JROMC is pleased to announce our upcoming annual free memorial lecture. The 52nd J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Lecture will feature Professor John Dabiri, on Monday, June 2, 2025 beginning at 7:00 pm at Duane Smith Auditorium, Los Alamos, NM.
Title:
Jellyfish-Inspired Engineering
Abstract:
Jellyfish are the oldest, simplest, and arguably most successful species of swimming animal in the world. Yet they are primarily considered a nuisance on beaches or, at best, an attraction for aquarium-goers. In this talk, Dabiri will describe how a biology-inspired approach to engineering has placed jellyfish at the center of efforts to build next-generation underwater vehicles, design more versatile wind power, and even to diagnose heart failure. In the process, he takes engineering measurement techniques underwater, using SCUBA diving methods to study jellyfish and leveraging robotic hybrids of the animals themselves to explore our oceans.
Speaker Biography:
John O. Dabiri is the Centennial Chair Professor at Caltech, with appointments in the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories (GALCIT) and Mechanical Engineering. A recipient of the National Medal of Science, Dabiri takes inspiration from unexpected biological systems like jellyfish and fish schools, combining biological experiments and field work with concepts from fluid mechanics to impact technologies ranging from wind energy to biomedicine. Current research interests include biological fluid dynamics in the ocean, the physics of turbulence transition, and development of new measurement techniques.
Dabiri is a MacArthur Fellow and a Fellow of the American Physical Society as well as the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Other honors include the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation, the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award for Aquatic Sciences, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award, and being named one of MIT Technology Review’s “35 Innovators Under 35” as well as one of Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10.”
Dabiri serves in a variety of science and technology advisory roles, including the Board of Directors of NVIDIA Corporation and the Board of Trustees of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. He served on President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), Energy Secretary Granholm’s Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), and as a founding board member of the Hypothesis Fund for bold ideas in basic science.
Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio by Nigerian immigrant parents, Dabiri received his B.S.E. summa cum laude in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University (2001); his M.S. in Aeronautics from Caltech (2003); and his Ph.D. in Bioengineering with a minor in Aeronautics from Caltech (2005). He was a Professor of Aeronautics and Bioengineering at Caltech from 2005 to 2015, during which time he also served as Director of the Center for Bioinspired Wind Energy, Chair of the Faculty, and Dean of Students. From 2015 to 2019 he served as a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, where he was recognized with the Eugene L. Grant Award for Excellence in Teaching.