Amin Mirkouei, Ph.D., P.E.

• Sustainable Design and Manufacturing
• Operations Research
• Energy Systems Modeling
• Life Cycle Assessment
• Real-Time Data Analytics
• Bioenergy Production Processes
• Advanced & Smart Manufacturing
• Logistics & Supply Chain Planning
• Project Management
• Network Optimization
• Cyber-physical Systems

Dr. Amin Mirkouei is an Associate Professor of Renewable and Sustainable Manufacturing in College of Engineering at University of Idaho (UI), certified Professional Engineer (PE), experienced Technologist, and Sustainability Contributor at Forbes Magazine. He has over 11 years of experience contributing and leading cross-disciplinary projects in decarbonization technologies, renewable materials, sustainable energy systems, design and manufacturing, cyber-physical control and optimization, and operations research, particularly renewable fuels, green chemicals, and rare earth elements and minerals from various waste streams, such as biomass feedstocks, plastics wastes, e-wastes, and animal manure. He is a major advisor in Industrial Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Biological Engineering, and Environmental Science programs at UI in Idaho Falls, where he directs the Renewable and Sustainable Manufacturing Laboratory (RSML). RSML aims to maintain many research opportunities that can positively impact all segments of sustainable manufacturing, especially sustainable food-energy-water systems (FEWS). For further information, visit the Renewable and Sustainable Manufacturing Lab (RSML) website.

• Biotechnology Development: thermochemical (fast and slow pyrolysis) process, water treatment process for removing oversupply nutrients (phosphorus and ammonia), and phytomining process for e-waste recycling and rare earth elements recovery
• Renewable Materials Development: bio-oil, biochar, and green chemicals (furfural)
• Sustainability Assessment: life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic assessment (TEA)
• Conversion Processes and Modeling: thermochemical, electrochemical, and ultrasonic cavitation
• Smart Design and Manufacturing: cyber-physical monitoring, control, and optimization
• Operations Research and Management: logistics and supply chain optimization

• As PI: “Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Characterization,” UI-CAES Seed Grant, $10,000, 2023.
• As PI: “Life Cycle Assessment Tool Development,” University of Idaho P3-R1 Grant, $66,518, 2023.
• As UI PI: “Collaborative Research: Cyber Training: Implementation: Medium: Cyber Training of Construction (CyCon) Workforce Through an Educational and Community Engagement Platform,” National Science Foundation, CyberTraining, $359,828 (total $999,998), 2022.
• As PI: “Development of Idaho-Sourced Rare Earth Elements Drilling and Extraction,” IGEM, Idaho Dept. of Commerce (Supplemental), $92,177, 2022.
• As PI: “Development of Idaho-Sourced Rare Earth Elements Drilling and Extraction,” IGEM, Idaho Dept. of Commerce, $348,241 (total 1,453,241), 2022.
• As PI: “Carbonized Biomass Production and Characterization for Water Treatment System Across Aquaculture Facilities in Hagerman Valley,” United States Geological Survey Section 104(b) grant, $18,004, 2021.
• As PI: “Engineered, Porous-Structured Biochar for Removing Phosphorus in Water: Production, Characterization, And Sustainable Treatment,” United States Geological Survey Section 104(b) grant, $44,922, 2020.
• As Co-PI: “Biochar Meta-Analysis,” Idaho State University, $5,763, 2019.
• As PI: “ORED RISE Spring 2019 Meet Your Sponsor Grant Program,” University of Idaho, $1,500, 2019.
• As Co-PI: “Developing Collaborative Partnerships Grant Competition for Manure-based Biochar Production and Sustainability Analysis: Soil-Plant Improvement,” Idaho State University, $49,958, 2018.
• As PI: “Upgrading Bio-oil to Biofuels by Ultrasonic Cavitation with Solvents,” UI Office of Research and Economic Development, Equipment and Infrastructure Support Award, $10,193, 2018.
• As Co-PI: "An Educational Module for Sustainable Additive Manufacturing," CACHE Corp. (NSF-funded Sustainable Manufacturing Advances in Research and Technology Coordination Network), 2016.

• 2022 University of Idaho Interdisciplinary and Collaboration Excellence Award
• 2022 ASME/IDETC-DFMLC Best Paper Award
• Media coverage in publications such as Here We Have Idaho, Yahoo Finance, and Bloomberg.
• Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Scholar Award from ASME-IDETC Conference, 2016
• National Science Foundation Student Travel Award for IIE/ISERC Conference, 2016
• National Science Foundation Honorarium, To Develop a Sustainable Additive Manufacturing Educational Module, 2016
• Second Place, Industrial Engineering Graduate Research Expo Award, College of Engineering, Oregon State University, 2016
• Industrial Engineering Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, Oregon State University, 2015
• National Science Foundation Student Travel Award for ASME/MSEC Conference, 2015
• Student Scholarship, International Program, Oregon State University, 2014

