John Dabiri

John O. Dabiri
Dabiri in 2021
Born1980 (age 45–46)
Toledo, Ohio
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materPrinceton University (B.S.E.)
California Institute of Technology (M.S.) (Ph.D.)
Known forVortex formation
Reverse engineering of jellyfish
Applications to wind turbines
AwardsPECASE (2008)
MacArthur Fellow (2010)
Alan T. Waterman Award (2020)
National Medal of Science (2025)
Scientific career
FieldsAeronautics
Bioengineering
Mechanical engineering
InstitutionsCalifornia Institute of Technology
Stanford University
Doctoral advisorMorteza Gharib

John Oluseun Dabiri listenⓘ is an American Engineer and Professor at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where he holds appointments in aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering.[1][2] His research focuses on fluid mechanics and fluid dynamics, including applications in biological systems, renewable energy, and environmental flows.[3][4]

Dabiri studies biological fluid dynamics, including investigations of jellyfish propulsion.[5] He has also developed and studied vertical-axis wind turbine systems inspired by observations of schooling fish.[6][7]

Early life and education

Born in 1980, Dabiri was raised in Toledo, Ohio, by Nigerian immigrant parents.[8][9] During his childhood, Dabiri was exposed to engineering concepts through his father's technical work.[6] He attended a Baptist high school where he received his high school diploma.[10]

Dabiri graduated from Princeton University in 2001 with a B.S.E. degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering.[8] 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.[8][11]

Career

From 2005 to 2009, Dabiri worked as an assistant professor at Caltech in aeronautics and biological engineering.[4] He was promoted to full professor in 2010.[4] From 2013 to 2014, he served as chair of the Faculty Board. During the following school year, he was the Dean of Undergraduates.[12] In 2015, Dabiri became a professor in civil, environmental, and mechanical engineering at Stanford University.[13] He was a senior fellow in Stanford's Center for Turbulence Research and founding director of the Catalyst for Collaborative Solutions initiative.[12] In 2019, he returned to Caltech as the Centennial Chair Professor in aeronautics and mechanical engineering.[12] Dabiri served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) from 2021 to January 2025.[14]

Dabiri serves on the Board of Directors of NVIDIA Corporation,[15] the Board of Trustees of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation,[16] and the United States Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB),[17] and as an advisor to X at Alphabet Inc. (formerly Google X).[18] 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.[12] He was Co-Chairman of the U.S. National Committee for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (USNC/TAM) in 2015-2018,[12] and was a plenary lecturer at the 2022 USNC/TAM congress.[19]

Research

During his first tenure at Caltech, Dabiri was the director of the Biological Propulsion Laboratory.[20] The lab conducted research on fluid transport applications in aquatic locomotion, fluid dynamic energy conversion, blood flow, and theoretical methods in fluid dynamics and vortex formation. He established the Caltech Field Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy (FLOWE) in 2011, a wind farm that investigates energy exchange in an array of vertical-axis wind turbines.[21] To further develop digital particle image velocimetry measurements of propulsion in aquatic animals, Dabiri and his student K. Katija designed and patented a device to measure the kinetic energy induced by swimming.[2][22]

Noting constructive interference in the hydrodynamic wakes of schooling fish, his research suggested that extracting energy from flow vortices could aid more than locomotion.[23] The design of an array of vertical-axis turbines was reported to increase power output per unit land area by more than an order of magnitude compared with horizontal-axis wind farms.[24] Dabiri partnered with Windspire Energy for the use of three of the twenty-four turbines that stand approximately 30 feet tall and 4 feet wide.[25] He founded Scalable Wind Solutions, a company focused on software for wind-turbine array placement optimization.[26] Further research on wind farm design has been led by alumni of his lab working in both academia and industry. Dabiri's research on jellyfish swimming informed U.S. Navy-funded work on biologically inspired underwater propulsion, including the development of an underwater craft that propels itself with up to 30% less energy than conventionally-propelled crafts.[26][27]

