Prof. Afgan was born on 15 June 1929 in the town of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He graduated from the University of Zagreb as a Mechanical Engineer (1956), and obtained his Doctorate of Technical Sciences from the Electrical Engineering Faculty at the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia (1966).
He was Scientific Adviser at the Nuclear Science Institute (Vinca) Belgrade in the field of Heat and Mass Transfer, Energy Engineering and Nuclear Technologies (1965-1991), Director of the Association of Yugoslav Nuclear Sciences Institutes, Belgrade, responsible for planning and coordinating programmes in nuclear energy sciences (1991-1993), Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Chair in Energy Engineering at the University of Zagreb, Croatia (1980-1993).

In 1993 he was invited as a Visiting Professor at the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, as a UNESCO Chair Holder, where he organised and presented short courses on Sustainable Energy Management.

Prof. Afgan is a Member of the Scientific Council of the International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer in Ankara, Turkey (1968-present), and a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Journal of the French Society of Heat Engineers (1974-1990). He has been Editor of Nuclear Technology (the Serbo-Croatian Journal of the Yugoslav Nuclear Institute Association) (1982-1989), a Member of the Editorial Board of Nuclear Europe (the Journal of the European Nuclear Association) (1982-1990), Editor of the bulletin of the International Centre for Heat and Mass Transfer in the Journal of the International Centre of Heat and Mass Transfer (1986-1988), and a Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the International Journal of Experimental Heat Transfer, Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics (1986-present). He has been a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Development (2001-present).

Prof. Afgan has been a member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia-Herzegovina since 1989, Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science (2005), Member of Balkan Political Club (2005).

Prof. Afgan published 2 books, 4 Monography, 86 papers in international journals, 92 papers in proceedings of International Conferences , and edited 34 proceedings of International Conference. He has been the chairman of scientific committee of the Conference of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (2001-present).

He is the recipient of the Belgrade Award for Scientific Achievement (1976) for the monograph Boiling Liquid Superheat, publ. Academic Press (1976) and the Fellowship Award of the International Center for Heat and Mass Transfer (1998), as well as the Award 50th Anniversary Award of the VINCA Science Institute, Belgrade (1998).

Prof. Afgan, has participated in the development of the UNESCO Program on Distant Learning in High Education in Energy Engineering. With the development of the two distant learning courses in the energy engineering, Prof. Afgan has become a leading world expert on multimedia lecturing.
Prof. Afgan is one among the first to introduce energy subject in sustainable development. His prestige in the field of energy has lead him to become interested in the engineering aspect of the sustainable development. Prof. Afgan has made substantial contribution in promoting different aspect of the sustainable development in the energy field.

Prof. Afgan was elected as a Fellow of the Islamic World Academy of Sciences in 2000.