. Farzbod was a Research Hardware Engineer at Google[x], the company’s advanced technology lab. At [X], he was involved in the modeling and design of cutting-edge transducers and sensors, including next-generation bone conduction devices, as part of broader efforts to develop future sensor and actuator technologies. He also held a position as Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at San José State University.
Earlier in his career, he served as a Postdoctoral Researcher and Associate Engineer at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), one of the 16 U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratories. At INL’s Energy & Environment Science and Technology Directorate, he worked on modeling hybrid energy systems using Modelica and other multiphysics platforms, as well as experimental material characterization with laser ultrasound techniques.
Dr. Farzbod’s research spans vibrations, mechatronics, controls, and solid mechanics. His expertise includes wave propagation in periodic media, finite element modeling, sensor and actuator design, smart materials, and ultrasonic techniques.
He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), where he also completed master’s degrees in Mathematics and in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He holds an M.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto and a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tehran.
Research Thrusts
Acoustic Metamaterials
Our research on acoustic metamaterials centers on periodic structures, where wave propagation is influenced not only by the properties of individual unit cells but also by their spatial arrangement and intercellular interactions. These materials exhibit unique behaviors such as band gaps, negative effective mass or modulus, and directional sound transmission. Such characteristics make them promising candidates for advanced acoustic applications, including high-performance filters and devices for sound steering and beam focusing.
Biologically Inspired Materials: Endotherm vs Ectotherm
Biologically Inspired Materials: We are also exploring bioinspired material behavior, particularly how certain natural systems maintain structural performance under cyclic thermal stress. This work investigates how some biological tissues manage mechanical integrity despite extreme environmental variation. Preliminary findings suggest that nature may offer design strategies for engineering materials with enhanced fatigue resistance—a line of inquiry with broad implications for thermal protection systems, structural health monitoring, and next-generation aerospace materials.
Mechatronics: Novel Electromechanical Actuators
Our group is advancing novel actuation technologies based on soft materials and liquid metals. We have designed and prototyped a range of actuators, including valveless pumping systems, omnidirectional acoustic emitters, and breathing-mode motors. These developments have led to peer-reviewed publications in the ASME Journal and Conference Proceedings. The valveless pump, in particular, holds strong potential for biomedical and microfluidic applications due to its scalable architecture and minimal mechanical complexity.
A parallel line of research focuses on high-bandwidth, low-loss electroactive polymers (EAPs), including graphene-enhanced polymer composites. This interdisciplinary effort, in collaboration with the Departments of Civil, Chemical, and Mechanical Engineering, aims to improve actuator performance for applications in robotics, adaptive structures, and soft-matter systems.
Material Characterization Using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy
Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS) is a non-destructive technique for determining the elastic and anelastic properties of materials by analyzing their natural resonance frequencies. It is especially effective for characterizing anisotropic materials and offers high precision in measuring elastic moduli in both monocrystalline and polycrystalline solids.
Despite its strengths, RUS faces challenges related to sensitivity and parameter identifiability, particularly for complex or low-symmetry materials. Our research addresses these limitations to improve the reliability of property extraction, with a focus on advanced ceramics and ultrahigh-temperature materials. These materials are essential in demanding environments such as hypersonic flight, atmospheric re-entry, and high-efficiency gas turbines. Accurate characterization is a critical enabler for digital twin technologies in these applications, supporting virtual inspection, life prediction, and component-specific performance modeling.
...And Other Works
Several additional projects are currently in progress and will be shared publicly following completion and publication. Our research group remains dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary, application-focused solutions in mechanical engineering.
Teaching
Syllabus of each course that has been taught by me can be found below (by clicking on the course name). There is a website for the Mechatronics course: i-mechatronics.com. A few educational videos are posted on my youtube channel: youtube.com/farzbod
Publications
Patents
- F. Farzbod, J. Dong, “Adaptive piezoelectric array for bone conduction receiver in wearable computers,” US Patent #: 9547175
- F. Farzbod, M.K. Morishita; J. Dong; R. Herr, “Microphone Arranged in Cavity for Enhanced Voice Isolation ,” US Patent #: 9596536
Published Journal Papers
- P. R. Brewster, J. E. Akins, C. M. Holycross and F. Farzbod “Thermal fatigue resistance of vertebrate bone: A comparative study of endothermic and ectothermic species using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy, ” Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmbbm.2025.107102, Vol. 170, Pages 107102, 2025.
- F. Farzbod and C. Holycross, “Asymptotic Behavior of Resonant Frequencies in Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy,” The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 154 (3), pp. 1945-1953, 2023.
- S. Pathak, G. Dangi, and F. Farzbod, “Periodic Structure with Electrostatic Forces: Interactions Beyond the Nearest Neighbor,” Journal of Vibration and Control, https://doi.org/10.1177/10775463231184009, 2023.
- C. Sevigney, O. Scott-Emuakpor, and F. Farzbod, “Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy: Sensitivity Analysis for Anisotropic Materials with Hexagonal Symmetry,” Journal of Vibration and Acoustics-Transactions of the ASME, 144(3), 2022.
- F. Farzbod and O. Scott-Emuakpor, “Interactions beyond nearest neighbors in a periodic structure: Force analysis,” International Journal of Solids and Structures, 199, pp. 203-211, 2020.