After returning to Caltech, Dabiri’s research has focused on the hydrodynamics of electromechanically modified jellyfish, which has been proposed as a mode for oceanographic sensing and exploration.[28][29] Dabiri and colleagues have reported experiments in which low-power microelectronics were embedded in live jellyfish to modify propulsion and swimming behavior.[30] An additional area of research in Dabiri’s lab focuses on the physics of turbulence transition. His recent work is exploring the role of the fluid-solid interface in theoretical predictions of turbulence transition.[31]

Teaching

Dabiri was named Professor of the Month at Caltech in February 2012.[32] He has taught classes including a graduate class on propulsion, a biomechanics course, a lab class on experimental methods in aeronautics and applied physics, and the introduction to fluid mechanics course.[32][33]

In an NPR interview, Dabiri discussed the role of early education and mentorship in STEM fields:

"Having two parents who encouraged me and, in some cases, forced me to study and to really take academics seriously was very important at an early stage. And then going through school, the role of my teachers was always so important. I remember my fourth-grade teacher ... [she] made me believe that I was smart and so I took that and sort of owned that and tried to live up to the expectations that she had placed on me, even as a fourth grader. And so we really want to grab hold of the imagination of the first graders and the second graders at a very early stage, and get them wondering about becoming scientists, as focused as they are about becoming a firefighter or the next rap star."[7]

Honors and awards

Dabiri's early honors include a Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers,[20] and being named as one of Popular Science magazine's "Brilliant 10" scientists in 2008.[34]

In 2010 Dabiri was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his theoretical engineering work.[35] That same year, he gave the Convocation Address at Caltech.[36]

Bloomberg Businessweek magazine listed him among its 2012 Technology Innovators.[26]

Dabiri was awarded the 2020 Alan T. Waterman Award from NSF.[37] In 2023, he was awarded the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award for aquatic sciences.[38]

He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.[13]

Dabiri was awarded the National Medal of Science, “for outstanding achievements in aeronautical and biological engineering,” in 2024; the medal was presented at a White House ceremony on January 3, 2025.[39][40]

