Dr. Zahra Niroobakhsh, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering in UMKC’s School of Science and Engineering, has received a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award. The five-year award will support her project, “CAREER: Enabling Design of In Situ Forming Lipid-based Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Gels at Liquid-Liquid Interfaces.” The award runs from July 2026 through June 2031.

The NSF CAREER program recognizes early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in both research and education. Dr. Niroobakhsh’s award reflects the strength of her research program and will also create important opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to participate in cutting-edge research. The project budget includes support for both graduate and undergraduate researchers.

“This is a tremendous achievement and an important recognition of Zahra’s work as both a researcher and educator,”said SSE Dean Miguel Mostafá. “We are very proud to have her as a member of our School, and I look forward to seeing the impact of this project and the opportunities it will create for our students.”

Dr. Niroobakhsh is a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering and leads the NIROO PRISM Lab at UMKC.