Abbas Milani

Professor

Manufacturing, Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI), Mechanical

Graduate student supervisor

Research Summary

Textile Composites; Material Constitutive Relations; Finite Element Modelling;
Robust Inverse Methods; Material Selection for End-of-Life Design Strategies;
Multiple Criteria Decision Making; Design and Analysis of Computer & Physical Experiments; Surrogate Models for Process Optimization; Machine Learning and Industry 4.0

Courses & Teaching

Mathematical Methods in Modelling Engineering Materials; Multi-Objective Optimization and Decision-Making; Continuum Mechanics; Composite Materials; Engineering Vibrations

Biography

Dr. Milani is a tenured Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UBC Okanagan, Principal Investigator of the Okanagan Node of the Composites Research Network (CRN), Advanced Materials and Fabrication Core Competency Lead of UBC’s Survive and Thrive Applied Research (STAR) program, and Director of the recently established Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute at UBC. His expertise is in advanced modeling, simulation, and multi-criteria design optimization of composite materials, structures and manufacturing processes. His research to date has resulted in over 200 publications, including five books and his projects are well supported by government and numerous industrial organizations. Over 80 students and postdoctoral fellows have graduated from Dr. Milani’s laboratory and have secured employment in the composite industrial sector as well as academia. Dr. Milani is the recipient of multiple scholarships and research awards; most recently the 2015 UBC Okanagan Researcher of the Year Award, and, in 2016, the prestigious Killam Faculty Research Award which provided funding to conduct an international research project with MIT on developing artificial intelligence (AI) to account for uncertainties in manufacturing of advanced composites. For his active contributions to teaching excellence in our community, he has been recognized twice (in 2012 and 2014) through the Honour Roll Award by the Centre for Teaching and Learning at UBC Okanagan, as well as by the School of Engineering Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013. He has developed and taught experimental design and advanced manufacturing courses, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. For his excellence in service, Dr. Milani has been recognized by international journals and organizations; most recently, a Gold Medal Service Contribution Award by the Academics World (AW) organization, and the 2016 Reviewer Contribution Award by the ASM International, Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance.

Websites

Composites Research Network – Okanagan Laboratory

Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute

Degrees

Postdoctoral- Mechanical Engineering (MIT)
PhD- Mechanical Engineering (McGill)
MSc- Mechanical Engineering (IUST)
BSc- Mechanical Engineering (IUST)

Research Interests & Projects

Selected Publications & Presentations

Publication Record for Abbas S. Milani

Selected Grants & Awards

• Inducted into the Royal Society of Canada, College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists
• Keynote Speaker at the 20th International Conference on Composite Structures
• Special Issue on Modeling and Simulation of Advanced Composite Materials, MPDI: Materials
• Awarded 2016 UBC Killam Faculty Research Fellowship
• Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
• Awarded 2015 Researcher of the Year at UBC Okanagan
• Invited Tutorial by the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE), 2015
• NASA research presented at the Composites Research Network workshop in the Okanagan

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