Sadia Afrin Khan

IGC FELLOW    |   Global Change Center

Ph.D. Student  •  Biological Systems Engineering

Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Czuba

Research Interests: Sediment Transport, River Engineering and Hydraulics, Complex River Network Connectivity and Modeling

sadiaafrin06@vt.edu 

Sadia is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering of Virginia Tech under the supervision of Dr. Jonathan Czuba. Her research focuses on improving the sediment acoustic techniques with newer types of Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers to enhance the spatiotemporal resolution of sediment data and understanding complex river network connectivity and characteristics.

Sadia completed her B.Sc. from the Department of Water Resources Engineering of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). After graduation, she joined as a lecturer in the Civil Engineering Department of Presidency University, where she instructed courses related to hydrology, hydraulics, and river engineering. She later joined AHYDTECH Water Resources (BD) Ltd. to gain more hands-on experience as a Water Resources Engineer, which provided her with the opportunity to be involved in several national and international study projects.

Notably, Sadia worked as a project manager and water resources engineer on two World Bank-funded projects related to the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100, contributed as a junior water resources engineer at the phase-1 feasibility study of the Jamuna River Sustainable Management Project (JRSMP), developed hydrologic models for the La Vase River Floodplain Mapping Project (submitted to NBMCA, Ontario, Canada) and for the Castor river watershed (submitted to SNC, Ontario, Canada). Simultaneously, Sadia was conducting a Master's from her undergraduate institution. The focus of her M.Sc. research was understanding the 3D flow hydraulics and turbulence characteristics for a new type of groyne series with variable orientations through experimental investigation.

Through her interdisciplinary training as an Interfaces for Global Change fellow, Sadia hopes to bridge the gap between advanced research and sustainable solutions to global water resources challenges for the betterment of climate-vulnerable and resource-constrained communities.