Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret: Advancing Sustainable Aviation Research

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

The future of flight is often discussed through ambitious ideas: cleaner fuels, lower emissions, more efficient aircraft and new propulsion technologies. Yet behind each of these goals sits a much more technical question. How do we actually measure whether an aircraft system is becoming more efficient, environmentally responsible and sustainable?

That question sits close to the academic work of Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret. A professor at Süleyman Demirel University’s School of Civil Aviation, Şöhret works across areas including aircraft propulsion, thermodynamics, energy and exergy analysis, combustion, fuels and environmental performance. Together, these subjects create an engineering perspective on sustainability that goes well beyond simply describing aviation as “green” or “clean.”

His work is particularly relevant at a time when researchers, engineers and policymakers are trying to understand how aviation can continue to develop while reducing the environmental consequences associated with energy use and propulsion.

Who Is Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret?

Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret is an academic working at the intersection of civil aviation and engineering. He is affiliated with Süleyman Demirel University, where his academic profile places him within the School of Civil Aviation and the Department of Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance.

What makes his profile particularly interesting is the combination of disciplines involved. Aircraft engines cannot really be studied in isolation. Their performance is tied to fuel characteristics, combustion, thermal efficiency, energy losses, emissions and the operating conditions under which an aircraft flies.

Şöhret’s research interests reflect this interconnected structure. Academic sources identify areas such as gas turbine engine measurements, combustion and fuels, energy and exergy analyses of thermal systems, sustainable aviation, and aviation and the environment among his fields of interest.

In practical terms, this means looking at aviation sustainability from inside the engineering system rather than treating environmental performance as a separate issue added at the end.

Sustainable Aviation at the Center of His Research

Sustainable aviation is sometimes reduced to one subject, usually sustainable aviation fuel or electric aircraft. Those are certainly important parts of the conversation, but the engineering challenge is broader.

Aviation sustainability also depends on how efficiently energy is converted into useful propulsion, how much of that energy is lost, which emissions are generated, how aircraft engines perform under different operating conditions and how environmental impacts can be quantified in a meaningful way.

This broader approach is visible in Şöhret’s academic work and editorial contributions. He was among the editors of the Springer volume Sustainable Aviation, published in 2019, which examines sustainability through subjects ranging from energy management and alternative fuels to environmental considerations and aviation systems.

He also contributed as an editor to Advances in Sustainable Aviation, another Springer publication addressing engineering, management, environmental and methodological dimensions of aviation sustainability.

For readers trying to understand the technical side of sustainable aviation, this is an important distinction. Sustainability does not begin only when a new fuel is introduced. It starts with understanding the energy system itself.

Energy Efficiency and Environmental Performance

Every propulsion system receives energy, converts part of it into useful work and loses another part through different processes. Traditional efficiency calculations are useful here, but they do not always reveal the full picture.

This is why thermodynamic approaches such as exergy analysis are valuable in aviation research. Energy analysis tells us how much energy exists within a system; exergy analysis can go further by examining the useful potential of that energy and where irreversible losses occur.

For aircraft propulsion, the distinction matters. Two engine configurations may consume energy in apparently similar ways while showing different levels of thermodynamic loss or environmental performance.

Looking at these details allows researchers to ask more useful questions. Where does avoidable inefficiency occur? Which operating stage creates the greatest loss? Could changes in combustion, engine design or operating conditions improve the overall outcome?

These are not abstract questions. They are part of the engineering foundation required to move aviation toward better use of energy and potentially lower environmental impact.

Aircraft Propulsion and Thermodynamic Analysis

Propulsion remains one of the central technical challenges in modern aviation. An aircraft must generate sufficient thrust while dealing with strict requirements involving weight, reliability, safety, fuel consumption, thermal limits and operating performance.

Add environmental expectations to that list and the challenge becomes even more demanding.

Şöhret’s work on gas turbine engines, thermal systems and propulsion-related performance contributes to this technical discussion. Rather than approaching sustainability as a general environmental slogan, this type of research examines what happens within the systems that actually enable aircraft to fly.

