Massood Atashbar

Dr. Massood Z. Atashbar is a Western Michigan University professor of electrical and computer engineering. He received a B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Isfahan University of Technology, Iran, in 1989,a M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Sharif University of Technology, Iran, in 1992, and a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Communication and Electronic Engineering, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Melbourne, Australia, in 1998. 

From 1998 to 1999, he was a post-doctoral fellow with the Center for Electronic Engineering and Acoustic Materials, Pennsylvania State University, USA. He is currently a Presidential Innovation Professor, Distinguished Faculty Scholar, professor of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and the founding director at the Center for Advanced Smart Sensors and Structures (CASSS), Western Michigan University, USA. 

Atahbar has authored or co-authored more than 350 refereed articles, refereed conference proceedings, and four book chapters. Additionally, he holds more than ten patents and 35 intellectual property disclosures. He has secured over $13.5 million in funding as principal investigator or co-investigator from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and various industry partners. His research focuses on developing advanced physical and chemical sensors, medical systems for ECG monitoring and wound healing, triboelectric energy harvesting, and nanotechnology-driven advanced solutions. Atashbar is a fellow of the IEEE and NextFlex, and serves as co-chair of the Technical Working Group for NextFlex. He has served on the Editorial Board of the IEEE Journal of Flexible Electronics and was guest editor for the Biosensors journal’s special issue on printed and flexible sensors. From 2006 to 2016, he was an associate editor for the IEEE Sensors Journal. 

His honors include the WMU Office of Research and Innovation Excellence in Research awards (2024), Excellence in Discovery award (2018, 2020, 2021, 2022), the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Outstanding Researcher Award (2017), and Michigan’s 2019 SmartZone Best Small Business Honoree for the development of a smart helmet impact detection system.