Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret and the Future of Sustainable Aviation

Explore how Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret connects aircraft propulsion, energy efficiency and environmental performance with sustainable aviation research.

Making aviation more sustainable is not a problem with a single engineering answer. Aircraft still need sufficient thrust, reliability and operational flexibility, while the industry faces pressure to use energy more efficiently and reduce its environmental footprint. That tension is exactly where research becomes interesting.

Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret works at this intersection. His academic research brings together aircraft propulsion, thermodynamics, exergy, emissions, energy use and environmental performance. Rather than treating sustainability as an isolated environmental topic, his work approaches aircraft and propulsion systems as connected engineering systems whose performance can be measured, compared and improved.

Why Sustainable Aviation Has Become a Critical Research Field

Modern aviation connects economies, businesses and people at a scale that would have been difficult to imagine a century ago. Its benefits are obvious. Its engineering challenge is equally clear: how can the sector continue meeting mobility needs while reducing the environmental consequences associated with fuel consumption and emissions?

This is why sustainable aviation is broader than the search for one alternative fuel or one new aircraft design. Engine efficiency, propulsion architecture, operational conditions, combustion, aircraft weight, flight phase and energy losses can all influence the overall environmental performance of a flight.

For researchers, the important question is therefore not simply whether an aircraft engine works efficiently. It is also where useful energy is lost, how operating conditions affect emissions, which improvements are technically realistic and how different performance indicators interact.

In practice, several areas need to be considered together:

• aircraft propulsion efficiency and engine performance,
• fuel consumption and combustion behaviour,
• energy and exergy losses within propulsion systems,
• aircraft and airport-related emissions,
• environmental costs associated with aviation operations,
• the performance of engines during different stages of flight,
• new fuels, technologies and operational strategies.

Looking at just one of these parameters may provide useful information, but rarely the full picture. Systems-level research becomes especially valuable here because aviation sustainability is, by nature, a multi-variable engineering problem.

Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret’s Academic Journey in Aviation

The research profile of Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret reflects a combination of mechanical engineering, aircraft maintenance, propulsion and energy studies. He graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Eskişehir Osmangazi University in 2010 before continuing his postgraduate education at Anadolu University.

There, he completed master’s and doctoral studies in Aircraft Airframe and Engine Maintenance. That progression matters: it connects the broader foundations of mechanical engineering with the highly specialised requirements of aircraft systems and propulsion.

From Mechanical Engineering to Aircraft Propulsion Research

After completing his undergraduate degree, Şöhret contributed to projects in the research and development department of TUSAŞ Engine Industries Inc. (TEI) as a part-time engineer. The experience placed aircraft engine technology and engineering R&D within his professional path before his academic career developed further.

He began his academic career at Süleyman Demirel University in 2016 and subsequently became one of the founding faculty members of the university’s School of Civil Aviation. His official academic profile records his progression through academic appointments and his promotion to professorship in 2024.

Today, his broader work in aviation covers subjects including aircraft propulsion systems, thermodynamics and exergy, sustainable aviation, energy and environmental performance, emission analysis, fuels and combustion.

That combination gives his work a distinct engineering perspective. Environmental performance is not discussed separately from how an engine consumes energy, generates thrust or behaves under changing operating conditions. The topics are interconnected, because the physical system itself is interconnected.

Research Areas Connecting Aviation, Energy and the Environment

A useful way to understand Şöhret’s research is to look at three overlapping questions: How efficiently is energy being used? What happens inside the propulsion system? And what environmental consequences follow from that performance?

His published work addresses these questions through different aircraft engines, operating conditions and analytical methods.

Aircraft Propulsion and Thermodynamics

Aircraft propulsion is fundamentally an energy-conversion problem. Fuel contains chemical energy; the engine converts part of that energy into useful output that ultimately contributes to propulsion. Not all of the supplied energy becomes useful work, of course. Some is lost through exhaust gases, heat transfer, friction and irreversible thermodynamic processes.

Traditional energy analysis helps researchers quantify how energy moves through such a system. Exergy analysis takes the investigation a step further by evaluating the useful-work potential of energy and identifying where that potential is destroyed.

Put more simply, two engine components can consume or transfer similar amounts of energy while having very different opportunities for improvement. Exergy analysis helps expose that difference.

This explains why exergy appears frequently in advanced aircraft engine research. Şöhret has co-authored studies examining exergy destruction in turbojet engine components, including work that separates losses into categories such as avoidable and unavoidable or endogenous and exogenous destruction. Such classifications are useful because not every thermodynamic loss can realistically be eliminated.

