федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования
«Самарский национальный исследовательский университет имени академика С.П. Королева»
Successful distance defense of PhD degree at Samara University

Successful distance defense of PhD degree at Samara University

Самарский университет

International Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) awarded to a young scientist from India

25.05.2020 2020-06-11
The first defense of the dissertation for the PhD degree was held at Samara University. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting of the dissident council was held in the form of a videoconference.
The dissertation was prepared by Thomas Jayachandran Arthur Vimalachandra (Arthur Vimalachandran Thomas Jayachandran). He presented to the experts of the Dissertation Council the design of an ultra-microgas turbine engine that can be used to supply energy to drones, atmospheric probes and spacecraft systems (the theme of the work is "Conceptual design of an ultra-micro gas turbine power plant for multi-copter and satellite applications").
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The work was performed at the Department of Theory of Aircraft Engines named after V.P. Lukachev, where Thomas Arthur spent three years preparing for the PhD doctoral program "Conceptual design of gas turbine engines" under the guidance of associate professors Viktor Rybakov and Andrey Tkachenko. The defense was performed in English.
Thomas Jayachandran proposed a new approach to the use of small-sized power plants based on a gas turbine engine. So, the young scientist believes that a miniature engine will be able to fully provide energy to the on-board systems of small drones (multi-rotor copters), pseudo-satellite balloons and spacecrafts. Thomas Jayachandran noted that despite its compact size, the plant generates enough energy and is more profitable (in terms of mass and efficiency) compared to traditional power sources - for example, satellite solar panels.
The dissertation council included the leading teachers of the English-language educational programs of the Institute of Engines and Power Plants: Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences Vladimir Zrelov (chairman), professor, doctor of technical sciences Alexander Vinogradov (internal opponent), Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences George Makaryants, Associate Professor, Ph.D. Dmitry Uglanov, Associate Professor, Ph.D. Oleg Baturin. The representative of PJSC UEC-Kuznetsov, Ph.D. Dmitry Dmitriev was an external opponent.
As a result of the discussion, a unanimous decision was made to assign Ph.D. (PhD) to Thomas Jayachandran Arthur Vimalachandra.
Before entering Samara University, Thomas Jayachandran Arthur Vimalachandra received a bachelor's degree in India. He defended his master's thesis at the Italian University Politecnico Di Torino, he studied a number of courses at the University of Leicester (UK), Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et l'Espace (France), collaborated with specialists from the French Space Agency, the European Space Agency, an Italian company in space sphere Altec Space.
When the opportunity to get a PhD at Samara University presented itself, Thomas did not think for a minute: “I always dreamed of studying in Russia and getting an education in the aerospace field. The reason is simple: Yuri Gagarin inspired not only Russians, but also millions of people in India. It was he who inspired me to study in Russia and determined my choice of a Russian university after completing my European education.
At Samara University I was free to choose topics for study, professors gave an idea of future work. I was guided and helped to achieve my goals at the university.
I recommend to everyone, the whole world, no matter where you are - in America or Europe: if you are dealing with space or have an education or work in this field, I really highly recommend coming to Samara University and gaining experience in the field of aerospace technology.
 
For reference
For the first time, a PhD from Samara University was awarded at the end of 2018 as part of a joint program of double doctoral (PhD) diplomas in the field of satellite radio navigation technologies between Samara University and the Technical University of Tampere (Finland). Then the defense took place at a partner university in Finland.