South Ural State University has one of the best structures for scientific activity in the country. There are about 40 laboratories at the university, 12 of them are international that have been established under the supervision of leading foreign professors. The university is at the forefront of science.
Afrasyab Khan from Pakistan got his Ph.D. degree (Chemical Engineering) in Malaysia and now works at SUSU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering carrying out his research.
– Why did you choose South Ural State University for your research?
– My choice of SUSU was actually based on the expertise that Professor Evgeny Spiridonov has in the field of Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems. I applied for the position of Senior Researcher and got Professor Spiridonov’s approval after his reviewing my CV. He provides me with all the facilities I need for my research, so I think that it proved to be the best decision for me to continue my research career here at SUSU.
– Why did you choose this field of science?
– I got interested in Physics and Mathematics during my education in Pakistan specially at 9th-10th level classes. My curious nature always drives me towards investigating things to make my understanding of their fundamental aspects deeper. After graduating the classes, I kept on working on the same subjects till my Master of Science in Physics. With a slight diversion, I switched to energetic materials engineering in my MS, followed by the PhD in Chemical Engineering (Fluid Mechanics).
– Is there practical application of your work?
– My research in PhD is mainly related to Thermal Hydraulics. It encompasses any system which contains steam and water as flowing fluids. The importance of steam is second to none. Almost every Chemical, Production and Energy Generation based industry has to use steam as one of the most important fluid to accomplish myriad processes. Our understanding related to steam-induced hydrodynamics is very limited. I feel a severe need that the studies about the hydrodynamics of steam-induced flow processes should be conducted on more fundamental basis to establish our understanding of it.
– What is the topic of your thesis?
– My thesis topic was "Investigation of Hydrodynamic Instabilities at the Supersonic Steam Jet and Water Two-Phase Flows"
– Do you have or are you planning to have collaborative publications with researchers from SUSU?
– In my field of research three researchers from my department (Evgeny Spiridonov, Alexander Podzerko and Darya Khabarova) are collaborating with me and I am also collaborating with researchers from abroad in their own fields of expertise.
– What are SUSU scientific advantages for researchers?
– I think I have benefitted from the research supportive environment that the university is providing. My colleagues from the Department helped me a lot. There are hundreds of funding opportunities and SUSU provides each researcher with a dedicated office for helping in the research grants preparations and submission issues.
– How do you spend your free time (if you have any)?
– If I ever have some spare time, I go for a walk in the nearby parks or go to the cinema to watch some movies. Yet I don't understand the Russian language well, but still at the end of every movie I understand the main theme. Another my hobby is cooking.