For engineers, that distinction matters. A theoretically imperfect component is not necessarily the component that deserves redesign first. Research can help reveal where intervention is likely to produce the greatest practical benefit.

From Turbojets to UAV Propulsion Systems

Aircraft engines do not all operate in the same way or serve the same missions. A propulsion system selected for an unmanned aerial vehicle may face a very different duty cycle from an engine installed on a freight aircraft or commercial passenger platform.

Şöhret’s publication record reflects this variety. His research has included thermodynamic assessment of turbojet engines used for unmanned aerial vehicles, advanced exergy analysis of engine components and exergy mapping across a UAV reconnaissance flight envelope.

Flight-envelope analysis is particularly relevant because engines do not remain at a single operating point from departure to landing. Altitude, speed, power demand and atmospheric conditions change. Consequently, efficiency and losses change too.

Evaluating an engine across realistic flight conditions can provide a more meaningful picture than relying exclusively on a single nominal operating state.

Aviation Emissions and Environmental Performance

Fuel efficiency is important, but sustainable engineering cannot stop at fuel consumption. Different operating conditions can also change the quantity and composition of pollutants produced by combustion.

That is why emissions analysis forms another strand of Şöhret’s academic work. His research record includes studies concerning aircraft emissions, environmental and economic indicators, turbofan engine performance and the environmental consequences of flight operations.

One study co-authored by Şöhret examined the environmental and economic aspects of aircraft emissions at Antalya International Airport. Another investigated changes in air pollution associated with commercial flights in Türkiye during the COVID-19 period. These studies shift attention from the engine alone to the wider aviation system in which that engine operates.

There is an important distinction here. Sustainable aviation research is not only about designing cleaner technology for the future. It also involves understanding the environmental characteristics of systems already operating today.

How Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret Approaches Sustainable Aviation

What stands out across Şöhret’s research areas is the tendency to connect energy and environmental indicators rather than viewing them independently. This becomes especially useful when an engineering change improves one metric while creating a disadvantage somewhere else.

An engine modification could, for example, influence fuel use, exhaust temperature, emissions, efficiency and operating cost simultaneously. Looking at only one number might make the change appear more attractive, or less attractive, than it really is.

His work in sustainable aviation therefore sits within a broader framework involving propulsion, thermodynamics, resource efficiency and measurable environmental performance.

This systems-oriented approach also makes sustainability easier to discuss in engineering terms. Instead of relying on broad statements such as “greener aircraft are needed,” researchers can ask much more useful questions: Where is exergy being destroyed? During which flight phase does environmental performance deteriorate? Which components offer realistic efficiency gains? What happens to emissions when operating conditions change?

Those questions are narrower. But they are also far more actionable.

Scientific Research Behind Greener Aviation

Academic research becomes easier to understand when we move from general concepts to specific engineering problems. Şöhret’s publication history offers several examples.

Measuring the Green Performance of Aircraft Engines

A 2025 study co-authored by Şöhret investigated the green performance limits of a cargo aircraft engine during flight through a thermo-environmental evaluation. The subject illustrates an increasingly important idea in aviation research: environmental performance should be considered under actual or representative operating conditions rather than treated as a fixed characteristic of an engine.

A cargo aircraft changes altitude, thrust requirement and operating state throughout a mission. Consequently, the environmental performance of its propulsion system also changes.

Thermo-environmental assessment combines thermodynamic information with environmental indicators, providing a more detailed basis for examining where the engine performs well and where improvement opportunities may exist.

Understanding Energy Losses in Turbojet Engines

Research involving advanced exergy analysis goes even deeper into the engine. Instead of only identifying that exergy destruction exists, the analysis can distinguish between losses caused internally by a component and losses influenced by interactions with other components.

It can also help differentiate potentially avoidable losses from those that are constrained by technological or physical limitations.

This may sound quite specialised, and it is. Still, the practical reasoning is straightforward: engineers have limited time, budget and design freedom. Knowing which losses can realistically be reduced is more valuable than simply knowing that losses occur.

Evaluating Turbofan and Turboprop Environmental Performance

Şöhret has also contributed to research concerning turbofan engines used in the aviation industry and turboprop engines operating during different flight phases. These studies combine energy, environmental or enviroeconomic perspectives.

Enviroeconomic analysis adds another useful layer by expressing environmental impact through economic indicators. It does not replace emissions data; rather, it provides another way of interpreting the consequences associated with those emissions.