One example is his work concerning the environmental assessment of turbojet engines. In a chapter titled Greenization Factor of a Turbojet Engine, Şöhret and T. Hikmet Karakoç examined an indicator designed to assess how system improvements could relate to reduced environmental impact in propulsion systems.

It is a useful example because it demonstrates something easily missed in public discussions about aviation: before improvement can be managed, it needs to be measured.

From Aircraft Engines to Aviation Sustainability

An aircraft engine is a remarkably complex energy conversion system. Airflow, compression, combustion, expansion and thrust generation all happen under changing operating conditions, often across very different phases of flight.

That complexity is precisely why sustainability research needs engineering-level analysis.

Fuel efficiency, for instance, cannot always be understood by looking only at total fuel consumption. Researchers may also need to consider flight phase, engine load, thermal efficiency, combustion characteristics, emissions and losses occurring throughout the propulsion process.

The connection between propulsion and sustainability therefore becomes clearer when these variables are considered together.

Viewed together, these areas show why the transition toward cleaner flight cannot depend on a single technology. Better aircraft may ultimately emerge from many smaller improvements working together: propulsion efficiency, thermal management, fuels, operating strategy and more precise environmental assessment.

Connecting Aviation, Energy and the Environment

There is a useful way to think about modern aviation research: aircraft are transportation systems, but they are also energy systems.

Once viewed from that angle, the link with environmental performance becomes unavoidable.

An aircraft engine takes chemically stored energy, converts it through combustion and thermodynamic processes, and ultimately produces propulsion. At each step, engineers can examine efficiency, losses and environmental effects. That gives researchers multiple opportunities to understand how a system might perform differently.

Şöhret’s academic interests sit directly within this aviation-energy-environment relationship. His research profile includes both the internal engineering behavior of thermal and propulsion systems and the broader sustainability questions connected with aviation.

We believe this connection is especially important when discussing sustainable flight. It is easy to focus on the technology that sounds newest. Hydrogen, electric propulsion and sustainable aviation fuels naturally attract attention. But even promising energy sources still need efficient engines, well-designed energy systems and rigorous performance evaluation.

In other words, changing the fuel does not remove the need to understand the machine.

Why Exergy Matters in Aircraft Energy Research

Exergy is not a term most passengers will hear at an airport, yet it can be extremely useful for engineers studying energy efficiency.

Imagine two processes that both contain the same quantity of energy. That does not necessarily mean the energy has the same ability to perform useful work. Exergy analysis focuses on that useful potential and on the losses created by irreversible processes.

For aircraft engines, this can help researchers identify where valuable energy potential is being destroyed during operation. Such information can provide a more detailed view than energy quantity alone.

This kind of analysis becomes particularly valuable in sustainability studies because environmental improvement is often connected to better resource use. If engineers understand where the largest avoidable losses occur, research and design efforts can be directed more precisely.

It is not a magic number that tells us whether an aircraft is sustainable. Nothing in aviation engineering is quite that simple. But it is a powerful analytical tool within a much larger assessment framework.

Combustion, Fuels and the Search for Cleaner Flight

Fuel remains one of the biggest pieces of the aviation sustainability puzzle.

Conventional turbine engines rely on tightly controlled combustion to generate the high-energy gas flow required for propulsion. The characteristics of that combustion process affect engine output, efficiency and emissions.

Alternative fuels add another layer of complexity. A fuel may offer environmental advantages in one area while creating different requirements involving combustion behavior, infrastructure, production pathways or engine compatibility.

For that reason, fuel research and combustion research cannot be separated entirely from propulsion engineering. Understanding how a fuel behaves within an actual thermal system is essential.

Şöhret’s stated research interests include combustion and fuels alongside gas turbine engine measurements and energy analysis. That combination is particularly relevant to a sector investigating multiple routes toward lower environmental impact rather than relying on one universal solution.