- F. Farzbod and O. Scott-Emuakpor, “Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy: Sensitivity Analysis for Isotropic Materials and Anisotropic Materials with Cubic Symmetry,” Journal of Vibration and Acoustics-Transactions of the ASME, 141(2), 2019.
- F. Farzbod, M. Naghdi and P.M. Goggans, “Using Liquid Metal in an Electromechanical Motor with Breathing Mode Motion,” Journal of Vibration and Acoustics-Transactions of the ASME, 141(1), 2019.
- M. Naghdi, F. Farzbod, “Acoustic Nonreciprocity in Coriolis Mean Flow Systems,” The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 143 (1), 230-236, 2018.
- F. Farzbod, “Number of Wavevectors for Each Frequency in Dispersion Curves of a Periodic Structure,” Journal of Vibration and Acoustics-Transactions of the ASME, 139(5), 2017.
- F. Farzbod, “Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy for a Sample with Cantilever Boundary Condition Using Rayleigh-Ritz Method,” Journal of Applied Physics, 114(2), 2013.
- J. Reese, Z. N. Utegulov, F. Farzbod, R. S. Schley, and D. H. Hurley, “Examination of the epicentral waveform for laser ultrasound in the melting regime,” Ultrasonics, 53 (3), 2013.
- F. Farzbod and D. H. Hurley, “Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy: Using Eigenmodes to Perform the Inverse Problem Associated with Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy,” IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, 59(11), 2012. this paper was featured on the cover: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6343259
- H. Hurley; S. J. Reese; F. Farzbod, “Application of Laser-based Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy to Study Texture in Copper,” Journal of Applied Physics, 111(5), 2012.
- F. Farzbod and M.J. Leamy, “Analysis of Bloch’s Method in Structures with Energy Dissipation,” Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, 133(5), 2011.
- F. Farzbod and M.J. Leamy, “Analysis of Bloch’s Method and the Propagation Technique in Periodic Structures,” Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, 133(3), 2011.
- F. Farzbod and M.J. Leamy, “The Treatment of Forces in Bloch Analysis,” Journal of Sound and Vibration, 325(3), 2009.
Refereed Conference Papers
- Farzbod, “Long-Range Electrostatic Forces in Periodic Structures: The Development of Adjustable Wave Filters,” 186th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America/Acoustics Week in Canada, Ottawa, Canada, May 2024.
- Farhad Farzbod, Casey Holycross, “Convergence properties of eigenfrequencies in RUS,” 186th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America/Acoustics Week in Canada, Ottawa, Canada, May 2024.
- Farzbod, “Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy: How Much Information Lies in Higher Frequencies,” 183rd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Nashville, Tennessee, Dec 2022.
- Naghdi, F. Farzbod, and P. Goggans, “Flexible Valveless Pump for Bio Applications,” International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2019.
- Goggans, F. Farzbod, M. Naghdi, and D. Waddell1, “Design of a Novel Electrodynamic Vibrotactile Stimulator for Use in MRI,” 2017 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting, Phoenix, Arizona, 2017.
- F. Farzbod, MJ Leamy, “Breaking time reversal symmetry with Coriolis mean flow systems,” Invited talk, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 140 (4), 3048-3048, 2016.
- N. Utegulov, F. Farzbod, S. J. Reese, R. S. Schley, and D. H. Hurley,“Localized detection of phase transformation in tungsten using laser ultrasonics,” 18th Symposium on Thermophysical Properties, Boulder, Colorado, June 24 – 29, 2012.
- Hurley, S. Reese, F. Farzbod, R. Kennedy, “Characterization of High Temperature Mechanical Properties Using Laser Ultrasound”, International High Power Laser Ablation Conference, Santa Fe, NM, Apr.30-May 4, 2012.
- F. Farzbod, S. Reese, D. H. Hurley, “Investigating Internal Friction with Laser Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy,” ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Denver, Colorado, Nov. 11-17, 2011.
- F. Farzbod, D. H. Hurley, “Measuring Crystal Orientation by Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy,” IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium, Orlando, Florida, Oct. 18-21, 2011.
- F. Farzbod and M.J. Leamy, “Analysis of Bloch’s Method in Structures with Energy Dissipation: 1-D structures”, ASME 2010 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Vancouver, BC, Nov 12-18, 2010.
- J. Leamy and F. Farzbod, “Multi-Scale Finite Element-Based Phonon Dispersion Calculations: Approach and Application to Carbon Nanotubes,” 10th U.S. National Congress for Computational Mechanics, Columbus, OH, July 16-19, 2009.
- Jastrzebski, T. Dusatko, F. Farzbod and A.N. Sinclair “Enhancement OF Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) by Advanced Signal Processing,” World Conference on NDT, Montreal, Canada, Aug 30 – Sep 3, 2004.
- Honarvar, T. Dusatko, Y. Fan, F. Farzbod, M. Moles and A. Sinclair “A novel signal processing technique for enhancement of time-of-flight diffraction (TOEFD) signals,” International Chemical and Petroleum Industry Inspection Technology (ICPIIT) VIII conference. Houston, 18-21 June 2003
Contact Me
Address:
1764 University Circle,
Room 203
University, MS 38677
farzbod@olemiss.edu