John O. Dabiri

John O. Dabiri

American engineer and academic (born 1980)

John Oluseun Dabiri is an American engineer and professor at the California Institute of Technology, where he holds appointments in aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering. His research focuses on fluid mechanics and fluid dynamics, including applications in biological systems, renewable energy, and environmental flows.2

From Wikipedia’s article on John O. Dabiri (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born 1980.1

About

Dabiri studies biological fluid dynamics, including investigations of jellyfish propulsion. He has also developed and studied vertical-axis wind turbine systems inspired by observations of schooling fish.

From Wikipedia’s article on John O. Dabiri, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedCalifornia Institute of Technology3
  • Date not recordedPrinceton University3

Born in 1980, Dabiri was raised in Toledo, Ohio, by Nigerian immigrant parents. During his childhood, Dabiri was exposed to engineering concepts through his father's technical work. He attended a Baptist high school where he received his high school diploma.

Dabiri graduated from Princeton University in 2001 with a B.S.E. degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering. He then went to Caltech for graduate studies, graduating with a Master of Science degree in Aeronautics in 2003, a Ph.D. in Bioengineering, and a minor in Aeronautics in 2005.

From Wikipedia’s article on John O. Dabiri (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: university teacher, engineer, biophysicist, military flight engineer.7

From 2005 to 2009, Dabiri worked as an assistant professor at Caltech in aeronautics and biological engineering. He was promoted to full professor in 2010. From 2013 to 2014, he served as chair of the Faculty Board. During the following school year, he was the Dean of Undergraduates. In 2015, Dabiri became a professor in civil, environmental, and mechanical engineering at Stanford University. He was a senior fellow in Stanford's Center for Turbulence Research and founding director of the Catalyst for Collaborative Solutions initiative. In 2019, he returned to Caltech as the Centennial Chair Professor in aeronautics and mechanical engineering. Dabiri served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) from 2021 to January 2025.

Dabiri serves on the Board of Directors of NVIDIA Corporation, the Board of Trustees of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the United States Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB), and as an advisor to X at Alphabet Inc. (formerly Google X). Additionally, he was the chair of the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics, and a member of the National Academies' Committee on Science, Technology, and Law. He served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Fluid Mechanics in 2016 and the Journal of the Royal Society Interface in 2014-2023. He was Co-Chairman of the U.S. National Committee for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (USNC/TAM) in 2015-2018, and was a plenary lecturer at the 2022 USNC/TAM congress.

From Wikipedia’s article on John O. Dabiri (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • Born1980, Toledo8
  • CitizenshipUnited States9
  • ResidencePasadena10

Awards

  • 2025Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science11 18
  • 2025Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering11 17
  • 2025National Medal of Science11 16
  • 2023G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award11 15
  • 2020Alan T. Waterman Award11 14
  • 2010MacArthur Fellows Program11 13
  • Date not recordedFellow of the American Physical Society11 12

Sources

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    Wikidata and SEC EDGARNvidia, Board member