BPI Seminar by Dr. Azharul Karim

Towards Real-Time Prediction of Microstructural Changes in Biological Products During Drying Using a Machine Learning Approach

Location: CHBE #202, 2360 East Mall Vancouver BC V6T 1Z4

Agenda

• 12:00 PM Intro by Dr. Tony Bi
• 12:05 PM Presentation by Dr. Azharul Karim, Mechanical, Medical & Process Engineering,  Queensland University of Technology, Australia
• 12:45 PM Q&A

*Sandwiches & coffee will be provided from 11:45 AM.

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Abstract

Drying is widely used preservation technique for Plant-based food materials (PBFM). However, the time and energy-intensive nature of traditional drying highlight the need for uncovering fundamental understanding of microstructural variations in PBFM, which is crucial to optimize both their overall attributes and drying kinetics due to their multiscale nature. Traditional computational methods like Finite Element Analysis (FEA) struggle with multiphase interactions and large material deformations. Pure data-driven approaches offer broader insights but face challenges due to data constraints and the "black box" nature of machine learning models. Enter Physics-Informed Machine Learning (PIML), a model merging physics with data to predict microstructural changes in PBFM during drying, exhibiting promising results. This keynote reports the development of the first PIML drying model, showcasing its ability to accurately forecast mass transfer and morphological variations in PBFM under different varying conditions. Notably, the PIML model outperforms traditional computational methods, demonstrating superior real-time prediction capacities and precise replication of microscale variations. The research enhances the model's realism by integrating multidomain capabilities to address heterogeneous conditions, achieving replication previously unattainable by traditional methods. These developed methodologies and models serve as crucial computational tools for interpreting and forecasting microscale variations in food drying, offering a solid foundation for future research in the field.

About the Speaker

Dr. Azharul Karim is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia, and Director of the Advanced Drying and Sustainable Energy Research (ADSER) Group. With a PhD from the University of Melbourne in 2007 and a research career spanning over two decades, he has published more than 288 peer-reviewed works, including 176 journal papers, 14 book chapters, and 6 books, with over 11,600 citations and an h-index of 60 (Google Scholar). His high-impact research is reflected in a Field-Weighted Citation Index (FWCI) of 2.09, with 46% of his papers published in the top 10% of journals.

Prof. Karim serves on editorial boards of six prestigious journals, including Drying Technology and Nature Scientific Reports, and has delivered 25 keynote talks and invited seminars at globally renowned institutions such as Oxford University, the University of Illinois, and the National University of Singapore. He has supervised 25 PhD and 9 MPhil completions and currently supervises 8 PhD students.

Dr Karim is the recipient numerous national and international competitive grants amounting $4.2 million, including Advanced Queensland Fellowship (AQF), Australian Research Council (ARC) Linage and ARC Discovery as the lead investigator. He is the inventor of energy and water efficient ultrasonic washing machine (patent WO02089652) and Ultrasonic dishwasher (patent WO0229148). His current research areas are multiscale and multiphase modelling of drying, hybrid drying. Prof. Karim's research spans multiple disciplines—engineering, physics, biology, and chemistry—to address global challenges in food, energy, and sustainability.

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