Department Research Focus Areas
Get ready to dive in because research opportunities are all around you at Herff! As one of only two public universities in Tennessee classified as research intensive, the UofM offers its students remarkable research opportunities in graduate-level labs, while still in undergraduate studies. Herff prides itself on the world-class research endeavors of our faculty. As early as freshman year, students are likely be invited by faculty members or mentors to work on research or design projects that match up with their interests. Students might also get the opportunity to share their findings through professional publications and presentations.
Primary departmental research focus areas are:
Research Areas
Explore how biomedical engineers at the University of Memphis are advancing healthcare through innovation, discovery, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Our faculty and students work at the intersection of engineering, medicine, and life sciences to address some of the most pressing challenges in human health. Through partnerships with clinicians, hospitals, research institutions, and industry leaders, Memphis Biomedical Engineering researchers are developing technologies that improve diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and patient outcomes.
Our research spans five core areas that define the department's strengths and drive its impact across the biomedical landscape.
Researchers in biomaterials develop advanced materials that interact safely and effectively with the human body. Their work includes tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, drug delivery systems, antimicrobial materials, and next-generation biomedical implants. By combining materials science, biology, and engineering, researchers are creating solutions that accelerate healing, restore function, and improve quality of life.
Biomechanics research focuses on understanding how forces affect the human body and applying that knowledge to improve healthcare technologies. Our faculty investigates musculoskeletal mechanics, cardiovascular biomechanics, and patient-specific computational modeling. These efforts support the development of medical devices, surgical planning tools, and therapies that enhance mobility and patient care.
Researchers in bioelectricity study the electrical activity that drives the body's most complex systems, including the heart and nervous system. Using computational models, experimental studies, and advanced signal analysis, faculty explore cardiac electrophysiology, brain stimulation technologies, and bioelectronic therapies. Their work seeks to improve treatments for neurological and cardiovascular disorders while advancing our understanding of human physiology.
Medical imaging researchers develop new technologies that enable clinicians to see, diagnose, and treat disease more effectively. Areas of focus include ultrasound imaging systems, image-guided therapies, diagnostic instrumentation, and emerging imaging technologies. By translating engineering innovations into clinical applications, researchers are helping deliver more accurate diagnoses and less invasive treatments.
The Biomedical Engineering department is driving advancements in bioheat transfer by bridging the gap between engineering theory and clinical thermal therapies. Research within the department focuses on the complex experimental and computational modeling of how heat moves through biological systems to optimize targeted disease treatments. By refining how controlled thermal energy interacts with living tissue, these efforts directly enhance the precision, safety, and effectiveness of life-saving clinical procedures like thermal ablation and hyperthermia.
Civil Engineering
- Ground Water Studies
- Geotechnical Engineering
- Earthquake Engineering
- Transportation Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Soft Computing
Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Electrical Systems
- Imaging sensors & electronic devices
- Computer hardware/software co-design
- Sensor networks
- Biomedical Systems
- Intracranial pressure monitoring
- Medical image processing
- Medical data visualization
- Intelligent Information Systems
- Knowledge Engineering/Semantic Web
- Scientific & Engineering data visualization
- Image & multi-media processing
- Computer learning technologies
- Optical Instrumentation
- Smart Grid
- Power Systems
- Cybersecurity in Power Grids
Engineering Technology
- Industrial Automation & Control Systems
- Operational Systems Enhancement
- Electronic Communications
- Internet Protocols and Software Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Research Focus Areas
Faculty in this focus area specialize in predictive modeling, simulation, optimization, and scientific machine learning to solve complex engineering problems to advance fluid mechanics, nonlinear systems, materials, and multi-physics applications using high-performance and data-driven computational methods.
Faculty: Dr. Daniel Foti, Dr. Jeffrey Marchetta, Dr. Yong Hoon Lee, Dr. Vipin Agarwal, Dr. Yue Guan
Faculty in this focus area develop fundamental and applied solutions for fluid flow, heat transfer, turbulence, energy conversion, and transport processes that impact aerospace systems, renewable energy, and sustainable technologies.
Faculty: Dr. Daniel Foti, Dr. Jeffrey Marchetta, Dr. Yong Hoon Lee, Dr. Alexander Headley, Dr. Ranganathan Gopalakrishnan
Faculty in this focus area use their expertise for the discovery, processing, characterization, and advanced manufacturing techniques such as additive manufacturing of materials and structures to improve performance, durability, reliability, and sustainability in automotive, aerospace, transportation, energy, defense, and other industrial systems.
Faculty: Dr. Ali Fatemi, Dr. Amir Hadadzadeh, Dr. Seyed Mohammad Jojjatzadeh, Dr. Okenwa Okoli, Dr. Gladius Lewis
Faculty in this focus area investigate the behavior, control, and intelligent operation of mechanical and structural systems through research in solid mechanics, fracture mechanics, nonlinear dynamics, vibrations, controls, robotics, sensing, and autonomous technologies.
Faculty: Dr. Vipin Agarwal, Dr. Ali Fatemi, Dr. Yue Guan, Dr. Yong Hoon Lee, Dr. Gladius Lewis
Faculty in this focus area apply their expertise to biological systems and healthcare technologies through research in biomechanics, biomaterials, biomedical devices, microfluidics, rehabilitation technologies, and human-centered engineering solutions.
Faculty: Dr. Gladius Lewis, Dr. Yuan Gao, Dr. Yue Guan, Dr. Vipin Agarwal