For policymakers, operators and engineers, multi-dimensional assessments can help explain why there is rarely a single “best” solution. A technically efficient option also needs to be operationally feasible, environmentally meaningful and economically realistic.

Why Exergy Analysis Matters in Sustainable Aviation

Energy efficiency is a familiar concept. Exergy is less familiar outside engineering circles, but it can be particularly revealing when studying aircraft propulsion.

The first law of thermodynamics tells us that energy is conserved. Yet energy quality can deteriorate as real processes take place. Exergy analysis captures this loss of useful-work potential.

Consider heat released at a very high temperature and the same amount of heat available only slightly above ambient temperature. Both can contain energy, but their ability to produce useful work is not equal. Exergy analysis recognises this difference.

In an aircraft engine, combustion chambers, compressors, turbines, nozzles and other components interact continuously. Mapping exergy destruction throughout the system can show researchers which components contribute most strongly to thermodynamic inefficiency.

From a sustainability perspective, this matters because improving resource use begins with understanding where useful potential is being wasted.

Sustainable Aviation Is More Than Alternative Fuel

Sustainable aviation fuel often receives considerable public attention, understandably so. Fuel is a major piece of the aviation sustainability puzzle. It is not the entire puzzle.

Engine architecture, component efficiency, aircraft design, flight operations, maintenance, route planning, combustion behaviour and energy management can all influence overall performance. Even a lower-impact fuel is still being used inside a physical system whose efficiency matters.

A comprehensive aviation sustainability strategy therefore benefits from several parallel research directions:

This wider perspective is important because aviation technologies do not operate in isolation. A new fuel still interacts with a combustion system. A more efficient turbine influences the wider engine cycle. Operational changes affect fuel burn as well as emissions.

In other words, meaningful progress is often found in the connections between disciplines.

From Academic Research to International Aviation Discussions

Şöhret’s work has also extended beyond academic publishing into technical and institutional aviation discussions. Süleyman Demirel University reported in 2023 that he represented the Republic of Türkiye as a delegate in activities connected with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection, commonly known as CAEP.

His academic profile states that he has served in this area since 2023 and has also worked as an academic consultant to Türkiye’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

This connection between academic research and technical aviation policy is relevant because environmental decisions in aviation increasingly depend on measurable evidence. Emission characteristics, technological feasibility, engine performance and operational consequences all need to be understood before effective standards or strategies can be developed.

Academic studies do not automatically become aviation policy, of course. They do, however, contribute methods, data and analytical perspectives that make technical discussions better informed.

Why Interdisciplinary Research Matters for the Future of Aviation

Aviation is already interdisciplinary by design. An aircraft brings together aerodynamics, propulsion, materials, electronics, software, structures, meteorology, operations and human factors. Sustainability adds still more dimensions.

This makes narrow optimisation risky. Improving one component without considering the rest of the system can produce unintended consequences elsewhere.

For instance, increasing a component’s efficiency could involve additional mass. A different fuel could change combustion characteristics. An operational strategy that lowers emissions in one flight phase might affect performance in another. Every improvement lives inside a larger system.

Research that combines thermodynamic, environmental and economic indicators helps engineers see those trade-offs more clearly. This is where Şöhret’s work on propulsion, energy, exergy and emissions becomes particularly relevant to the broader aviation sustainability discussion.

It also explains why sustainable aviation should not be treated purely as an environmental science subject. It is an engineering challenge, an operational challenge and, increasingly, a decision-making challenge.

What Can Aviation Researchers Learn From This Approach?

One lesson is deceptively simple: measure before assuming.

Claims about greener technology become more useful when they can be connected to specific indicators. How much energy is being lost? Which component is responsible? Is that loss avoidable? What happens at different altitudes or power settings? Do lower emissions come with another performance trade-off?

Another lesson is to study aircraft propulsion under conditions that resemble how aircraft actually operate. Engines move through different flight phases, loads and atmospheric environments. Their efficiency is not frozen at one laboratory operating point.

Finally, sustainability research benefits from combining disciplines. Thermodynamics can explain energy degradation. Exergy can identify improvement potential. Emission analysis can measure environmental output. Economic assessment can help interpret consequences in another decision-making dimension.

None of these perspectives tells the whole story alone.

Following Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret’s Work in Aviation

The transition toward lower-impact aviation will depend on many technologies and many researchers. There is no single engine modification, fuel or operational strategy that resolves every sustainability challenge at once.

