Malika Zghal, originally from Québec City, is currently completing a doctoral degree in Aerospace at Cranfield University, which she began in 2020. Malika is one of the CCSF’s youngest ever scholars, having just completed her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Université Laval in 2020. She graduated top of her cohort, receiving the Student Gold Medal Award from the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering and the 1st prize of the Undergraduate Student Award of Merit from the Foundation of Québec’s Order of Engineers, for her outstanding academic achievement.
Malika’s research looks at developing high fidelity numerical modelling (CFD) approaches by conducting detailed experiments to accurately predict and improve the mixing of fuel and air to reduce emissions and address environmental concerns for both stationary and aero gas turbine applications. This is important and timely work as these gas turbines are used in the aerospace and energy sectors (for aviation and energy production) – sectors where legislative bodies have set highly ambitious targets to reduce emissions. Her research will help provide the robust numerical tools that are needed to develop new sustainable technologies for low-emission gas turbine applications. Malika is uniquely placed at Cranfield University to conduct this research since Cranfield offers one of the few heating facilities in the world that fully replicates aerospace gas turbine conditions.
This doctoral research builds on work Malika began during her undergraduate degree. While at the Université Laval, she studied combustion models and assessed their predictive capabilities for hydrogen micromix combustion through large-scale, technically complex high-fidelity simulations. Colleagues noted this work as being very ambitious and impressive for an undergraduate student. She also wrote, presented and published a technical research paper and supported the development of a new computational fluid dynamics course for undergraduate and masters students during her undergraduate career.
Malika’s research has both academic and practical implications and is expected to contribute to Canadian and British researchers leading the development of low-emission gas turbine technologies. In support of this, and despite only beginning her doctoral programme in 2020 (during the COVID pandemic), Malika has already delivered several presentations to academic and private sector colleagues with success.
In addition to being a young and exemplary technical leader in her field, Malika volunteers time to promote and encourage women’s participation in the field of mechanical engineering. Her active involvement in promoting women’s participation in engineering, as well as her hard work and determination as a woman in STEM, were recognized in the Excellence in Science segment of the 2019 “Hats Off to You!” contest from Québec’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education, where she received the Inspiring Engineer prize awarded by the Foundation of Québec’s Order of Engineers.
– Awarded The Victor Dahdaleh Foundation Scholarship 2021-2022
