Computational fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic stability, cavitation and bubble dynamics, and first-principles materials simulations for advanced functional and optoelectronic materials.

Dr.-Ing. Muhammad Ijaz Khan is an accomplished academic and researcher in Mechanical Engineering with strong interdisciplinary expertise spanning fluid mechanics, computational physics, and materials simulations. He obtained his PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Fluid Mechanics) from Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, in 2014 under the prestigious HEC-DAAD scholarship. He also holds an MPhil and MSc in Physics from Government College University, Lahore, which provides him with a solid foundation in theoretical and applied physics. Dr. Khan is currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology (KFUEIT), Rahim Yar Khan, where he has been a faculty member since February 2016. His academic responsibilities include teaching, research supervision, curriculum development, and academic governance. Over the years, he has served in several key administrative and academic roles, including Convener of the SelfAssessment Review (SAR), Departmental ORIC Coordinator, President of the Recruitment Committee, Convener of the University Proctorial Board, and member of various statutory committees such as the Board of Studies and Disciplinary Committees. Before joining KFUEIT, Dr. Khan served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Lahore (Pakpattan Campus) and as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. He has also contributed as a Subject Expert at the Punjab Tianjin University of Technology, where he was involved in curriculum design, laboratory planning, and evaluation of technical tenders. Dr. Khan’s research interests include computational fluid dynamics (CFD), laminar-to-turbulent transition, hydrodynamic stability, cavitation and bubble dynamics, plasma physics, and firstprinciples (DFT-based) materials simulations, particularly of perovskite and functional materials. He has extensive expertise in MATLAB, Mathematica, LaTeX, and Materials Studio (CASTEP, FORCITE). He is a prolific researcher with over 22 international impact-factor publications in the last three years as corresponding author, published in leading journals such as Scientific Reports, Applied Physics A, Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, Journal of Electronic Materials, Journal of Molecular Modelling, Heliyon, Results in Optics, and Computational Condensed Matter. His work focuses on stress-dependent electronic, optical, elastic, thermodynamic, and mechanical properties of advanced functional materials for optoelectronic and energy applications. Dr. Khan has supervised multiple MS and MPhil theses, delivered invited talks at international and national conferences (including GAMM, Austria), and actively contributes to academic research collaboration. He is a PEC-registered engineer and an HECapproved supervisor, committed to advancing high-quality research, teaching excellence, and international academic engagement. Reference: Investigating the effect of externally applied stress on structural, optical, and mechanical properties of CsBeF3 - a DFT study This study investigates the impact of externally applied stress on CsBeF3, a perovskite material, using simulations conducted with Material Studio software. The simulations varied stress levels from 0 to 100 GPa to analyse the material's response. Structurally, the lattice parameters and volume decrease uniformly with increasing stress, as evidenced by x-ray diffraction analysis. Electronically, the band gap widens and the electronic structure is modified as stress increases. This is confirmed by the analysis of the density of states and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Optical properties such as absorption, conductivity, dielectric function, loss function, reflectivity, and refractive index show notable stress-dependent changes, indicating modifications in electronic states. Mechanical properties demonstrate increased bulk modulus, shear modulus, and Young's modulus, suggesting greater resistance to deformation, while changes in the Poisson ratio, Pugh ratio, Frantsevich ratio, and Cauchy pressure reflect alterations in ductility and brittleness. Elastic constants increase with stress, further indicating enhanced stiffness. Thermodynamic properties, analysed via electron energy loss spectroscopy, exhibit shifts and intensity changes in absorption and emission spectra. Thermodynamically, stress influences properties like enthalpy, free energy, entropy, and the Debye temperature. The phonon dispersion analysis indicates that the lattice vibrations stiffen under stress, potentially altering thermal properties. These findings highlight the significant impact of stress on CsBeF3, offering valuable insights into its potential applications in high-stress environments and optoelectronic devices. Keywords: DFT, perovskite, optical properties, material simulation, stress application.