• Member of the UI President’s Sustainability Working Group
• UI Safety and Loss Control Committee
• Chair of the UI-IF Environmental, Health, and Safety Committee
• Organizer for the ASME conference
• Editorial board member and reviewer, Nature Scientific Reports
• Service on federal agency panels as a proposal reviewer (e.g., NSF SBIR, USDA-NIFA, and NSF ERC programs
• Editorial Board: SciFed Journal of Metallurgical Science, 2017-Present
• Co-organizer: ASME-IDETC DFMLC, Design of Sustainable Energy Systems Symposium, 2017
• Article Reviewer: Applied Energy, Journal of Cleaner Production, BioResources, Sustainability, ASME-IDETC and -MSEC, IIE/ISERC and SME-NAMRC
• Session co-chair: ASME-IDETC, DFMLC, Charlotte, NC, 2016
• Session Chair: IISE-Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Conference, Anaheim, CA, 2016
• Fee Board Member: Student Sustainability Initiative, Oregon State University, 2015-2016
• School of Mech./Indus./Mfg. Eng. Steward: Coalition of Graduate Employees, Oregon State University, 2015-2016
• Affiliate Faculty Member of the Institute for Interdisciplinary STEM Education at Georgia Southern University, 2016-2017
• Member of Society of Manufacturing Engineers (2016-present), Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (2015-Present), and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2015-Present)

Dr. Mirkouei has published and co-authored over 50 articles in scientific journals and peer-reviewed conference proceedings. You can find the latest list of his publications on either Google Scholar, or ResearchGate.

• Mirkouei, A. †, K.R. Haapala, J. Sessions, and G.S. Murthy, 2017, “A Review and Future Directions in Techno-Economic Modeling and Optimization of Upstream Forest Biomass to Bio-oil Supply Chains,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, RSER6200, DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.08.053.
• Mirkouei, A. † and K. Kardel, 2017, “Enhance Sustainability Benefits Through Scaling-Up Bioenergy Production From Terrestrial And Algae Feedstocks," Proceedings of the 2017 ASME IDETC/CIE: 22^nd Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference, DETC2017-67014, August 6-9, 2017, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
• Mirkouei, A. †, Silwal B., and L. Ramiscal, 2017, “Enhancing Economic and Environmental Sustainability Benefits across the Design and Manufacturing of Medical Devices: A Case Study of Ankle Foot Orthosis,” Proceedings of the 2017 ASME IDETC/CIE: 22^nd Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference, DETC2017-68427, August 6-9, 2017, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
• Mirkouei, A. †, 2017, “Enhance Sustainability Benefits through Scaling-up Bioenergy Production from underutilized Feedstock,” Proceedings of the 2017 IIE/ISERC, ID # 2143, abstract accepted.
• Mirkouei, A. †, K.R. Haapala, J. Sessions, and G.S. Murthy, 2016, “A Mixed Biomass-based Energy Supply Chain for Enhancing Economic and Environmental Sustainability Benefits: A Multi-criteria Decision Making Framework,” Applied Energy, under review.
• Mirkouei, A. †, P. Mirzaie, K.R. Haapala, J. Sessions, and G.S. Murthy, 2016, “Reducing the cost and environmental impact of integrated fixed and mobile bio-oil refinery supply chains,” Journal of Cleaner Production, 113(2016):495-507, DOI:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.11023.
• Mirkouei, A. †, R. Bhinge, C. McCoy, K.R. Haapala, and D. Dornfeld, 2016, "A pedagogical Module Framework to Improve Scaffolded Active Learning in Manufacturing Engineering Education," Procedia Manufacturing, 5, pp. 1128–1142, DOI: 10.1016/j.promfg.2016.08.088.
• Mirkouei, A. †, K.R. Haapala, G.S. Murthy, and J. Sessions, 2016, “Evolutionary Optimization of Bioenergy Supply Chain Cost with Uncertain Forest Biomass Quality and Availability,” Proceedings of the 2016 IIE/ISERC, May 21-24, Anaheim, California, USA.
• Mirkouei, A. †, K.R. Haapala, G.S. Murthy, and J. Sessions, 2016, "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions For Sustainable Bio-Oil Production Using A Mixed Supply Chain," Proceedings of the 2016 ASME IDETC/CIE: 21^st Design for Manufacturing and the Life Cycle Conference, DETC2016-59262, August 21-25, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.
• Davarpanah M. A., A. Mirkouei, X.Yu, R. Malhotra †, and S. Pilla, 2015, “Effects of Incremental Depth and Tool Rotation on Failure Modes and Microstructural Properties in Single Point Incremental Forming of Polymers,” Journal of Materials Processing Technology, DOI:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2015.03.014.
• Mirkouei, A. † and K.R. Haapala, 2015, “A Network Model to Optimize Upstream and Midstream Biomass-to-Bioenergy Supply Chain Costs,” Proceedings of the ASME 2015 International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (MSEC), Paper MSEC2015-9355, June 8-12, Charlotte, NC, USA.
• Mirkouei, A. † and K.R. Haapala, 2014, “Integration of Machine-Learning and Mathematical Programming Methods into the Biomass Feedstock Supplier Selection Process,” 24^th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM), May 20-23, San Antonio, TX.