Hamidreza Najafi, an associate professor of mechanical engineering in the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, was elected as a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in August.
This accolade recognizes exceptional achievements in engineering and contributions to the engineering profession and ASME. Najafi, along with 29 others this summer, joined a group of just 3,411 Fellows out of more than 72,000 members of the society, which was established in 1880.
“Being elected an ASME Fellow is a tremendous honor. ASME has played an important role throughout my professional journey, beginning with my first conference as a graduate student,” Najafi said. “This recognition reflects the support and collaboration of many mentors, students, colleagues and Florida Tech collaborators over the years, and it reinforces my commitment to advancing energy and thermal systems research, mentoring students and serving the engineering community.”
As a member of ASME since 2016, Najafi has served as chair of the organization’s Renewable Energy and Energy Conversion Technical Committee and currently serves as vice chair of its K-20 Computational Heat Transfer Committee. Additionally, he holds the position of associate editor for ASME’s Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings, where he was named Associate Editor of the Year in 2025.
Najafi, who earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama, has been a faculty member at Florida Tech since 2015. He was promoted to associate professor in 2021.
He has authored or co-authored over 80 publications, including journal articles, editorial contributions and peer-reviewed conference papers, and was co-author on the textbook, “Inverse Heat Conduction: Ill-Posed Problems, Second Edition.”
Najafi first engaged with ASME as a graduate student in 2012, attending the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability in San Diego, California, and earning the best paper award.
In 2023, 11 years after he first attended, Najafi served as the general chair of the same conference.
His research centers on thermal and energy systems, computational heat transfer, and sustainable and resilient built environments.
Among this high honor and others, including multiple Faculty Excellence awards for his teaching and service at Florida Tech, Najafi said that mentoring students, helping them “grow into confident engineers, researchers and professionals,” and seeing the impact they make in their careers and communities makes his work at Florida Tech especially meaningful.
“This prestigious distinction recognizes Dr. Najafi’s significant and sustained contributions to mechanical engineering and the profession,” said Troy Nguyen, head of the Mechanical and Civil Engineering Department. “It reflects the exceptional caliber and impact of Dr. Najafi’s work and highlights the strength and excellence of the MCE Department’s faculty.”
