Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 2016
  • M.A., Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 2009
  • B.A., Applied Mathematics and Physics, University of California, Berkeley, 2006
Licenses & Certifications
  • 40-Hour Hazardous Waste Operation and Emergency Response Certification (HAZWOPER)
Professional Honors
  • Jackson C. Koo Award in Condensed Matter Physics, 2015
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor, 2007-2008
  • R&D 100 Award for "Extended Pressure Inductive Coupled Plasma-synthesized Boron Nitride Nanotubes (EPIC BNNTs)," 2015
Professional Affiliations
  • National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI)
  • American Physical Society (APS)
  • Materials Research Society (MRS)
  • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
  • Engineers Without Borders
Languages
  • Azerbaijani
  • Persian

Dr. Fathalizadeh is an applied physicist whose expertise spans the fields of physics, materials science, and electrical sciences. He has considerable experience in the failure analysis of consumer electronics at the system, device, board and component level. 

Dr. Fathalizadeh's work focuses on fire and thermal investigations, including those involving large body structures, vehicles, consumer electronics, and batteries. He also investigates the human interaction with and safety of electronic products, and has led internationally based research efforts towards these ends. He has an extensive background in electrical and materials characterization as well as materials synthesis, lithographic fabrication, optical characterization techniques, and electron microscopy.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Fathalizadeh completed his Ph.D. in physics at the University of California, Berkeley under faculty advisor Alex Zettl. As a graduate student, his research in the field of solid-state physics broadly focused on the synthesis, characterization, and application of carbon and boron nitride based nanomaterials. In one of his main efforts, he led a team on the design, building, testing, and successful implementation of a novel synthesis process that involves the feeding of precursor material into an inductively coupled RF thermal plasma capable of operation at above atmospheric pressure. It was the first inductively coupled plasma capable of operation at hyperbaric pressures. This system was able to produce high quality nanotubes of boron nitride at record yields, several hundred times greater than what was previously achievable. The method was patented and this novel system received a R & D 100 award.