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Annapurna is a Ph.D. candidate in the Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering department at the Áù¾ÅÉ«ÌÃ. Before this, she worked in Propulsion Research Studies for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India, and has expertise in experimental combustion studies. She also has experimental research experience in working with hydrogen-fueled combustor of aircraft engines from the Institute for Thermal Turbomachinery and Machine Dynamics, Technical University Graz, Austria. She has a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the ‘University of Applied Sciences, Austria, and a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from India.

Her current research focus is on paraffin wax-based fuels applied to hybrid rocket propulsion. Methods to augment the performance of wax-based fuels through enhanced fuel formulations and improved combustion efficiency are the primary objectives of this work. Additionally, one of the key challenges of paraffin wax is its poor mechanical properties. In her work, she will be experimentally characterizing the thermal and mechanical properties that are responsible for the ‘fuel sloughing’ event witnessed in hybrid rocket motors