Academic Contributions to Sustainable Aviation

Academic books and peer-reviewed studies play a slightly different role from commercial technology announcements. They create a place where methods can be questioned, measurements can be compared and sustainability claims can be examined more carefully.

Şöhret has contributed to this academic literature both as an author and as an editor.

The Springer book Sustainable Aviation, edited by T. Hikmet Karakoç, C. Özgür Colpan, Onder Altuntas and Yasin Sohret, brings together research around sustainability within aviation and associated energy systems. Şöhret also co-authored the book’s chapter addressing fundamentals of sustainability.

His involvement in Advances in Sustainable Aviation adds another layer. The volume explores sustainable aviation from a systems perspective, while his own contribution on the greenization factor of a turbojet engine focuses specifically on evaluating environmental improvement in propulsion.

Taken together, these contributions show a recurring theme: sustainability is treated as something that can be examined through engineering methods rather than discussed only as a broad ambition.

From Academic Research to International Aviation Discussions

The relationship between research and aviation policy is another important part of the sustainability landscape.

In 2023, Süleyman Demirel University reported that Şöhret participated as part of Türkiye’s delegation in technical work connected with the International Civil Aviation Organization. University reports also noted his participation in a workshop organized by the International Scientific Group associated with ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection.

This matters because aviation’s environmental challenges do not stop at university laboratories or engine test facilities. International aviation depends on technical standards, measurement approaches, scientific assessment and cooperation between countries.

Researchers who understand propulsion, energy and environmental performance can therefore contribute to discussions extending beyond individual aircraft technologies.

Why Sustainable Aviation Requires an Interdisciplinary Approach

Can aviation become sustainable through better engines alone? Probably not. Can alternative fuels solve everything by themselves? Again, unlikely.

The industry’s environmental transition involves several connected fields at once.

• Aircraft and propulsion engineering determine how efficiently an aircraft can perform its mission.
• Thermodynamics reveals how energy moves through engines and other technical systems.
• Combustion research helps engineers understand fuel behavior and emission formation.
• Energy and exergy analyses expose different forms of system inefficiency.
• Environmental assessment connects engineering performance with wider ecological consequences.
• Alternative energy and fuel pathways introduce new possibilities as well as new engineering questions.
• Operational decisions influence how efficiently available technology is used in real flight conditions.

None of these areas functions completely independently. This is why interdisciplinary researchers can be valuable to sustainable aviation: they help connect individual technical questions to the performance of the larger system.

Şöhret’s research profile reflects this type of connection, bringing propulsion, thermal science, energy analysis and environmental evaluation into the same academic conversation.

What Can Aviation Professionals Learn From This Research Approach?

There is a broader lesson here for anyone following the transformation of aviation.

Not every meaningful sustainability improvement will arrive in the form of a radically different aircraft. Sometimes progress begins with better measurement, a more accurate model or a clearer understanding of where energy is being lost.

That may sound less dramatic than announcing an entirely new propulsion concept, but engineering often works this way. Big changes are built from thousands of carefully tested smaller ones.

For professionals, researchers and students, this means sustainable aviation should be examined with several questions in mind:

1. How efficiently is energy converted into useful propulsion?
2. Where do the greatest thermodynamic losses occur?
3. How does combustion affect both performance and emissions?
4. How should alternative fuels be evaluated inside real propulsion systems?
5. Which indicators best describe environmental improvement?
6. How do results change across operating and flight conditions?
7. Can engineering improvements be assessed at system level rather than one component at a time?

Questions like these help move the sustainability discussion from general ambition toward measurable engineering performance.

A Research Perspective on the Future of Aviation

No single researcher, technology or fuel will define the future of flight. The transition is simply too complex for that.

What research can do, however, is give the industry better ways to understand its choices. More accurate performance assessment can reveal inefficient processes. Thermodynamic studies can expose losses. Combustion research can improve our understanding of fuels. Environmental analysis can help compare the consequences of different technological pathways.

