Aref Yadollahi, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Introduction

Aref Yadollahi is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering. His research and teaching interests include additive manufacturing, fatigue and fracture mechanics, solid mechanics, and materials science.

Research Overview

My recent research focuses on the microstructural and mechanical properties of additively manufactured materials. I work on quantifying their reliability and developing predictive tools for their performance under both monotonic and cyclic loading. This involves a range of laboratory tests and computational modeling techniques.

Just as a talented composer “hears” a sound before writing it down on the score, a good engineer should be able to visualize structures and processes – through a combination of rules, models, and instincts – where there’s nothing apparent. It’s not only about what one sees; it’s also about the unseen!

Select Publications

Yadollahi, A. and Shirvani, M., 2026. Intentionally seeded defects for systematic assessment of defect-controlled fatigue in additively manufactured metals. International Journal of Fatigue, p.109812.

Tahsin, Z., Yadollahi, A. and Thompson, S.M., 2026. High-temperature creep failure mechanisms of Inconel 718 fabricated via additive manufacturing: influence of build orientation and geometric discontinuities. Engineering Failure Analysis, p.110922.

Yadollahi, A., Buiter, L., Mahtabi, M.J., Doude, H.R., Rhee, H. and Newman Jr, J.C., 2024. Fatigue Life and Crack Growth Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V Fabricated via Laser Directed Energy Deposition. Materials Performance and Characterization, 13(2).

Seifi, S.H., Nellippallil, A.B., Tian, W., Yadollahi, A., Bian, L. and Prabhu, R.K., 2025. A robust design exploration approach for the integrated inverse design of additive manufacturing process chain. International Journal on Interactive Design and Manufacturing (IJIDeM), 19(3), pp.2303-2315.

Buiter, L., Yadollahi, A. and Newman Jr, J.C., 2025. Fatigue‐Life Prediction of Additively Manufactured Material: Effects of Defect Spacing and Multi‐Site Damage. Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures, 48(11), pp.4860-4878.

Mahtabi, M., Yadollahi, A., Stokes, R., Doude, H. and Priddy, M., 2023. Effect of build interruption during laser powder bed fusion process on structural integrity of Ti-6Al-4V. Engineering Failure Analysis, 153, p.107626.

Teaching Focus

Professor Aref has taught a wide range of introductory and advanced courses in solid mechanics, materials science, manufacturing and automotive engineering.

Previous Roles

• Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University Northwest (2023-2026).
• Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Alabama (2020-2022).

Why I Became an Engineer

I became an engineer because an engineering degree can provide you with a career that has lots of freedom and excitement. As an engineer, you can work virtually in any field, even non-engineering fields!

What Engineers Can Do to Make a Difference

The real world is full of constraints that make or break potential. Engineers can bring dreams one step closer to fruition by finding the best possible solution under the given constraints. Taking this one step forward makes a huge difference!