Ali received his Phd in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and did his postdoctoral work in the Materials Science Department at University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. He is currently a H.A. Morton professor in the department of polymer science at the University of Akron. His research is in the area of adhesion, friction, and wetting. His group uses sum frequency generation spectroscopy to study polymer surfaces. His research is also in the area of biomimicry and his group is working on developing adhesives inspired by spiders and geckos.