Outstanding Faculty Award
Hussein Aluie receives the 2026 Edmund A. Hajim Outstanding Faculty Award
Professor Hussein Aluie from the Department of Mechanical Engineering is being recognized for his exceptional contributions in research, teaching, mentorship, and service with the 2026 Edmund A. Hajim Outstanding Faculty Award.
Following a postdoctoral fellowship at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Aluie joined the University of Rochester faculty in 2014, was promoted to associate professor in 2020, and became a full professor in 2024. He also holds appointments as a senior scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics and as a professor in the Department of Mathematics.
An interdisciplinary researcher, Aluie’s research ranges from fluid mechanics to high-energy-density science to climate science. He was named a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) in 2025 and his work has been published in high impact journals including Nature, Nature Communications, and Science Advances. He has received approximately $8 million in sponsored research funding, including a prestigious Department of Energy Early Career Award.
“Hussein’s work in multiscale flows and turbulence has been transformative in shaping how climate scientists understand the oceanic and atmospheric circulations,” says Renato Perucchio, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Hussein’s scholarly work exemplifies his rare ability to apply deep expertise in fluid mechanics in original and creative ways that have reshaped thinking in an entirely different discipline.”
Aluie’s professional service includes serving as chair of the APS Group on the Physics of Climate and on the APS Committee on Scientific Publications. At the University, he has served on the University Faculty Council, on an ad-hoc tenure committee within the Office of the Provost, and as a founding member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s engagement and enrichment committee.
Aluie receives consistently high marks on student evaluations from undergraduate and graduate students for his advanced courses in topics such as fluid dynamics, turbulence, and incompressible flow. His former PhD students have gone on to tenure track positions at top universities including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, government labs such as Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and companies like Huawei.
“Hussein has made singular and highly prominent research contributions, while maintaining the highest caliber of teaching, mentorship, and service,” says Perucchio. “There is no ambiguity about the intellectual center and originality of his work.”