Also this year, we will celebrate the 70th Anniversary of The Combustion Institute. Incorporated in 1954, The Combustion Institute has long served as the preeminent collection of combustion science professionals in both education and industry. Over the years, CI members have made a profound impact on the advancement of combustion science, including practical everyday contributions, and fundamental physics and chemistry. For example, the discovery of cleaner and more efficient energy conversion processes, as well as the control of flame spread from urban and wild fires. With the continued growth of the CI and our plans to reach larger audiences and expand diversity, the future looks very promising.

During this year, we plan to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the past 70 years. We welcome all stories, photos, and recollections to commemorate this anniversary. The Combustion Institute is a member-driven, non-profit scientific organization. I congratulate you on your past success and look forward to your future accomplishments.

-Philippe Dagaut 

President, The Combustion Institute 

Including calls for papers and nominations, CI awards, highlights of past events, and more

2024 Combustion Institute-Summer School Programs Announced

The 2024 slate of Combustion Institute-Summer School programs is now available. This year, there will be three CI-SS programs:

• Princeton University (United States)
• Tsinghua University (China)
• Darmstadt (Germany)

2023 Distinguished Paper Award (DPA) in the Laminar Flames Colloquium

Congratulations to Yiqing Wang, Wang Han, Thorsten Zirwes, Feichi Zhang, Henning Bockhorn, and Zheng Chen for winning the DPA in the Laminar Flames colloquium. The research for their distinguished paper, "Effects of low-temperature chemical reactions on ignition kernel development and flame propagation in a DME-air mixing layer," began in March of 2022 and was completed in November of the same year. This study was conducted at Peking University in China but was a result of the cooperation between several high-level institutions. Read more about their study here.

Call for Papers: 2024 Spring Technical Meeting of the Western States Section of The Combustion Institute (WSSCI)

The Call for Abstracts has been released for the 2024 Spring Technical Meeting of the WSSCI. Submissions are being accepted through the CI website until 1 February 2024. Read more here.

Call for Papers: 2024 Spring Technical Meeting of the Eastern States Section of The Combustion Institute (ESSCI)

The Call for Papers has been released for the 2024 Spring Technical Meeting of the ESSCI. Submissions are being accepted through the CI website until 9 February 2024. Read more here.

Call for Papers: 2024 Spring Technical Meeting of the Central States Section of The Combustion Institute (CSSCI)

The Call for Papers has been released for the 2024 Spring Technical Meeting of the CSSCI. Submissions are being accepted through the CI website until 12 March 2024. Read more here.

19th International Conference on Numerical Combustion (ICNC2024) Early Registration Deadline

Early registration for the 19th International Conference on Numerical Combustion closes on 29 February 2024 at 23:59 JST. More information regarding registration can be found here.

NSF Funding Opportunities in Transport Phenomena Research

The Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) in the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is partnering with The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS) to solicit research projects. Full proposals are due by 4 March 2024, and you can find more information here.

Call for Nominations: 2024 Gold Medals of The Combustion Institute

The Call for Nominations has been released for the 2024 Gold Medals of The Combustion Institute. The award winners will be recognized at the CI’s 40th International Symposium – Emphasizing Energy Transition in Milan, Italy. Nominations are being accepted until 23:59 EST on 16 February 2024. Read more here.

Highlights from the 13th Annual Meeting of the SAS-CI

The 13th Annual Meeting of the Saudi Arabian Section of Combustion Institute (SAS-CI) took place in Saudi Arabia from 25-26 October 2023. The theme of the meeting was “Towards Sustainable Energy Future” and it brought together around 100 experts from government, industry and institutions. The meeting featured several keynote lectures and poster sessions. Read more here.

Highlights from the KAUST CI-SS on Carbon Free Combustion

From 21-25 May 2023, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology's (KAUST) Clean Combustion Research Center (CCRC) hosted a Combustion Institute-Summer School (CI-SS) on Carbon Free Combustion to increase the visibility of combustion science to young scientists. The CI-SS received 94 in-person attendees, along with another 244 virtually. Read more here.

