Sima Asadi

Dr. Sima Asadi serves as the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame since January 2024, conducting pioneering research at the intersection of transport phenomena, soft matter rheology, and bioaerosol science to address infectious disease transmission challenges. Her work integrates experimental and theoretical approaches to develop medical technologies targeting respiratory pathogen spread.

Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UC Davis (2020), where her dissertation on 'airborne infectious disease transmission via expiratory aerosol particles and aerosolized fomites' earned the Zuhair A. Munir Award for Best Doctoral Dissertation, an M.S. in Chemical/Polymer Engineering from Sharif University of Technology (2012), and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tabriz (2009). Postdoctoral training at MIT Chemical Engineering under Prof. Patrick Doyle focused on shape-engineered alginate particles for biomedical applications.

Research interests center on three critical areas: elucidating physics of pathogen-laden respiratory droplet formation in human airways; developing single-droplet analysis platforms for bioaerosol composition measurement; and investigating aerosolized fomites (non-respiratory particles from contaminated surfaces) in disease transmission. Her experimental toolkit includes microfluidics, rheometry, high-speed imaging, human/animal experiments, and infectivity assays to bridge engineering principles with health outcomes.

Publications reveal consistent focus on airborne transmission mechanics, with 15 recent articles spanning influenza, COVID-19, and fundamental aerosol physics. Key trends include quantifying speech-induced aerosol emission, mask efficacy limitations due to sealing imperfections, and the controversial role of aerosolized fomites in bypassing respiratory transmission pathways. Her work has reshaped pandemic response strategies through evidence-based analysis of ventilation, vocalization, and surface contamination risks.

Major recognitions include the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface (2022) and UC Davis College of Engineering's top dissertation prize (2021). Additional honors comprise multiple travel grants from the International Aerosol Conference and UC Davis Graduate Studies, graduate poster prizes, and Iranian national fellowships from Pars Oil and Gas Company and the Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council.

Dr. Asadi actively recruits PhD students and postdoctoral scholars through the Notre Dame CBE program, currently leading a lab focused on microfluidic device design for respiratory droplet analysis. Current projects include 'Elucidating the physics of pathogen-laden respiratory droplet formation' with human experiments and rheometry, and developing single-droplet pathogen load measurement techniques. Her team collaborates across medical, engineering, and public health disciplines to translate fundamental findings into infection control solutions.