Amir Haji-Akbari

Professor Haji-Akbari is broadly interested in the application of the modern theoretical and computational tools rooted in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics to study the thermodynamics and kinetics of phase transitions in soft matter system. His particular focus is on crystallization and aggregation in colloidal, aqueous and biological systems.

Examples include the ice formation in the atmosphere, colloidal self-assembly and protein folding and aggregation.

• Yale Ackerman Award (2023)
   
• AIChE COMSEF Young Investigator Award (2019)
   
• NSF CAREER Award (2018)
   
• Distinguished Young Scholars' Seminar Series, University of Washington (2014)
   
• Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship, University of Michigan (2010)
   
• MSRT Fellowship for Exceptional Talents, Tehran, Iran (2002)

• "Correlations in Charged Multipore Systems: Implications for Enhancing Selectivity and Permeability in Nanoporous Membranes," Brian A. Shoemaker, Omar Khalifa, and Amir Haji-Akbari, ACS Nano, 18, 2, 1420–1431 (2024).
   
• "Divergence among Local Structure, Dynamics, and Nucleation Outcome in Heterogeneous Nucleation of Close-Packed Crystals," Tiago S. Domingues, Sarwar Hussain, and Amir Haji-Akbari, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters,  15, 1279–1287 (2024).
   
• "Role of Nanoscale Interfacial Proximity in Contact Freezing in Water," Sarwar Hussain, Amir Haji-Akbari, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 143 (5), 2272-2284 (2021)
   
• "Induced Charge Anisotropy: A Hidden Variable Affecting Ion Transport through Membranes," Hessam Malmir, Razi Epsztein, Menachem Elimelech, Amir Haji-Akbari, Matter, 2:1-16 (2020)
   
• "Forward-flux sampling with jumpy order parameters," Amir Haji-Akbari, J. Chem. Phys. 149: 072303 (2018)
   
• "Effect of Material Flexibility on the Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Hydrophobically Induced Evaporation of Water," Y. Elia Altabet, Amir Haji-Akbari, Pablo G. Debenedetti, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mar 2017, 114 (13) E2548-E2555.
   
• "Computational Investigation of Surface Freezing in a Molecular Model of Water," Amir Haji-Akbari, Pablo G. Debenedetti. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mar 2017, 114 (13) 3316-3321.
   
• "Perspective: Surface Freezing in Water: A Nexus of Experiments and Simulations," Amir Haji-Akbari, Pablo G. Debenedetti, The Journal of Chemical Physics 147, 060901 (2017).
   
• "Rating Antifreeze Proteins: Not A Breeze", Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113: 3714 (2016).
   
• "Direct Calculation of Ice Homogeneous Nucleation Rate for a Molecular Model of Water", Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 112, 10582 (2015).
   
• "The Effect of Substrate on Thermodynamic and Kinetic Anisotropies in Atomic Thin Films", J. Chem. Phys., 141, 024506 (2014).
   
• "Degenerate Quasicrystal of Hard Triangular Bipyramids", Phys. Rev. Lett., 107, 215702 (2011).
   
• "Disordered, Quasicrystalline and Crystalline Phases of Densely Packed Tetrahedral", Nature, 462, 773 (2009).