Sometimes the results of a teacher’s and scientist’s work are best measured not by the number of papers, projects, or reports, but by the people they have helped grow.

At the moment, I have five students whom I can truly call my own — people I work with personally and guide in research from their first steps toward independent scientific work. Two of them are from Arab countries, and three are from Russia.

I Am a Lead Guest Editor of a Special Issue on Microwave Photonics and Fiber-Optic Sensors

 I am pleased to share some academic news: I have become the Lead Guest Editor of a Special Issue of the Journal of Optics and Photonics Research entitled:

“Microwave-Photonic Interrogation and Advanced Fiber-Optic Sensors for Multi-Parameter Measurement.”

Together with Guest Editor Dr. Manish Tiwari from Manipal University Jaipur, India, I would like to invite colleagues working in microwave photonics, fiber-optic sensing, photonic interrogation systems, and related fields to contribute their research to this Special Issue.

The Special Issue focuses on the convergence of microwave-photonic interrogation and advanced fiber-optic sensing, particularly for high-speed, multiplexed, and intelligent multi-parameter measurement systems.

Microwave-Photonic Interrogation
and Advanced Fiber-Optic Sensors
for Multi-Parameter Measurement

Among the topics of interest are:

• microwave-photonic interrogation of fiber-optic sensors;
• addressed and multi-addressed fiber Bragg structures;
• radio-frequency processing of optical sensor responses;
• optical frequency combs for sensor interrogation;
• machine-learning-assisted multi-parameter measurement and compensation;
• fiber Fabry–Perot and interferometric sensor systems;
• multiplexing and cross-sensitivity compensation;
• optical vector analysis for photonic sensing.

The scope is not limited to these topics. We particularly welcome theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies, as well as methodological papers and critical reviews dealing with sensor design, interrogation, signal processing, calibration, uncertainty analysis, intelligent reconstruction, and practical applications.

The manuscript submission deadline is February 5, 2027. Papers that pass the initial pre-check will undergo peer review by at least two reviewers in the relevant field.

So, if you and your colleagues are working on fiber sensors, fiber Bragg gratings, microwave photonics, photonic sensing, multi-parameter measurements, or intelligent optical interrogation, I will be very glad to see your work submitted to our Special Issue.

You are very welcome to contribute — and please feel free to share this Call for Papers with colleagues who may be interested!

Special Issue — Call for Papers and submission information

Among the Top-100 Most-Read Authors in MDPI Optics

 Another pleasant academic surprise from ResearchGate.

On the ResearchGate page of the MDPI journal Optics, I found that I was included among the Top-100 most-read authors last month.

Apparently, somebody is actually reading what we write. :)

Of course, such monthly rankings are dynamic and should not be taken too seriously as a scientific metric. Still, it is nice to see that our work in optics, photonics, and fiber-optic sensing attracts attention from readers.

ResearchGate currently lists our recent paper in Optics as well — “A Concept and Numerical Study of Refractive-Index-Based pH Estimation Using an Etched Addressed Fiber Bragg Structure with Microwave Photonic Interrogation.”

So, after recently discovering that I had made it into a citation ranking for Sensors, here is another small achievement for the collection: Top-100 most-read authors in Optics.

Not a Nobel Prize, certainly — but a nice thing to find on a journal page nonetheless. :)

ResearchGate page of the MDPI journal Optics: among the Top-100 most-read authors last month.

Among the Top-Cited Authors in Sensors

 A small but very pleasant piece of academic news came to me from ResearchGate.

According to the “Top-cited authors in Sensors” ranking shown by ResearchGate for the last month, my colleague Prof. Oleg G. Morozov and I were included among the Top-100 most cited authors associated with the MDPI journal Sensors.

At the time I took the screenshot, Oleg Morozov had 22 citations, while my profile showed 21 citations for the month.

Of course, a monthly citation ranking is not a fundamental scientific metric, and such lists can change quite quickly. Nevertheless, it is always pleasant to see that our research is being read, used, and cited by other researchers.

For me, this is also recognition of the work of our entire research team — colleagues, co-authors, students, and everyone involved in our studies in fiber-optic sensors, microwave photonics, and related fields.

And since this is my personal blog, I can admit that this little result amuses my scientific vanity a bit. :)

ResearchGate “Top-cited authors in Sensors” ranking for the last month:
Oleg G. Morozov — 22 citations; A. Zh. Sakhabutdinov — 21 citations.

Successful Defense of the Candidate of Sciences Dissertation by Alhussein Alaa Naji Dakhal

 

Alaa Naji Dahal Alhussein 

Today I would like to mark an important event for me: my postgraduate student, Alhussein Alaa Naji Dakhal, successfully defended his Candidate of Sciences dissertation entitled “Modified Addressed Fiber Bragg Gratings with Microwave-Photonic Interrogation in Local pH-Control Systems” in the scientific specialty 2.2.6 “Optical and Optoelectronic Devices and Complexes.”

