Amir Nazemi
Ph.D. Candidate, Mechanical Engineering & Scientific Computing, University of Michigan
G.G. Brown Laboratory 3590
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering and Scientific Computing at the University of Michigan, advised by Prof. Hongyi Xiao. My research focuses on developing high-fidelity computational frameworks for understanding the mechanics of granular materials, including Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations of locomotion in granular media and coupled DEM-FEM approaches for modeling the intrusion of deformable bodies into granular systems.
Previously, I obtained my M.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, where I worked with Prof. Abbas S. Milani at the Composites Research Network on Material Point Method (MPM) based multi-scale simulations for textile composites forming processes. I hold a B.Sc. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (double major) from Sharif University of Technology, where I ranked 3rd in Aerospace Engineering.
My research interests span computational mechanics, granular materials, finite element methods, discrete element methods, material point method, and scientific machine learning.
News
| Mar 2026 | Presented “Pulling Out a Compliant Beam in Granular Media: Particle-based Simulations and Experiments under X-ray Imaging” at the American Physical Society Global Physics Summit 2026 in Denver, CO. |
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| Oct 2025 | Our preprint “Understanding the Propulsion of a Scallop-like Swimmer in Granular Media” is available on arXiv. |
| Oct 2025 | Presented “Interaction of Compliant Bodies with Granular Media: Coupled DEM-FEM Simulation and Experiment under X-ray Imaging” at the Society of Engineering Science Technical Meeting in Atlanta, GA. |
| Sep 2025 | Honored to receive the Michigan Institute of Computational Discovery and Engineering (MICDE) Fellowship at the University of Michigan. |
| Jun 2025 | Presented “Effects of Particle Jamming and Swimmer Inertia on Granular Locomotion” at the 21st Northeastern Granular Materials Workshop at Yale University, New Haven, CT. |
| Mar 2025 | Presented two talks at the American Physical Society Global Physics Summit in Anaheim, CA: “Effects of Particle Jamming and Swimmer Inertia on Granular Locomotion” and “Understanding the Dependence of Shear Response of Desert Sands on the Size and Shape of Constituent Particles.” |
| Jan 2025 | Our book chapter “Emerging Fast Simulations using Material Point Method” has been published in Advanced Structural Textile Composites Forming by Woodhead Publishing. |
| Oct 2024 | Passed my Ph.D. candidacy exam in department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. |
| Jul 2024 | Our paper “Synthesis and characterization of UHMWPE composite fabrics treated with bis-diazirine crosslinker and silica/PEG shear thickening fluid” published in Composites Part C: Open Access. |
| Jun 2024 | Presented “Understanding the Propulsion of a Scallop-like Swimmer in Granular Media” at the 16th Annual Summer School on Soft Solids and Complex Fluids at UMass Amherst, MA. |
| Jun 2024 | Presented “Understanding the Propulsion of a Scallop-like Swimmer in Granular Media” at the 20th Northeastern Granular Materials Workshop at College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA. |
| Jun 2024 | Awarded the Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant from the University of Michigan. |
| May 2024 | Our paper “On Drapability and Characterization of Flax Fabric Reinforcements” just published in the SAMPE Conference Proceedings (Long Beach, CA). |
| May 2024 | Presented “On Drapability and Characterization of Flax Fabric Reinforcements” at the SAMPE Conference in Long Beach, CA. |
| Mar 2024 | Presented “Understanding the Propulsion of a Scallop-like Swimmer in Granular Media” at the American Physical Society March Meeting in Minneapolis, MN. |
| Mar 2024 | Our paper “A comparative study of emerging material point method and FEM for forming simulation of textile reinforcements” has been published in Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. |
| Oct 2023 | Our paper “Material Point Method as an Alternative to FEM for Fast Forming Simulation of Fabric Composites” published in the SAMPE Conference Proceedings. |
| Aug 2023 | Our paper “Skin-Inspired Nanofluid-Filled Surfaces with Tunable Icephobic, Photothermal, and Energy Absorption Properties” published in Advanced Functional Materials. |
| Jun 2023 | Our paper “Liquid-Templating Aerogels” published in Advanced Materials. |
| Apr 2023 | Presented “Material Point Method as an Alternative to FEM for Fast Forming Simulation of Fabric Composites” at the SAMPE Conference in Seattle, WA. |
| Dec 2022 | Successfully defended my M.A.Sc. thesis in Mechanical Engineering at the University of British Columbia (Composites Research Network, advised by Prof. Abbas S. Milani). |
| Jun 2022 | Our paper “A Data-driven Multi-fidelity Physics-informed Learning Framework for Smart Manufacturing: A Composites Processing Case Study”, published in the 2022 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (ICPS). |
