About Me

Hello! I am Ahmed Allam, an Assistant Professor at the department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Currently, I am leading the UC Metasonics lab which builds acoustic systems that tackle global challenges such as climate monitoring and affordable healthcare. My work focuses on emerging domains such as low-power underwater and in-body sensing, additive manufacturing, and industry 4.0. It spans:

• Ultrasonic power and data transfer systems
• Underwater IoT and backscatter communications
• Piezoelectric transducers modeling and design
• Acoustic metamaterials and 3D-printed materials
• Ultrasonic phased arrays and non-destructive testing (NDT)
• Acoustic testing and automation

My Bio

I graduated top of my class and completed a BSc and MSc in Mechatronics Engineering from Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 2017 and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, in 2021.

I did my Master’s in CVS3 the largest acoustics research center in the middle east, under the supervision of Prof. Wael Akl and Prof. Adel Elsabbagh. In my Master’s thesis, I developed active acoustic metamaterials whose properties can be programmed electronically from a graphical interface. I completed my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Alper Erturk and Prof. Karim Sabra at Georgia Tech. During my PhD, I:

1. built systems that use ultrasound to transfer power and communicate underwater and through metals,
2. built acoustic meta-lenses built using desktop 3D printers to focus sound underwater and in-air,
3. developed piezoelectric transducers to provide simultaneous power and data to IoT sensors, and
4. developed new techniques to inspect 3D-printed metals using ultrasonic waves.
   

I did a Postdoc with Prof. Fadel Adib at the MIT Media Lab in which I developped battery-free underwater sensing and communication systems for ocean monitoring and exploration.