“This honor is truly a recognition of 20 years of students and postdocs with whom I have been fortunate to work on various projects in my laboratory,” says Dabiri. “Many of them explored ideas that were a little unorthodox at the time. In many cases, they didn’t turn out the way we initially hoped, but we learned a lot along the way. My wish is that this recognition will be an encouragement to them and me to continue pursuing unconventional ideas despite the inevitable failures along the way and hope that our best work is still ahead of us.
Dabiri is known for its innovative approach to using fluid dynamics and bioinspired ideas to solve engineering problems, with a particular focus on energy and environmental applications. For example, in one project, Dabiri was interested in the strategies by which schooling fish adapt to turbulent wakes created by individual fish by synchronizing their movements as a group. He wonders if such strategies might suggest a better way to design wind farms. Because individual wind turbines create choppy air that reduces the performance of neighboring wind turbines, wind farms traditionally extend wind turbines as far out as possible and therefore require more land. But the behaviors of schooling fish, and even competitive cyclists, show that a group can outperform individuals in isolation. And, indeed, for about a decade at a site an hour north of Caltech, Dabiri’s group demonstrated that placing vertical-axis wind turbines next to each other—in a strategic formation—improves considerably their energy production efficiency.
“This is the kind of project that I think only happens at a place like Caltech,” Dabiri says. “I remember going to the division president at the time, Ares Rosakis, and asking him if we could buy land to build a wind farm and study these wind turbines. He asked about the ‘scientific objective and, during the same meeting, replied: ‘Sure, Go ahead!’ This ability to try something truly unorthodox is, to me, quintessential Caltech, and without this on-the-ground demonstration, I think it would have been difficult to convince people that this idea had merit. »
Dabiri’s group later showed that similar principles can also be applied to conventional horizontal axis wind turbines by “steering” their wake. His work has touched other areas ranging from early detection of heart disease to monitor ocean health using biohybrid robotic jellyfish.
In addition to his work in academia, Dabiri has held several leadership positions in science. It is an asset member of the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and the Secretary of the Energy Advisory Council; board member of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; and he is a board member of tech giant NVIDIA. He previously served on the National Academies Committee on Science, Technology, and Law, and was chair of the Fluid Dynamics Division of the American Physical Society.
Dabiri has received numerous awards, including one MacArthur FellowshipTHE Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and EngineersTHE Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award from the Association for Limnological and Oceanographic Sciences.
Additional Caltech Fellows
Eric Fossum, John H. Krehbiel Sr. Professor for Emerging Technologies at Dartmouth College, received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation for his invention of the complementary metal oxide (CMOS) active pixel image sensor, or “camera-on-a-chip.” Fossum developed the CMOS active pixel sensor while he was a senior research scientist and technical assistant section leader at JPL in the 1990s. This innovation is widely used today in cell phone cameras, webcams and medical imaging devices.
Caltech alumnus Larry Edwards, McKnight Regent and Distinguished Professor at the University of Minnesota, has been awarded the National Medal of Science for his work to improve radiocarbon dating techniques for the study of climate change history and chemistry of the oceans.
Established by Congress in 1959, the National Medal of Science is administered by the NSF and awarded to “those who deserve special recognition for outstanding contributions to science in the service of the United States.” The National Medal of Technology and Innovation was established by Congress in 1980 and is administered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. According to the White House, it recognizes “American innovators whose vision, intellect, creativity and determination have strengthened the American economy and improved our quality of life.”
Dabiri and Edwards join 66 other Caltech faculty, alumni and former postdocs and researchers, living and dead, who have won the National Medal of Science. Fossum joins 14 others who have won the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.