Mohammadhadi Hajilou

Shiley School of Engineering, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

Mohammadhadi Hajilou

Email:

Phone:
503.943.7156

Address:
Shiley Hall 226

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About

Mohammadhadi (Hadi) Hajilou is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Portland's Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering. Dr. Hajilou joined the faculty at UP in 2022. Prior to joining UP, he held postdoctoral positions at the University of Maryland, College Park; Missouri University of Science and Technology where he also served as a lecturer in heat transfer; and the Berkeley Fire Research Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.

His teaching spans thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, combustion, thermal systems laboratory, and engineering computing with applications, and he also leads a special topics course in Wildfire Research that bridges directly into his scholarly work.

Dr. Hajilou’s research focuses on wildfire dynamics, fire safety, emissions, chemical kinetics, and bioenergy. His recent work has examined the smoldering combustion of wildland fuels and common building materials under varying environmental conditions. He is a recipient of a research grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to investigate ember generation during wildfires and its role in the ignition of homes. His group studies firebrand generation, transport, and ignition, with a particular focus on understanding their role in wildfire spread and structure ignition in vulnerable wildland–urban interface (WUI) communities. Through these efforts, his group seeks to advance the fundamental understanding of combustion and wildfire processes while contributing to improved wildfire risk assessment, fire safety, and community resilience.

Dr. Hajilou is active in both university and professional service. At UP, he serves on the Academic Senate and the Shiley Grants Committee and has chaired Scholarship Day. Professionally, he serves as a board member of the Western States Section of the Combustion Institute and has been involved in Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Additionally, he is a reviewer for numerous leading journals including the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute and Fire Safety Journal.

Education

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Wyoming
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Kashan

Links

Selected Recent Publications

  1. Burton*, A. Henry*, R. Spring*, N. Bolden, K. Rivers, T. Rowley, M. Hajilou, “Characterization of the Effects of Fuel Size, Ignition Power, and Wind Speed on Smoldering Combustion and Emissions of Douglas Fir Lumber”, Comb. Sci. Tech (2026) 1-19, https://doi.org/10.1080/00102202.2026.2661273 (*Equal Contribution).
  2. Cui, J. Dowling, M. Hajilou, M. Huffman, B. Pawar, B. K. Gullett, J. Aurell, Q. Wang, E. Oran, K. N. Stone, M. Gollner, “Large-Scale Field Experiments on Enhancing In-Situ Burning with Fire Whirls”, Fuel 403 (1) (2026) 136093.
  3. Dowling, W. Cui, M. Hajilou, M. Gollner, “Fire Whirl Emissions and Burning Rates for Crude Oil Slicks of Varying Thickness”, Fuel 393 (2025) 138482.
  4. Ju, M. Lisano, M. Hajilou, P. B. Sunderland, S. I. Stoliarov, L. Yang, M. J. Gollner, “Quantification of Firebrand Generation from WUI Fuels for Model Development: Firebrand Production Rate, Surface Temperature and Heat Release Rate”, Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 40 (2024) 105729.
  5. L. Carmignani, M. Hajilou, J. Cobian-Iñiguez, M. Finney, S. L. Stephens, M. Gollner, C. Fernandez-Pello, “Smoldering of Wood: Effects of Wind and Fuel Geometry”, Fire Technology 60 (2024) 1667-1683, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-024-01542-8