What research can do is make those challenges measurable. It can identify losses, compare technologies, reveal trade-offs and show where engineering effort may create meaningful improvements. That evidence-based approach is visible across Şöhret’s studies of aircraft propulsion, thermodynamics, exergy, emissions and environmental performance.

Readers who want to examine his academic background, research focus and scientific output in greater detail can explore the work of Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret through his academic website.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sustainable Aviation and Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret

What is sustainable aviation?

Sustainable aviation is an approach to reducing the environmental and resource impacts of air transport while preserving the safety, performance and connectivity aviation provides. It can involve more efficient aircraft and engines, alternative fuels, improved operations, emissions reduction, better energy use and new propulsion technologies.

Who is Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret?

Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret is a Turkish engineer, scientist and academic whose research includes aircraft propulsion systems, thermodynamics, exergy, sustainable aviation, energy and environmental performance, emission analysis, fuels and combustion. He continues his academic career at Süleyman Demirel University.

What are Yasin Şöhret’s main research areas?

His stated areas of expertise include aircraft propulsion systems, thermodynamics and exergy, sustainable aviation, energy and environmental performance, emission analysis, and fuels and combustion. Many of his publications investigate the relationships between these subjects rather than treating them separately.

Why is aircraft engine efficiency important for sustainable aviation?

Aircraft engines convert fuel energy into propulsion. Improving the efficiency of this process can reduce the amount of fuel required for a given operation and may consequently reduce associated environmental impacts. Engine efficiency therefore remains an important part of broader aviation sustainability research.

What is exergy analysis in aircraft engines?

Exergy analysis evaluates the useful-work potential of energy and identifies where that potential is destroyed by irreversible processes. In aircraft propulsion research, it can help determine which engine components or processes account for important thermodynamic losses and where realistic improvement opportunities may exist.

What is the difference between energy analysis and exergy analysis?

Energy analysis tracks energy quantities based on the principle that energy is conserved. Exergy analysis considers the quality or usefulness of that energy as well. As a result, exergy analysis can provide additional insight into where useful-work potential is lost inside an engineering system.

How do different flight phases affect aircraft engine performance?

Aircraft engines experience changing altitude, speed, atmospheric conditions and thrust requirements during take-off, climb, cruise, descent and other stages of flight. These changes can affect fuel consumption, thermodynamic efficiency and emissions, which is why flight-phase-specific analysis can provide a more realistic picture of engine performance.

Is sustainable aviation only about sustainable aviation fuel?

No. Alternative and sustainable fuels are important, but sustainability also involves propulsion efficiency, aircraft design, operations, emissions, maintenance, thermodynamic losses, energy management and emerging technologies. The environmental performance of aviation ultimately depends on how these factors interact.

How are aircraft emissions evaluated?

Researchers can evaluate aircraft emissions using engine operating data, fuel consumption, emission indices, flight activity and atmospheric or operational conditions. The exact methodology depends on whether the study concerns a particular engine, an individual flight, airport operations or aviation activity across a larger region.

What is enviroeconomic analysis in aviation?

Enviroeconomic analysis combines environmental performance indicators with economic interpretation. In aircraft-engine research, it can help express or compare the environmental consequences associated with emissions and energy use alongside conventional technical performance measures.

Why are thermodynamics important in aircraft propulsion research?

Aircraft gas turbine engines operate through thermodynamic processes involving compression, combustion, expansion and exhaust. Thermodynamic analysis allows engineers to quantify these processes, assess efficiency and understand how design or operating changes influence overall engine performance.

What types of aircraft engines has Yasin Şöhret studied?

His publication record includes research involving turbojet, turbofan and turboprop engines, as well as propulsion systems used in unmanned aerial vehicles and cargo or freight aircraft applications. The studies use different thermodynamic and environmental assessment techniques depending on the research problem.

How can scientific research contribute to greener aviation?

Scientific research can identify sources of inefficiency, quantify emissions, compare alternative technologies and determine how aircraft or engines perform under different conditions. This evidence helps engineers and decision-makers focus on changes that offer measurable rather than merely assumed environmental benefits.

What role does ICAO play in aviation environmental protection?

The International Civil Aviation Organization develops international standards, policies and technical work covering numerous aspects of civil aviation. Environmental issues are addressed through specialised activities including the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection, which supports ICAO’s work on subjects such as aircraft noise, emissions and aviation’s broader environmental impact.