Film consulting

In 2021, Dabiri served as a scientific consultant for Jordan Peele's science fiction film Nope.[41] His role included advising on the design of the alien featured in the film, taking inspiration from the biology of marine invertebrates such as jellyfish and squid. The goal of the collaboration was to create an aerial predator with the ability to hide in the clouds (hence the scientific name of the fictional race: Occulonimbus edoequus), generate electric fields, and use electric propulsion.[42][43][44]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dabiri Lab. John Dabiri. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Self-contained underwater velocimetry apparatus". Google Patents. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  3. ^ "Stanford FPCE : People - John Dabiri". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  4. ^ a b c "John O. Dabiri - Division of Engineering and Applied Science". www.eas.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  5. ^ Caltech PR. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  6. ^ a b USA Africa Dialogue. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  7. ^ a b N; P; R (2010-10-06). "California Biophysicist Named MacArthur Fellow". NPR. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  8. ^ a b c "John O. Dabiri, PhD". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  9. ^ [email protected] (2024-10-25). "Meet John Dabiri, Nigerian aeronautics engineer who became a professor at 25". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  10. ^ [email protected] (2024-10-25). "Meet John Dabiri, Nigerian aeronautics engineer who became a professor at 25". Vanguard. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  11. ^ "Princeton MAE alumnus honored with National Medal of Science | Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering". mae.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
  12. ^ a b c d e John Dabiri Curriculum Vitae
  13. ^ a b "John O. Dabiri's Profile | Stanford Profiles". profiles.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  14. ^ "President Biden Announces Members of President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology". White House. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  15. ^ "About NVIDIA". NVIDIA. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  16. ^ "John Dabiri Awarded National Medal of Science". California Institute of Technology. 2025-01-07. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  17. ^ "Dabiri Appointed to Secretary of Energy Advisory Board". Brown Institute for Basic Sciences. 2021-10-15. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  18. ^ "John O. Dabiri, PhD Profile Page | XPRIZE Foundation". annualreport.xprize.org. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  19. ^ "2022 Newsletter of the U.S. National Committee on Theoretical & Applied Mechanics (USNC/TAM)". National Academies Sciences Engineering Medicine. Archived from the original on July 29, 2025. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Biological Propulsion Laboratory Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine. See the People page. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  21. ^ Caltech Field Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy Archived 2010-05-22 at the Wayback Machine. Includes list of relevant publications. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  22. ^ [1] Archived 2010-06-01 at the Wayback Machine Self-Contained Underwater Velocimetry Apparatus (SCUVA). Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  23. ^ [2] Archived 2010-12-23 at the Wayback Machine Renewable fluid dynamic energy derived from aquatic animal locomotion. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. IOPScience. Published 10 September 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  24. ^ [3] Archived 2011-09-04 at the Wayback Machine Whittlesey, R.W., Liska, S., Dabiri, J.O. Fish schooling as a basis for vertical axis wind turbine farm design. BIOINSPIRATION & BIOMIMETICS. IOPScience. Published 20 August 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  25. ^ "Schooling Fish Offer New Ideas for Wind Farming". California Institute of Technology. 2010-05-17. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  26. ^ a b c John Dabiri Unlocks the Mysteries of Jellyfish. Published 05 April 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  27. ^ Jellyfish engineer. Princeton Alumni Weekly. Published 21 October 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  28. ^ Simon R Anuszczyk and John O Dabiri, Electromechanical enhancement of live jellyfish for ocean exploration, 2024 Bioinspir. Biomim. 19 026018
  29. ^ John O. Dabiri, Do Swimming Animals Mix the Ocean?, American Scientist, July–August 2024, vol. 112, no. 4, p. 222.
  30. ^ Nicole W. Xu and John O. Dabiri, Low-power microelectronics embedded in live jellyfish enhance propulsion, Science Advances (2020).
  31. ^ John O. Dabiri and Anthony Leonard, Linear instability of viscous parallel shear flows: Revisiting the perturbation no-slip condition, arXiv:2308.14853
  32. ^ a b Prof of the Month. Filed 27 February 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  33. ^ Dabiri courses. Caltech ASCIT. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  34. ^ Jellyfish Engineer Archived 2012-03-08 at the Wayback Machine. Popular Science. Posted 15 October 2008. Retrieved 19 Jan 2018.
  35. ^ MacArthur Foundation. John Dabiri. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  36. ^ Caltech Today. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  37. ^ "NSF recognizes innovative science of chemist and aeronautical engineer as 2020 Waterman awardees". National Science Foundation. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  38. ^ "2023 Hutchinson Award Recipient". ASLO. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  39. ^ "John O. Dabiri". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  40. ^ "Princeton MAE alumnus honored with National Medal of Science | Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering". mae.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-26.
  41. ^ Weekes, Princess (July 25, 2022). "What Does the Gordy Subplot Mean in Jordan Peel[e]'s 'Nope'?". The Mary Sue. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022. Gordy may have been a friendly chimp[anzee], but he was still an animal, who shouldn't have been on a soundstage with chaotic elements that could scare him. He got startled and reacted as his instincts told him to act. The murder of Jupe's family confirms to OJ that this flying saucer isn't a ship, but a predatory cryptid, one-winged-angel-style creature that acts when its dominance is tested when people look straight at it.
  42. ^ Stefansky, Emma (July 25, 2022). "Inside the Eerie UFO Design for Jordan Peele's 'Nope'". Thrillist. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  43. ^ Egan, Toussaint (July 25, 2022). "The inspirations behind the monster in Nope". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022. Over the course of the film, the UAP ["unidentified aerial phenomenon"] assumes several terrifying forms, which make it roughly something of a cross between a shark, a flying saucer, a manta ray, a flat humongous man-eating eyeball, and a "biblically accurate" angel, [with] Jean Jacket's appearance and design most closely resembl[ing] those of Sahaquiel, the 10th Angel, which appears in the 12th episode of the original 1995 anime, "A Miracle's Worth," and the second film in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy, Evangelion[:] 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, [with] Jordan Peele [ mak[ing] his fandom of the series clear on Twitter in the days leading up to the film's release.
  44. ^ Adlakha, Siddhant (July 20, 2022). "IGN: Nope Review". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022. (the design of this apparent saucer is, initially, shocking in its simplicity, but by the end, you may as well call it "Biblically accurate").

Notable publications

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