[2] His research focuses on unsteady fluid mechanics and flow physics, with particular emphasis on topics relevant to biology, energy, and the environment.

He is known for his research on biological fluid dynamics in the ocean, of which examples are the hydrodynamics of jellyfish propulsion), and the design of a vertical-axis wind farm adapted from schooling fish.

in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University in 2001 after completing a senior thesis titled "An Investigation of Small-Scale Rotor Blade Aerodynamic Phenomena Using Particle Image Velocimetry and Computational Models" under the supervision of Professor Fred Dryer.

[9] There he was also senior fellow in Stanford's Center for Turbulence Research and founding director of the Catalyst for Collaborative Solutions initiative.

Additionally, he was Chair of the American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics, as well as a member of the National Academies' Committee on Science, Technology, and Law.

Noting that there is constructive interference in the hydrodynamic wakes of schooling fish, Dabiri suggested that extracting energy from flow vortices could aid more than locomotion.

Design of an array of vertical axis turbines led to about an order of magnitude increase in power output per area.

Ongoing commercialization of vertical-axis wind turbines is being pursued by XFlow Energy, [18] a company co-founded by a Ph.D. alumnus from his lab.

Research on jellyfish swimming led to the U.S. Navy funding development of an underwater craft that propels on these concepts, using up to 30% less energy than formerly.

[21] [22] After returning to Caltech, Dabiri’s research has focused on the hydrodynamics of electromechanically modified jellyfish, [23] which he envisions for use in ocean exploration.

An additional area of research in Dabiri’s lab is focused on the physics of turbulence transition, a longstanding challenge in the field of fluid mechanics.

[27][28] His interest in motivating kids considering STEM fields was recounted in an NPR interview, Having two parents there who encouraged me and in some cases forced me to study and to really take academics seriously, was very important at an early stage.