Murat Inalpolat

Murat Inalpolat is a Professor and Associate Chair for Doctoral Studies in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Francis College of Engineering. He leads research projects related to wind energy, aerospace and automotive technologies and serves as an Associate Editor for the ASME Letters in Dynamic Systems and Controls Journal. In 2022, he was awarded the prestigious NASA Faculty Fellowship for work on aircraft electrification.

His research focuses on structural health monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics of rotating machinery, damage detection and identification, probabilistic design and analysis, uncertainty quantification, reliability and sustainability, electric propulsion, and wind energy. His work combines theoretical modeling with experimental validation to address complex structural dynamics and acoustic challenges.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on wind turbine blade monitoring using acoustic sensing techniques, with several papers addressing damage detection methods, vibration analysis, and structural health monitoring systems for operational wind turbines. His research bridges theoretical modeling with practical engineering applications.

• NASA Fellow – Electrification of Aircrafts (2022)
• UML ME Department's Teaching Excellence Award (2020)
• Chancellor's recognition for Research Excellence and Productivity (2020)
• ASME Engineering Design Engineering Division Service Recognition Award (2019)
• CTI's Young Drive Experts award (2009)

Professor Inalpolat has successfully advised numerous graduate students in mechanical engineering, with recent thesis topics focusing on structural health monitoring, wind turbine analysis, and dynamic systems. He leads significant research projects including a $1.4 million DOE grant for monitoring wind turbine blades and an NSF IUCRC WindStar project. His work has resulted in multiple patents related to turbomachinery design and clearance optimization.

He is a core faculty member of the Structural Dynamics and Acoustic Systems Laboratory (SDASL), which he joined in 2014, significantly expanding the lab's capabilities in structural health monitoring, rotating machinery, and nonlinear dynamics. The lab is well-equipped for structural dynamic, acoustical, modal analysis, and control system experiments and modeling.