 

Wonderful news! Today, the Higher Attestation Commission has officially approved the academic degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences (PhD) for my student, a postgraduate from Yemen — Mohammed Raqeeb Thabit Mohammed Qaid.

Mohammed has proven himself to be a talented young researcher, distinguished by his tremendous diligence, perseverance, and genuine passion for science. By the time of his dissertation defense, he had already authored over 20 scientific publications in peer-reviewed international journals. And what is especially gratifying — he hasn’t slowed down since the defense, continuing to actively pursue research and maintain a strong publication record.

His dissertation, entitled “Combined Fiber-Optic Sensors for Local Temperature Monitoring with Radio-Photonic Interrogation,” was successfully defended in December 2024 at KNRTU-KAI, Department of Radiophotonics and Microwave Technologies. The work received high praise from the academic community.

I sincerely congratulate Mohammed on this important milestone in his life and wish him great scientific success, new discoveries, and continued inspiration!

Indian colleagues devoted an entire paragraph to our article

Indian colleagues Dipten Kumar, Nandini Basumallick, and Debotosh Bhattacharjee in their paper "CCD Array Spectrometer-Based FBG Bragg Wavelength Detection Using ANN Algorithm" devoted an entire paragraph:

Consequently, a neural network-based algorithm is suitable for detecting Bragg wavelength for CCD-based and tunable filter-based interrogators in real-time/time critical applications. In [8], Timur Agliullin et al. proposed a neural network-based algorithm for determining the Bragg wavelength of an FBG sensor for a CCD arraybased interrogator. In that work, the model is trained by the relation ’pixel amplitude (i.e., optical signal intensity captured on each pixel) of CCD sensor vs. absolute wavelength data of FBG spectrum.’ This training is done for some fixed wavelength range (3 nm in their work). However, this method has two significant disadvantages. First, there are cases where the FBG spectrum, due to some precondition (like prestain etc.) shifts significantly and goes out of the wavelength range window used for training (3 nm in the discussed case). The ANN model developed for the FBG sensor that determines the central wavelength from the pixel data can no longer be used in such a thing happens. Second, if the wavelength range window for training increases, the number of training samples will increase proportionately. Therefore, the training window cannot be increased arbitrarily; otherwise, the implementation becomes very expensive.

to our article [8] T. Agliullin, V. Anfinogentov, R. Misbakhov, O. Morozov, A. Nasybullin, A. Sakhabutdinov, B. Valeev, Application of Neural Network Algorithms for Central Wavelength Determination of Fiber Optic Sensors, Applied Sciences 13 (2023) 5338. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095338.

The new reviewer certificate

 

Miniature fiber-optic temperature sensor

 Russian scientists have introduced a new miniature fiber-optic temperature sensor based on a Fabry–Pérot interferometer located at the tip of an optical fiber. The sensor demonstrates a sensitivity of up to 10 pm/°C, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of traditional fiber-optic sensors. The development utilizes a photopolymer material, and its manufacturing process is noted for its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

One of the technology's creators, Dr. Airat Sakhabutdinov, remarked: "This sensor opens up new possibilities in fields such as medicine and biology. Its miniature size and high precision make it possible to address temperature control challenges that were previously unattainable."

Additionally, the scientists developed a microwave photonic method for reading the sensor’s data, which eliminates the need for an optical spectrum analyzer. This innovation has reduced the cost of the measurement system, making it more accessible for widespread use. The sensor’s operating temperature range spans from -20°C to +80°C, and its durability exceeds 10,000 heating and cooling cycles.

The technology has already attracted interest from medical research centers and high-tech companies, highlighting its potential for further practical implementation.

Gravity

We all know well that there are only four fundamental forces and interactions, namely: gravitation, electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear interactions. These four forces together constitute the diversity of all known phenomena in Nature. The weakest of them is gravity. The weakest is the gravitational interaction, the strength of which at an energy of 10⁹ eV is 10³³ times (33 orders of magnitude) less than that of the weak interaction.

However, the most powerful objects in the Universe are created not by strong and weak nuclear interaction (it is clear, they are short-range), but also not by electromagnetism, which is 10 orders of magnitude more powerful than the weak interaction, but by the weakest force in Nature - gravity.

Hypothesis on the Existence of Life in Vacuum Conditions (humor)

In the universe, there may exist living organisms capable of surviving and reproducing in vacuum conditions. Sunlight represents one of the possible sources of energy that is available in significant quantities in space. Microelements and complex molecules necessary for life, such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, can exist in outer space, even though they are scarce.

