AFOSR researchers Awarded Gold Medals at International Symposium on Combustion

  • Published
  • By Maria Callier
  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
ARLINGTON, Va. --  Two Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded scientists received Gold Medals at the 32nd International Symposium on Combustion at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The awards recognize, as they have in years past, the achievements of individuals within the Combustion Institute membership.
 
The Alfred C. Egerton Gold Medal was awarded to Dr. Ronald K. Hanson for his distinguished, continuing and encouraging contributions to the field of combustion.The Jakov B. Zeldovich Gold Medal was awarded to Dr. Stephen B. Pope for outstanding contributions to the theory of combustion.
 
"AFOSR is honored that both of these AFOSR-sponsored researchers have now been recognized with the Gold Medal awards," said Dr. Tishkoff, AFOSR program manager. "Both have done seminal work to advance the state of understanding in combustion research," he said. 

Dr. Ronald Hanson, a professor at Stanford for 36 years, was honored for pioneering development and application of laser-based diagnostics techniques for combustion and propulsion. 

"Highly respected colleagues in the field have received these awards in years past. It's humbling to be added to the list of people you've been admiring for many years," Dr. Hanson said. 

He noted that lasers are scientific tools that allow measurements that were not previously possible. Their applications to meet Air Force needs have evolved significantly in the past few decades since the invention of the laser. 

"Lasers now can measure several parameters in combustion systems. Pulses of wavelength-tuned light can be sent through hostile environments of engines without disturbing them, yielding 2-D images of propulsion quantities. The Air Force is particularly interested in laser-based measurements of temperature, fuel concentration and velocity," he said.

Currently, he and his research team are developing new ways of studying jet fuel chemistry, which is needed for the development of future fuels.

Cornell University professor, Dr. Stephen Pope, has worked in combustion research for 30 years. 

"It took me by surprise, but I feel very honored by the award. Having worked in the field for so long it is gratifying to be recognized in this way by my colleagues," he said.  "Our work is theoretical and computational. We have developed a number of computational methods for modeling turbulent combustion as occurs in aircraft engines." 

Dr. Pope noted, "Our work is aimed at developing methods to model and simulate turbulent combustion. These methods are used by engineers designing combustors for aircraft engines, scramjets and rockets. Hence the methods we are developing aid in the design process, helping to achieve higher performance of the engines used by the Air Force." 

Both Drs. Hanson and Pope are grateful for the sustained support they have received for their work from AFOSR and Dr. Tishkoff.  That support, they believe, enabled them to achieve the successes that the Gold Medals acknowledge.