Check in on Our Job Opportunities Page

The CI website's job opportunities page is consistently updated with a wealth of opportunities for members of the combustion community. If you are seeking employment,  take a look. If you have a position to fill, let us know, we are happy to help.

Assembling a list of upcoming CI and CI-affiliated events

This webinar, to be held by the Netherlands Section of the CI on 26 January 2024, is primarily intended for young researchers. It will feature an invited speaker who will share important lessons that he learned during his research. More information is available here.

This lecture series, hosted by the Belgium Section of the CI, will provide both an introduction and a look at the current state of the field of machine learning for fluid mechanics. It will be held from 29 January to 2 February 2024. Read more here.

To be held from 4-5 March 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah, this meeting will be organized by the WSSCI and hosted at the University of Utah. More information is available here.

To be held from 10-13 March 2024 in Athens, Georgia, this meeting will bring together experts from industry, laboratories, and academia in the field of combustion science and engineering to examine various challenges posed to the field. It is being organized by the Eastern States Section of The Combustion Institute. You can find more information here.

This one-day workshop, to be hosted by the France Section of The Combustion Institute on 27 March 2024, will allow participants to present their work that meets at the intersection of machine learning and combustion. More information is available here.

After the successful first workshop in Eindhoven in 2022, the second installment of the International Workshop on the MeCRE will take place in Darmstadt from 13-15 November 2024, jointly organized by TU/e and Clean Circles. The scope of the workshop remains, "the promotion of metal fuels in a circular energy economy." Read more here.

Providing updates about the upcoming International Symposium on Combustion

Submissions Complete

Submissions to the CI's 40th International Symposium - Emphasizing Energy Transition closed on 4 December 2023 with an impressive total of over 1,700 submissions. The Initial Review Committee (IRC) completed their tasks and notification letters were sent to all authors on 27 December 2023. 

The Technical Program Co-Chairs thank all who submitted manuscripts and express their gratitude to the members of the IRC for their dedication to the important task of completing the initial review. 

Information for Reviewers 
Thank you to all who have agreed to provide reviews of the symposium submissions. The reviews of papers under consideration for Oral Presentation Papers (OPPs) at the symposium are due on 24 January 2024.

The review period for papers under consideration for Poster Presentation Papers (PPPs) will begin soon. The process and criteria will be the same as for OPPs and previous review of symposia submissions. The review deadline for all poster presentation submissions will be 20 February 2024. Your continued support and participation is greatly appreciated. 

Oral Presentation Paper Processing

The Oral Presentation Papers (OPPs) are now with the symposium colloquium teams and undergoing peer-review. Authors can expect to receive reviews, comments, and rebuttal requests at the end of January 2024. All authors MUST submit a one-page rebuttal for their paper to remain under consideration for presentation at the symposium. Failure to submit a one-page rebuttal will result in the withdrawal of the submission from consideration.

Poster Presentation Paper Processing

Review of Poster Presentation Papers (PPPs) will now begin. Each submission must receive at least three peer-reviews. Reviewers can expect to receive invitations to review PPPs from Proceedings of The Combustion Institute's Associate Editors. The criteria for review for these papers remains the same as in previous symposia. Authors can expect to receive reviews at the end of February 2024.

Work-in-Progress Posters

The Work-in-Progress Posters (WiPPs) provide authors with an opportunity to receive early feedback on current work prior to publication. The posters will be displayed in a prominent and well-trafficked area of the symposium venue, with ample time for discussion. WiPP submissions will open around April 2024 with a deadline of 8 May 2024, with decision notifications to follow approximately one week later.

Start Your Visa and Travel Document Process Early

For many visitors to Italy, a valid passport is all that is required. However, for those requiring a VISA, we recommend starting the request process early. For more information, visit the travel page of the 40th ISOC website.

Featuring Milan in #MilanFactFridays

We are excited to launch our social media series, #MilanFactFridays. We have already started posting interesting weekly facts about the site of the 40th Symposium, Milan. We invite you to contribute to this series with your own interesting facts by using the above hashtag. Please remember to tag the CI and the Symposium in your posts and use the following hashtags: #CI, #combustion, #combustioninstitute, #40thISOC, #energytransition.

Highlighting combustion resources and the accomplishments of CI members