Dr Habibi is a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader of BEng/MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering at Teesside University. He holds the Chartered Engineer status and a professional membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (CEng IMechE). He has also achieved the status of Fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Hossein accomplished his PhD study at University College Dublin on dynamics and control of flexible mechanical systems in 2014. He then joined the Brunel Innovation Centre (BIC), TWI Ltd., Cambridge, as a Research Fellow, where he led two European-funded projects focused primarily on ultrasonic guided waves and low-frequency vibration. In 2016, he moved to the University of Nottingham as a researcher at the Nottingham Advanced Robotics Laboratory, where he expanded his research into the field of continuum soft robotics.

Hossein has a great deal of experience in successful collaborative research projects and leading work in international and interdisciplinary levels. In his roles as a research fellow, he led the following research projects at Brunel Innovation Center and University of Nottingham.

- Open-rotor propellers ice protection system using acoustic techniques (EU CLEANSKY-funded project)

- Development of anti/de-icing systems (FP7 EC-funded project)

- Development of compliant mathematical and experimental 3D models for actuated large deformation robotic-based continuum surfaces usable in different healthcare, energy and aerospace applications (EPSRC-funded project).

Hossein is the author/co-author of nearly 50 peer-reviewed publications in quality journals and conference proceedings. He has supervised numerous undergraduate and postgraduate research projects across several universities and is currently supervising four PhD students.

He has been the session chair and invited speaker in a few events including International Symposium on Soft Robotics at Xi'an Jiaotong University, China (August 2017), Laboratorio de Ingeniería Mecánica, University of La Coruña, Spain (April 2018), IDETC-CIE JMR Journal Spotlight Session, The ASME 2021 International Design and Engineering Technical Conferences (IDETC), (online event, 2021), and MMT (Mechanism and Machine Theory) Symposium, University of Minho, Portugal (June 2024).

Hossein has acted as the guest editor in the journal of Machines for a special issue on "Advances in Vehicle Dynamics" (2025). Likewise, he has served as the reviewer of several journals such as Transactions of the Institute of Measurement and Control, Cold Regions Science and Technology, Mechanism and Machine Theory, as well as prestigious conferences such as IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) and ICRA. 

Hossein with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education sector, has been actively involved in curricular planning and teaching activities. He has been the module leader and tutor for a range of subjects and courses in undergraduate and postgraduate levels including Structural Mechanics, Dynamics and Vibrations, Dynamic Analysis, Control, Machine Design, Mechanics of Materials, Statics, Dynamics of Mechanisms and Machines, Non-Destructive Testing; Graphic and Industrial Drawing, and Numerical and Computational methods. 

Hossein’s research background and interests lie in a range of applied engineering fields including

- The mathematical modelling, dynamical analysis and real time control of non-rigid robotic systems

- Soft robotics for applications in healthcare and rehabilitation, manufacturing, energy and aerospace

- Wave based motion and vibration control of mechanical flexible systems

- Application of piezoelectricity in energy harvesting

- Simulation of underactuated multibody systems such as spacecrafts' solar panels and gaits of human character

- Applications of power ultrasonic guided waves in renewable energy technologies

List of current PhD students:

- Sachitha Illangage

- Asha Mokaddemul Islam Asha

- Yining Zhang

- Mike Upham 

PhD opportunities:

Hossein is currently considering self-funded PhD applications particularly in the following areas

- Optimisation of piezoelectric characteristics in energy harvesters 

- Smart design solutions for manufacturing mechanisms such as rapid reshaping of thin carbon fiber sheets

- Control of vibration and precise positioning of manipulators and flexible elements in spatial structures using wave ideas

- Power ultrasonic guided waves for industrial cleaning and protection against icing and fouling conditions