This is where the academic profile of Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret becomes relevant for readers interested in the engineering foundations of aviation sustainability. His work brings together subjects that are sometimes discussed separately but, in practice, are closely connected: propulsion, thermodynamics, energy, fuels and environmental performance.

For anyone researching the technical dimensions of cleaner and more efficient flight, examining those connections offers a useful perspective. Sustainable aviation is not a single destination reached by choosing one technology. It is an ongoing engineering process of measuring, questioning, improving and measuring again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret?

Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret is an academic at Süleyman Demirel University’s School of Civil Aviation. His research interests include aircraft propulsion, gas turbine engines, combustion and fuels, thermodynamics, energy and exergy analysis, sustainable aviation, and aviation’s relationship with the environment.

What does Yasin Şöhret research?

His research covers interconnected areas of aviation engineering, particularly gas turbine engine measurements, propulsion systems, combustion, fuels, thermal systems, energy and exergy analysis, and environmental performance. These areas allow aircraft energy systems to be studied from both engineering and sustainability perspectives.

What is Yasin Şöhret’s connection to sustainable aviation?

Sustainable aviation is explicitly listed among Şöhret’s research interests. He has also contributed as an editor and author to academic books focused specifically on sustainable aviation, including Springer publications examining engineering and environmental aspects of the subject.

Why is aircraft propulsion important for sustainable aviation?

Propulsion determines a significant part of an aircraft’s energy demand, fuel use and emissions. Improving propulsion performance can therefore contribute to better fuel efficiency and environmental performance, although sustainability also depends on fuel production, aircraft design, operations and other factors.

What is exergy analysis in aviation?

Exergy analysis examines how much useful work potential exists within an energy system and where that potential is lost through irreversible processes. In aviation engineering, it can help researchers identify inefficiencies within aircraft engines and other thermal systems more precisely.

How is thermodynamics connected to aircraft sustainability?

Aircraft propulsion is fundamentally a thermodynamic process. Understanding compression, combustion, heat transfer, expansion and energy losses helps engineers evaluate how efficiently engines convert fuel energy into useful propulsion and where improvements may be possible.

Why are gas turbine engines studied in sustainability research?

Gas turbine engines power much of commercial and military aviation. Their fuel consumption, thermal efficiency and emissions make them an important research area when investigating ways to improve aviation’s energy and environmental performance.

What role does combustion research play in cleaner aviation?

Combustion influences engine efficiency, reliability and the formation of several emissions. Studying combustion becomes especially important when researchers evaluate alternative fuels because different fuel properties can influence how an engine operates.

Has Yasin Şöhret published research about turbojet environmental performance?

Yes. Among his published work is research applying a “greenization factor” approach to a turbojet engine in order to assess system improvements from an environmental perspective. The work appeared within the Springer volume Advances in Sustainable Aviation.

Has Prof. Dr. Yasin Şöhret contributed to books about sustainable aviation?

Yes. He is listed among the editors of Springer’s Sustainable Aviation and Advances in Sustainable Aviation. He also contributed as an author to chapters within these academic works.

What is the relationship between energy efficiency and aviation emissions?

Improving energy efficiency can reduce the amount of fuel needed to perform a given task, which may reduce associated emissions. The exact environmental outcome depends on the engine, fuel, operating conditions and which emissions are being evaluated, so detailed engineering analysis remains necessary.

Is sustainable aviation only about sustainable aviation fuel?

No. Sustainable aviation fuel is one important pathway, but the broader subject also includes aircraft design, propulsion efficiency, thermal management, alternative energy sources, operational improvements, airport systems, environmental assessment and other technological or managerial approaches.

Why does sustainable aviation need interdisciplinary research?

An aircraft connects aerodynamics, propulsion, materials, fuels, energy systems, operations, economics and environmental performance. A change in one area can influence several others, which makes interdisciplinary analysis essential when researchers assess whether a solution is genuinely improving the overall system.