Current research interests are focused on wave breaking, tsunami inundation, and wave-current interaction. This work has practical and economic benefits such as improving sea state forecasting, evaluating seabed response to extreme waves, determining structural loads on ships and offshore infrastructures and optimising operational strategies for maritime and marine renewable energy enterprises.

Frédéric Dias is recognized as a leader in the hydrodynamics wave research community. Achievements include: (a) New insights towards understanding extreme wave formation in realistic oceanic conditions; (b) Improved understanding of nearshore wave climate; (c) New insights towards understanding of slamming.

Frédéric Dias is an elected member of the Royal Irish Academy, an elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and in 2013 was awarded the Palmes Académiques by the French Government in recognition of his work. He is a former Secretary General of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM). He has held two European Research Council Advanced Grants (MULTIWAVE from 2012 to 2016 and HIGHWAVE from 2019 to 2024) and one European Research Council Proof of Concept Grant (WAVEMEASUREMENT from 2014 to 2015). He has attracted more than 7M€ of research funding from a wide variety of prestigious national and international sources.