Fiber-optic hydraulic microphone based on an end-face Fabry-Perot interferometer with an open cavity

 

Authored by: Oleg Morozov; Timur Agliullin; Airat Sakhabutdinov; Artem Kuznetsov; Bulat Valeev; Mohammed Qaid; Roman Ponomarev; Danil Nurmuhametov; Anastasia Ivanovna Shmyrova; Yuri Konstantinov has been accepted in Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732) on 19 December 2023

Humanity will kill itself

The basic idea of this thesis is that humanity will destroy itself by developing medicine. Let us focus on the question “how and to what extent the development of medicine will affect the prospects of mankind”. We focus on the fact that the development of medicine contributes to the fact that it significantly reduces the role of negative selection, equalising the chances of reproductive success for all members of the population. Timely rendered medical services allow receiving equal reproductive success simultaneously and representatives with successful mutations and representatives of the population with negative mutations. On the scale of several hundreds or even thousands of years, the absence of the factor of negative selection will inevitably lead to the fact that each next generation will be weaker than the previous one.  The negative mutations will get an equal chance to be fixed in the population as positive ones.

My dauther and Karate

 This is, of course, my blog, which I mainly focus on my scientific achievements. At the same time, my children bring me a huge share of joy in my life. I would like to post here about my youngest daughter winning first place in a karate competition. Below are the semi-finals and finals.

Special Issue in International Journal of Mathematics and Systems Science

Dear Colleagues,

Detection of toxic or noxious substances in gases and liquids is becoming increasingly important in industrial production and environmental control tasks. At the same time, the demand for detection and control of individual biological and chemical substances is growing, which is especially noticeable in biomedicine and health care. Accurate concentration analysis can have many critical applications in biology, chemistry, ecology and other areas of science. Detection methods based on changes in refractive index have many advantages over many other analytical methods because they are very sensitive not only to sample concentration, but also to molecular interactions. In addition to this, optical methods for controlling the refractive index are very sensitive and have a great measuring potential even with a small volume of the material to be measured.

One of the most promising approaches is the use of fiber optic sensors as part of a system for monitoring the concentration of substances in liquid or gaseous media. Fiber-optic sensors compared to classical sensors have a number of significant advantages, such as small mass, high sensitivity, electromagnetic compatibility, the possibility of multiplexing, the ability to measure multiple quantities. A great advantage of fiber optic sensors is also their biological and chemical neutrality in a wide range.

Over the past decades, the topic of fiber-optic concentration sensors has been quite widely discussed, with various and very witty solutions being found in publications occasionally. Nevertheless, the interest in this topic is steadily growing, and it is caused both by the development of fiber optic sensor methods and by the development of technologies for the sensor production.

Thus, the actual task is not only to create the measuring systems and sensors, but also to develop mathematical models to investigate the physics of the phenomenon. It allows determining recommendations to the range of parameter selection, providing an appreciable range of change in the refractive index, which in turn depends on the dielectric and magnetic permeability. And the design recommendations should be derived from the results of the study of the mathematical model.

This section serves as a platform for the exchange of knowledge on new methods and technologies, practical implementations, current analysis, conclusions, and experiences in this field of research. It will advance research that promotes the development, integration, and possible improvement of fiber optic sensors? Including concentration sensors in various sectors of the economy. It is designed for designers, researchers, and practitioners to share their knowledge and experience in this field.

International Journal of Mathematics and Systems Science, Fiber Optic Concentration Sensors, Submission deadline: 2023-12-31

Section Editors

Proff. A.Zh. Sakhabutdinov

Dr. T.A. Agliullin

Neural networks in applications of fiber optic sensor networks.

We have used neural network technology for the first time to determine the position of the center wavelength of a fiber Bragg grating. Despite the fact that the technology, in general, is simple, it turned out to be surprisingly very effective and promising. It's especially nice that our article was accepted in Scopus Q2.

My life event. I secretly ran to take pictures so as not to be seen in vanity.

A very pleasant event happened today, which greatly amuses my vanity. My portrait was hung on the wall of the university, next to the portraits of the founders of the Research Institute of Applied Electrodynamics, Photonics and Living Systems. 

“Overview of Addressed Fiber Bragg Structures’ Development” is accepted in Photonics at Special Issue Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Photonics Sensors

 I am pleased that our long-suffering article has finally been accepted for publication.

The light travelling along fiber

 

Structure

Spectrum

Another one of our articles was accepted for publication in Karbala International Journal of Modern Science

Another one of our articles was accepted for publication in Karbala International Journal of Modern Science.

Karbala International Journal of Modern Science is an open access, interdisciplinary, single blind peer-reviewed journal consolidating research activities in all experimental and theoretical aspects of modern sciences. The journal publishes original papers including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, and their related and subfields.

The journal is indexed in Scopus 

The decision letter: