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Dr. Amin Mivehchi

Biography

Dr. Amin Mivehchi is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the WAVE Program, UWF’s blue-economy innovation initiative at the Port of Pensacola. His work connects mechanical engineering, ocean engineering, fluid dynamics, robotics, renewable energy, workforce development, technology commercialization, and regional economic development.

Mivehchi’s research is inspired by the way fish and other aquatic animals move efficiently through water. By studying bio-inspired swimming, schooling, and near-surface locomotion, he develops new concepts for underwater robotics, marine propulsion, fluid-structure interaction, and riverine and tidal renewable-energy systems. His research combines experimental fluid mechanics, numerical modeling, hydrodynamic analysis, and system-level design to address challenges in marine and water-based engineering.

Before joining UWF, Mivehchi served as a Research Scientist III at Lehigh University, where he contributed to externally funded research programs in bio-inspired locomotion, fluid-structure interaction, and marine renewable energy. He has authored publications in leading journals, including the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Physical Review Fluids, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, and the AIAA Journal. His work has focused on topics such as oscillating hydrofoils, hydrodynamic interactions, fish-inspired propulsion, and energy extraction from moving water.

In addition to his academic research, Mivehchi is deeply interested in translating university research into practical technologies, startups, and regional impact. He is a startup founder focused on bio-inspired riverine and tidal hydrokinetic energy systems and has participated in entrepreneurial and commercialization programs, including NSF I-Corps and the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. At UWF, he is especially interested in connecting students, faculty, industry partners, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and regional stakeholders to support applied research, workforce development, technology commercialization, and blue-economy growth.

Mivehchi earned his Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering from the University of Rhode Island and his B.Sc. and M.S. in Naval Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology. Outside of his academic and entrepreneurial work, he enjoys hiking, water sports, and exploring coastal environments.

Amin loves meeting new people and believes that meaningful innovation happens when people from different backgrounds, experiences, and disciplines come together. Whether you are a prospective student, a local business, a fellow founder, an industry partner, a community member, or simply curious about WAVE, he welcomes the opportunity to connect. Stop by, send a note, or grab a coffee — his door and inbox are always open.

Research

Dr. Mivehchi believes that nature is rich with solutions that can help address some of our hardest engineering challenges, and that an engineer’s job is to learn from those systems and translate those lessons into technologies that make a real difference in people’s lives. His research looks to the natural world for inspiration and applies those principles to practical technologies for energy, mobility, robotics, and resilience.

He works across the full arc of innovation: combining experimental, computational, and data-driven methods to understand the underlying science, then carrying those insights toward deployable real-world systems and, increasingly, toward startups, products, and services that reach the people and communities who need them.

His work spans several areas:

  • Clean and alternative energy: Efficient, low-cost systems that harvest power from rivers, tides, and ocean currents.
  • Robotics and autonomous systems: Agile and efficient underwater, surface, and aerial vehicles.
  • Maritime, naval, and ocean engineering: Vessel and propulsion design for defense, transport, and ocean exploration.
  • Technology translation and the blue economy: Turning research into companies, jobs, and regional economic growth.

Underpinning all of this is a foundation in fluid mechanics, fluid-structure interaction, and bio-inspired design: the science of how real, moving bodies interact with the water and air around them.

Through the WAVE Program, Dr. Mivehchi connects students, faculty, local businesses, startups, and regional partners around marine technology, renewable energy, robotics, testing, prototyping, and entrepreneurship. This work supports applied research, workforce development, technology commercialization, and economic growth in Northwest Florida’s blue economy.

Publications

Selected publications are listed below. A full publication list is available on Dr. Mivehchi’s Google Scholar profile.

  • Han, T., Mivehchi, A., Sarraf, S.S., and Moored, K.W., “Tailoring Formations of Self-Organizing Hydrofoil Schools Towards High Efficiency,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 1012, A26, 2025.
  • Ormonde, P.C., Kurt, M., Mivehchi, A., and Moored, K.W., “Two-Dimensionally Stable Self-Organization Arises in Simple Schooling Swimmers Through Hydrodynamic Interactions,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 1000, A90, 2024.
  • Han, T., Zhong, Q., Mivehchi, A., Quinn, D.B., and Moored, K.W., “Revealing the Mechanism and Scaling Laws Behind Equilibrium Altitudes of Near-Ground Pitching Hydrofoils,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 978, A5, 2024.
  • Ayancik, F., Mivehchi, A., and Moored, K.W., “Scaling Laws for Three-Dimensional Combined Heaving and Pitching Propulsors,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 60, No. 5, 2022.
  • Han, T., Kurt, M., Mivehchi, A., and Moored, K.W., “Tailoring the Bending Pattern of Non-Uniformly Flexible Pitching Propulsors Enhances Propulsive Efficiency,” Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2022.
  • Mivehchi, A., Kurt, M., Zhong, Q., Quinn, D.B., and Moored, K.W., “Scaling Law for Propulsive Performance of a Pitching Foil in Ground Effect,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 919, 2021.
  • Akoz, E., Mivehchi, A., and Moored, K.W., “Intermittent Unsteady Propulsion with a Combined Heaving and Pitching Foil,” Physical Review Fluids, Vol. 6, No. 4, 043101, 2021.
  • Mivehchi, A., Dahl, J., and Licht, S., “Thrust and Lift Generation of Heaving and Pitching Oscillating Foil Propulsion in Ground Effect,” Journal of Fluids and Structures, Vol. 63, 2016.

Keywords: bio-inspired engineering, fluid mechanics, fluid-structure interaction, marine renewable energy, underwater robotics, blue economy