Professor Azharul Karim

  • Professor Azharul Karim

    Group Leader, Professor

    Dr Karim received his PhD in 2007 from Australia’s top University, The University of Melbourne. He is currently the leader of multidisciplinary ‘Energy and Drying’ research group (http://www.energydrying.com) at Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His research is directed towards solving acute food industry problems by advanced multiscale and multiphase food drying models of cellular water using theoretical/computational and experimental methodologies. Through his scholarly, innovative, high quality research, he has established his national and international standing in his field. He has authored over 184 peer-reviewed articles, including 95 high quality Journal Papers, four books and 13 book chapters. His papers have attracted more than 3000 citations with h-index of 29. He is the editor/board member of six reputed journals including Drying Technology and Nature Scientific Reports. He has been keynote/distinguished speaker at scores of international conferences and invited/keynote speaker in seminars in many reputed universities worldwide. He has been awarded 16 research grants amounting A$3.2 million and won multiple international awards for his outstanding contributions in multidisciplinary fields. He is also a leader in innovative application of ‘Lean Manufacturing’ concepts in hospital emergency departments to reduce long waiting times and optimize resources. Currently he is leading research projects with two local (RBWH and RCH) and two international hospitals.

    Dr Karim is the inventor of many innovative new products including (1) Ultrasonic washing machine (patent WO02089652) (2) Ultrasonic dishwasher (patent WO0229148) (3) Advanced independent solar drying system with pebble bed thermal storage (Patent 2019900943) and (4) Integrated heat pump, vacuum and microwave convective drying system (Patent 2019900942).

    Dr Karim’s high-level achievements in both fundamental and applied research in the important area of food drying has established him as one of the world’s leading researchers in this field as demonstrated by his overall Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) of 2.74. His FWCI in food drying and microwave drying are 2.99 and 10.43 respectively. His current research areas are food drying, multiscale and multiphase modelling of food drying, Nano fluid solar thermal storage, concentrating PV-thermal collector, and Lean Healthcare Systems.

    PhD Opportunties: Several PhD projects are available in Dr Karim’s group.  Bangabandhu Fellowship and CSC (China Scholarship Council) applicants are also welcome. Please feel free to contact Dr Karim for more details.

     Broad Areas of Research

      • Food Drying
      • Advanced Drying Methods (e.g. Microwave Drying)
      • Solar Thermal Energy
      • Thermal Storage
      • Lean Manufacturing and Lean Healthcare System

    Successful Grants:

      1. A$46,260 (2019) ANSTO (Australia’s Nuclear Sci. and Tech. Org.) grant, Investigation of Microstructural Changes in Plant Based Food Materials during Drying – (1st CI)
      2. A$555K, Advanced Queensland Fellowship (AQF), Intelligent Microwave Assisted Convective Dryer for Agri Products, 2016–2019 (Sole CI) ongoing
      3. A$ 300,000 (AED790,000), UAEU program for advanced research (UPAR) grant, Valorization of Lost Dates and Processing By-Products (VALORDATE), 2015–19, (CI) ongoing
      4. A$220,000 Queensland government Smart Future Fellowship grant, Development of an Efficient and Cost Effective Solar Drying System, 2012–2015 (Sole CI).
      5. A$60,000 PNG University of Technology grant, solar assisted microwave drying (2017–2019) (1st CI). ongoing
      6. A$80,000, Vietnam International Education Development (VIED) grant, Investigation into Phase Transition Properties and Stickiness of Dairy Based Infant Formula Powders, (2014–18); (Sole CI)
      7. $20,000, CSIRO (2012–2014), Investigation of Radiation Flux Profile of PTC Solar Collector (CI)
      8. A$314,682, CRC for Infrastructure Engineering Asset Management, Integration Project, (2008–2011) (CI).
      9. A$5,000 CSIRO on Prime grant (2016) (1st CI).

    International Successful Grants

    1. A$9000 (SR 25,000), King Abdul Aziz University Grant, Saudi Arabia 2015 (Role: External CI)
    2. A$20,000 (SR54,000), Sustainable Procurement, King Abdul Aziz University Grant, Saudi Arabia, 2017; (CI)
    3. S$1.1 M, Development of ultrasonic washing machine, Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB) under Innovation Development Scheme (IDS). (1999–2001) (1st CI).

    Dr Azharul Karim is currently working as a Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Discipline, Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Australia. He received his PhD degree from Melbourne University in 2007. Through his scholarly, innovative, high-quality research, he has established a national and international standing. Dr Karim has authored over 168 peer-reviewed articles, including 80 high-quality journal papers, 12 peer-reviewed book chapters, and three books. His papers have attracted about 2200 citations with h-index 45. He is editor/board member of six reputed journals including Drying Technology and Nature Scientific Reports and supervisor of 26 past and current PhD students. He has been keynote/distinguished speaker at scores of international conferences and invited/keynote speaker at seminars in many reputed universities worldwide. He has won multiple international awards for his outstanding contributions in multidisciplinary fields. His research is directed towards solving acute food industry problems by advanced multiscale and multiphase food drying models of cellular water using theoretical/computational and experimental methodologies. Due to the multidisciplinary framework of food drying models, his research spans engineering, mathematics, biology, physics and chemistry. To address this multidisciplinary challenge, he established the ‘Energy and Drying’ Research Group consisting of academics and researchers across disciplines.

    Dr Karim’s global leadership in the fields of food drying and microwave drying is evident by the high impact of his papers, which is significantly higher than world averages. He is the recipient of numerous national and international competitive grants amounting to $2.68 million. He is also a leader in innovatively applying ‘Lean Manufacturing’ concepts in hospital emergency departments to reduce long waiting times and optimize resources. Currently, he is leading research projects with two local (RBWH and RCH) and two international hospitals. His current research areas are food drying, multiscale and multiphase modelling of food drying, Nano fluid solar thermal storage, concentrating PV-thermal collector, and Lean Healthcare Systems.