Modarres, Mohammad
Maryland Energy Innovation Institute
Center for Risk and Reliability
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1980
BACKGROUND
Dr. Mohammad Modarres is a prominent scientist and engineer specializing in risk and reliability engineering. He holds the Nicole J. Kim Eminent Professorship in Engineering and is a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at the University of Maryland (UMD). He co-founded the world’s first degree-granting graduate program in reliability engineering, along with the Center for Risk and Reliability at the University of Maryland over four decades ago. These programs have made a significant global impact, awarding over 500 Ph.D. and master’s degrees, and establishing UMD as the leading institution for education and research in risk and reliability. Additionally, he co-established the Nuclear Engineering Minor Degree in the UMD’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2005.
Dr. Modarres' research encompasses probabilistic risk assessment, the physics of failure, nuclear power plant safety, and fracture mechanics. His contributions include both experimental and probabilistic model development. He has authored numerous textbooks, book chapters, and over 500 scholarly papers, advancing the fields of reliability science, engineering, and risk analysis.
Dr. Modarres received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tehran Polytechnic, MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and MS and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from MIT.
SELECTED HONORS AND AWARDS
- Nicole J. Kim Eminent Professorship in Engineering
- Minta Martin Professorship in A.J. Clark School of Engineering
- University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher
- 2019 Tommy Thompson Award for outstanding lifetime contributions to nuclear safety, American Nuclear Society
- Fellow, American Nuclear Society
- Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
- Honorary Doctorate Degree in Engineering, Da Vinci University, Guatemala
- 1996 Maryland Inventor of the Year Award (in Information Sciences)
- FDA Commissioner Special Citation for Contributions to Risk Assessment Methods, 2004
- 2008 International Research Leadership Award conferred by the Society for Reliability Engineering, Quality and Operations Management
Probabilistic risk assessment, Nuclear power plant safety, Uncertainty analysis, Probabilistic physics of failure, Probabilistic fracture mechanics, Prognosis and Health Management (PHM), Applications of AI/ML to reliability engineering and risk assessment.
Recent Books and Journal Papers
For the complete list of Prof. Modarres' publications, please refer to his Website:
https://modarres.umd.edu/
November Alumni Spotlight - Ken Farquhar
Alumni SpotlightSeptember student spotlight
September spotlightCRR Coordinator DeAndre Jones receives 2025 Newcomer Staff Award
Coordinator recieves Newcomer staff AwardModarres Awarded Honorary Doctorate
Universidad Da Vinci de Guatemala recognizes professor for contributions to risk and reliability.CRR welcomes back Ruixue Li
Welcome back RuixueUMD Reliability Engineering Students Champion Young Scientists at PGASF
UMD Reliability Engineering Judges at PGASFRAMS 2025 Reliability Engineering Program Alumni Reception
UMD Reliability Engineering Program receptionCenter for Risk and Reliability (CRR) and the Center for Risk and Disaster Resilience host a Panel on Nuclear power plants
Panel discussionNovember Student Spotlight
Student SpotlightUMD Center for Risk and Reliability: Celebrating Summer Internship Achievements
UMD Center for Risk and Reliability: Celebrating Summer Internship AchievementsUMD’s Zhao to Lead New Dynamic PRA Study
Project aims to improve the computational efficiency of dynamic PRA.Student Spotlight: Eunseo So
Student SpotlightCRR Shines at PSA 2023
UMD CRR Shines at PSA 2023: Celebrating Excellence in Probabilistic Safety AssessmentCenter for Risk and Reliability Fosters Collaborative Environment
The Center for Risk and Reliability renovated their space to enhance multidisciplinary collaboration.Professor Modarres elevated to the rank of Life Fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Life Fellow of the IEEE'They Are Playing With a Huge Fire'
With Ukraine's massive Zaporizhzhia plant in Putin's crosshairs, nuclear facilities must be taken off battlefield, UMD risk expert says.Student Spotlight: Terry Crouch
Meet Terry, an engineer with an interest in design, development, and maintenance planning.Assessing Nuclear Risk: CEE, ME Faculty Collaborate on New Tools
Research aims to explore updates to risk assessment tools and methods used by the nuclear industry.Oops-Proofing
A Collaboration Between CRR and Amazon Lab126 Seeks to Understand How Devices Can Be More DurableStudent Spotlight: Paul Nation
He was not a fan of the classroom but ended up in UMD's engineering program through his work with the Australian Army.Nuclear Pioneer Reyes Achieves Historic Milestone
NuScale Power, co-founded by UMD alumnus José Reyes, is the first to win NRC approval for a small modular reactor (SMR) design.Sergio Cofre-Martel wins 1st Place for Graduate Student Award
Sergio Cofre-Martel is the 1st Place Graduate Student Winner of the 2020 SER2AD Student Safety Innovation ChallengeStudent Spotlight: Ramin Moradi
Meet Ramin, who thinks of reliability engineering as a very unique and useful set of skills.Foad Karimian Awarded American Society for Nondestructive Testing Graduate Fellowship
Foad's research will focus on "Early prediction of fatigue failure and remaining useful life estimation in CFRP materials based on acoustic emission waveform information entropy."Student Spotlight: Joy Shen
Meet Joy, who finds that STEM has a lot of room for creativity and imagination.Foad Karimian Nominated for Ann G. Wylie Semester Dissertation Fellowship
The Fellowship provides support to doctoral candidates in the latter stages of writing their dissertations.Dr. Mohammad Modarres Presents Keynote at Invite-Only Conference
Dr. Modarres gave a keynote on "Advances in Probabilistic Physics-of-Failure."Student Spotlight: Jonathan DeJesus Segarra
Meet Jonathan, who believes engineering is a way to apply life-long learning.Dr. Mohammad Modarres to Present at Multiple Seminars in October
Dr. Modarres will be presenting at four seminars across October 2019Student Spotlight: Huisung Yun
Meet Huisung, who believes the relationship between engineers and decision-makers is critical for safety.Summary of PSA 2019, April 28-May 4, in Charleston, SC
Dr. Mohammad Modarres served as the Technical Chair at PSA 2019 in Charleston, SC.UMD workshop examines risks related to new transportation technology
Key concerns include vehice safety, software reliabillity, and cybersecurity.Bensi, Groth Selected for Nuclear Facility Risk Assessment Faculty Development Program
The inter-department program will support junior faculty in developing solutions to advance probabilistic risk assessments.Dr. Mohammad Modarres selected as Program Chair for PSA 2019.
Dr. Modarres will act as the Program Chair at PSA 2019 this spring.CRR Congratulates Taotao Zhou, Ph.D
Taotao Zhou earns doctorate, defends dissertation on MUPRA for CCF events in commercial nuclear environmentsAlumni Dr. Jeong H. Kim Receives 2016 Horatio Alger Award
Kim named one of 13 exceptional corporate and civic leaders to the Horatio Alger Member Class of 2016- American Nuclear Society
- Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association (AAIA)