DR. MOHAMED ANIFFA S

DR. MOHAMED ANIFFA S
Assistant Professor - Department of Aerospace Engineering
Expertise: Experimental Aero/Fluid Dynamics, PIV Technique, Flow Separation and Control.

Email: md.aniffa@rgnau.ac.in 

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Dr. Mohamed Aniffa S

Profile Summary

Dr. Mohamed Aniffa S is currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU), Fursatganj, Amethi, (UP). He completed his M.Tech and PhD in Aerospace Engineering from IIT Kanpur. His research focuses on understanding the characteristics of separated flows under various flow conditions, as these play a crucial role in determining the aerodynamic performance of bodies. He was awarded the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award from IIT Kanpur in recognition of his research contributions on separated flows. Prior to this position, he was an Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at IIT Madras, where his work focused on understanding the wake dynamics of flapping bodies, which is important for the development of efficient bio-inspired engineering devices.

Academic Qualifications

  • Ph.D. – Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kanpur (2024)
  • M.Tech. – Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kanpur (2016)
  • B.E. – Aeronautical Engineering, Anna University (2013)

Professional Experience

  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras (July 2024 – April 2026)

Research Interests

  • Experimental Aero/Fluid Dynamics
  • Boundary Layer Separation
  • Flow Instability
  • Transition to Turbulence
  • Bio-Inspired Fluid Mechanics
  • Modal Decomposition Techniques
  • Active and Passive Flow Control
  • Vortex-Dominated Flows
  • Unsteady Aerodynamics

Awards & Honors

  • Outstanding PhD Thesis Award for the best PhD thesis in Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kanpur, 2024.

Research Publications

  1. Journal Papers
    • Aniffa, S. M., Caesar, V. S., Dabaria, V., & Mandal, A. C. Characteristics of geometry-and pressure-induced laminar separation bubbles at an enhanced level of free-stream turbulence. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 957, A19, February, 2023.
    • Aniffa, S. M., & Mandal, A. C. Experiments on the low-frequency oscillation of a separated shear layer. Physical Review Fluids, 8(2), 023902, February, 2023.
    • Aniffa, S. M., & Mandal, A. C. Experiments on the unsteady massive separation over an aerofoil. Physical Review Fluids, 8(12), 123901, December, 2023.
  2. Conference Papers / Abstracts
    • Aniffa, S. M., & Mandal, A. C. Effect of roughness-induced streaks on the separation bubble. Proceedings of the 7th International and 45th National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power (FMFP), December, 2018.
    • Aniffa, S. M., & Mandal, A. C. Vortex shedding characteristics of the separation bubble under the influence of boundary layer streaks. Proceedings of the 25th National and 3rd International ISHMT-ASTFE Heat and Mass Transfer Conference (IHMTC-2019), December, 2019.
    • Aniffa, S. M., & Mandal, A. C. Experimental Investigation on the Role of the Streaky-Like Structures in a Pressure-Induced Separation Bubble. Proceedings of 16th Asian Congress of Fluid Mechanics (Springer, Berlin, 2021), pp. 267–276, February, 2021.
    • Aniffa, S. M., & Mandal, A. C. Experimental study on intermittent massive separation over an airfoil. 14th European Fluid Mechanics Conference, Athens, Greece, September, 2022.
    • Aniffa, S. M., & Sunetra Sarkar. Analysis of temporal oscillations of a deflected wake in a plunging foil using proper orthogonal decomposition. International Conference on Theoretical Applied Computational and Experimental Mechanics (ICTACEM-2025), IIT Kharagpur, December, 2025.
    • Aniffa, S. M., & Sunetra Sarkar. Spatial dynamic mode decomposition analysis in the wake of an elliptical plunging foil. International Conference on Fluid and Thermal Engineering (ICFTE 2026), BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, January, 2026.