Mohsen Shahinpoor

In 2007, Shahinpoor joined University of Maine as a Professor of Biomedical Science and Engineering and held appointment as Richard C. Hill Professor till 2014. He was then appointed as Professor of Mechanical Engineering at University of Maine.

In the 2000s, Shahinpoor authored review papers on IPMCs and discussed the manufacturing techniques, phenomenological laws and mechanical characteristics of the composites along with the methodologies in developing high-force-density IPMCs. He also presented various modeling and simulation techniques, along with industrial and biomedical applications of IPMCs.

Shahinpoor has conducted extensive research on ionic polymeric-metal composites (IPMCs) and in a paper published in 1995, he explained the micro-electro-mechanics of ionic polymeric gels as electrically controllable artificial muscles. He introduced the mathematical modeling relating to IPMCs and identified the key parameters based on the vibrational and resonance characteristics of sensors and actuators made with IPMCs. He presented the successful working of artificial muscles in harsh cryogenic environments. Shahinpoor, along with Kwang J. Kim, published a paper in 2000s and presented a fabrication method for adjusting the scale of IPMC artificial muscles in a strip size of micro-to-centimeter thickness.

Shahinpoor authored a paper in the late 1990s on the development of effective EAP driven mechanisms, which emulate human hand such as a gripper, manipulator arm and a surface wiper; and also highlighted the need for greater actuation force capability.

Shahinpoor joined the University of New Mexico in 1984 as a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. During his tenure at the university, he was appointed as Regents Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 1984 till 2002, and was twice appointed as Halliburton Endowed Chair Professor of CAD/CAM, CIM & Robotics. Shahinpoor also held secondary appointments at University of New Mexico's School of Medicine as a Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering from 1996 till 2002, and as a Research Professor of Surgery from 2002 till 2007.

Following his doctoral studies, Shahinpoor went back to Iran and was employed by Shiraz University as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1972 and to Professor of Mechanical Engineering in 1976. He then moved back to the US and taught as a Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Clarkson University from 1979 till 1984.

Shahinpoor chaired the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Shiraz University in the early 1970s, and co-directed the Robotics & Manufacturing Center at Clarkson University in the 1980s. At University of Mexico, Shahinpoor served as Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department for seven years, along with directing the Intelligent Materials, Structures and Systems Laboratory, CAD/CAM, CIM & Robotics Laboratories, Spine Biomechatronics Laboratory, and the Artificial Muscle Research Institute. He has also served as an Associate Dean of Engineering from 1993 till 1995 at the University of New Mexico. In 2002, he was appointed as a Chief Scientist and Director of Biomedical Products at Environmental Robots Incorporated. He is serving as the Director of the Advanced Robotics Laboratory, the Director of the Smart Materials, Artificial Muscles and Tissue Manufacturing Laboratory, and the Director of the Biomedical Engineering and Robotic Surgery Laboratory at the University of Maine, since 2007.

Shahinpoor completed his initial education from Iran and received his B.Sc. degree in Chemical, Materials and Petroleum Engineering from Abadan Institute of Technology's College of Engineering in 1966. He then moved to USA and received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Delaware in 1968 and 1970, respectively. From 1971 till 1972, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins University.

Mohsen (MO) Shahinpoor (born 1943) is an Iranian American engineer, scientist, and academician. He is a professor and Director at the University of Maine College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is also a professor in the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering at the University of Maine.