Biography
Ambreen Nisar is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Florida International University (FIU), where she leads research at the intersection of ceramic additive manufacturing, ultra-high-temperature materials, and advanced interfacial engineering. Her work focuses on developing next-generation structural ceramics and multifunctional composites through innovative approaches including 3D printing, cold spray deposition, unconventional spark plasma sintering, and ceramic–metal joining for extreme environments.
Nisar’s research vision centers on understanding and controlling the process–structure–property relationships in ceramic systems by integrating advanced in-situ characterization with emerging AI- and ML-enabled materials design. Her contributions aim to accelerate the development of resilient, lightweight ceramics for energy, aerospace, hypersonics, defense, and nuclear applications while establishing interdisciplinary educational pathways in ceramic additive manufacturing.
She serves as PI and Co-PI on multiple federally funded research programs, including grants from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and NASA. Her innovations have resulted in more than 55 peer-reviewed publications, 10+ U.S. patents, and significant advances in ultra-high-temperature ceramics (UHTCs), high-entropy materials, and oxidation-resistant ceramic coatings.
Nisar has trained over 30 undergraduate and graduate researchers across FIU, UBC, and IIT Kanpur. Her excellence in scholarship is recognized through numerous awards, including becoming a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (2024), the Pradeep Metals Ph.D. Award, the IBM Best Thesis Award, and the National Postdoctoral Fellowship (SERB, India).
She earned her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, following dual master’s degrees in Nanotechnology and Physics. Through her research, teaching, and mentorship, Nisar continues to contribute to the advancement of high-performance ceramic materials and the broader materials engineering community
Awards & Honors
- Recognized as an academic inventor who have demonstrated remarkable innovation producing technologies that have brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society (Link)
- Certificate of Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing, Elsevier 2016-2025
- Senior Member, National Academy of Inventors (NAI) 2024
- Awarded in recognition of consistent, high-quality peer review for multiple journals
- National Postdoctoral Fellowship 2017
- A fellowship for training as independent research by Science Engineering Research Board, India
- Pradeep Metals Ph.D. Award 2017
- Presented by ASM India National council for distinguished Doctoral research in Materials Science & Engineering
- IBM Best Thesis Award 2017
- Presented by IBM, India competing against ~120 doctoral students at IIT Kanpur, India
- Department of Science & Technology, India Travel Grant 2015
- Awarded with DST-SERB-ITS/3643/2015-206 Government of India, grant to attend an international conference MS&T 2015 in US
- Doctoral Fellowship 2012
- To pursue doctoral degree at IIT-Kanpur from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, India
- Best Poster Award 2012
- At Advanced Functional Materials and Structures workshop held in Allahabad
- University Gold Medal 2012
- For securing first position with honors in M.Tech. (Nanotechnology) at AMU, India
- University Gold Medal 2008
- For securing highest marks in Mathematics in B.Sc. at D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, India
- Sheo Nidhi Lal Srivastava Memorial Medal 2008
- For obtaining highest marks in B.Sc. at St. Andrew’s College, D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, India
- Smt. Rai Kanan Prasad Memorial Prize 2008
- For obtaining highest marks in all classes among the girl candidates at St. Andrew’s College, D.D.U., Gorakhpur University, India
Education
- Ph.D., Materials Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, 2017, India
- M.Tech., Nanotechnology, Aligarh Muslim University, 2012, India
- MS, Physics, Aligarh Muslim University, 2010, India
- BS, Physics and Mathematics, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, 2008, India