Engineering creates new research position

by Lynda Hills

Suleman

An aeronautical engineer with expertise in how mechanical, electrical engineering and computer science interact will be UVic’s first associate dean of research in the faculty of engineering. Dr. Afzal Suleman starts his term in the newly created position on May 1.

“Dr. Suleman is an excellent choice as our first associate dean of research,” says Dr. Michael Miller, dean of engineering. “The position will contribute to the growth of the research activity, diversify funding support for research, and provide mentorship for the talented, new faculty members who have recently joined us.”

In his new position, Suleman will co-ordinate research proposals, cultivate new research partners, oversee publicity materials, and promote research activity within the faculty. He’ll also seek funds and equipment for research infrastructure and serve as the principal liaison between engineering and other departments and faculties.

Suleman earned a BSc and MSc in aeronautical engineering at Imperial College in London, England, and a PhD in mechanical/aerospace engineering at UBC. He studied space sciences at the International Space University in Japan, and completed postdoctoral research work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the U.S.

Before joining UVic in 2000, he was an assistant professor at Instituto Superior Tecnico in Portugal. Currently, he’s an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a national delegate on the NATO-RTA Applied Vehicle Technology Panel and the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Suleman has expertise in aircraft and spacecraft design, computational mechanics, fluid-structure interaction and smart structures. His other interest is mechatronics—a combination of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science.

“To fully appreciate the complexity of aircraft or space systems requires a broad understanding of all three of the engineering sciences that are studied at UVic,” he says.

“In particular, the new and emerging fields of engineering such as bioengineering and nanotechnology are very complex, and an understanding of these multidisciplinary systems is a challenge,” he says. “I like a challenge, as long as it’s manageable.”