Dr. Ali H. Nayfeh was born in Shuwaikah, Jordan on December 21, 1933. He received a B.S. degree in Engineering Science in 1962 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics in 1963 and 1964 from Stanford University. He has industrial experience with Heliodyne Corporation and Aerotherm Corporation.He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Academy of Mechanics. He is the Editor of the Wiley Book Series on Nonlinear Science and the Editor-in-Chief of Nonlinear Dynamics and was the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Vibration and Control from 1995-2014.

He is the recipient of the Kuwait Prize in Basic Sciences (Physics), 1981; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Pendray Aerospace Literature Award, 1995; American Society of Mechanical Engineers J. P. Den Hartog Award, 1997; Honorary Doctorate, St. Petersburg University, Russia, 1996; Frank J. Maher Award for Excellence in Engineering Education, 1997; College of Engineering Dean's Award for Excellence in Research, 1998; Honorary Doctorate, Technical University of Munchen, Germany, 1999; Honorary Doctorate, Politechnika Szczecinska, Poland, 2004.He established and served as Dean of the College of Engineering, Yarmouk University, Jordan from 1980-1984. He is currently University Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.He received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in 2014 for the development of novel methods to model complex engineering systems in structural dynamics, acoustics, fluid mechanics and electromechanical systems.