15th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion (ASPACC), and 13th Mediterranean Combustion Symposium (MCS). This effort has been, and continues to be spearheaded by Professor Assaad Masri, President-Elect of The Combustion Institute. You can read more about each meeting in the "CI Events" section of this newsletter. 

The new CI website is up and running. We appreciate the cooperation and patience of all as we have addressed membership issues and adjusted to the new system. Additionally, we are in the process of establishing new committees to support our evolving needs and ensure we remain at the forefront of serving our members' research needs and initiatives.

We have also fortified our commitment to sustainability in a recently released sustainability statement which will inform our in-office procedures, as well as those of future meetings and symposia hosted by the Institute.

The year ahead presents the Institute with many exciting opportunities for growth, collaboration, and innovation. As we implement these initiatives, and continue to have productive conversations with the community, we are well positioned to have a transformative and impactful year in 2025.

We have plenty left to do and accomplish. The destruction caused by wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires in Los Angeles in the past two weeks, along with those in Chile a year prior, have affected the lives of numerous colleagues and their communities. These calamities also serve as a reminder of the significant role the combustion research community plays in tackling the tough problems of fire prevention and mitigation. In the newsletter, we showcase various ongoing initiatives by individuals and groups within our community. I take my hat off to them.

-Hai Wang 

President, The Combustion Institute 

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

Deng Receives 2025 U.S. Early Career Combustion Investigator Award

Prof. Sili Deng, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been announced as the recipient of the 2025 U.S. Early Career Combustion Investigator Award. When asked about her selection as the awardee, Deng said, "Receiving this award motivates me to continue advancing combustion science and tackling critical challenges in energy research. I am deeply grateful to my team, collaborators, and mentors, whose hard work and support have been instrumental in this achievement." Prof. Deng will be honored at the 14th U.S. National Combustion Meeting, and will present the meeting's Early Career Investigator Plenary Lecture. Read more here.

70th Anniversary of The Combustion Institute Commemorative Materials Now Available

We are excited to celebrate 70 years of The Combustion Institute with the release of several commemorative materials. You can view the videos and booklet commemorating our 70th anniversary here.

2025 Combustion Institute-Summer School Programs Announced

The 2025 slate of Combustion Institute-Summer School programs is now available. This year, there will be four CI-SS programs:

• University of Campinas (Brazil)
• Valparaiso-Viña del Mar (Chile)
• Tsinghua University (China)
• Princeton University (United States)

More information is available here. Proposals for 2026 CI-SS programs are being accepted through 31 May 2025.

2023 Distinguished Paper Award (DPA) in the Numerical Combustion Colloquium

Congratulations to Kamila Zdybal, James C. Sutherland, and Alessandro Parente for winning the DPA in the Numerical Combustion colloquium. Research for their paper, "Manifold-informed state vector subset for reduced-order modeling," took place at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, in collaboration with the University of Utah. Read more here.

2023 Distinguished Paper Award (DPA) in the Solid Fuel Combustion Colloquium

Congratulations to Leon C. Thijs, C.E.A.G. van Gool, W.J.S. Ramaekers, Jeroen A. van Oijen, and L.P.H. de Goey for winning the DPA in the Solid Fuel Combustion colloquium. The paper, titled, "Resolved simulations of single iron particle combustion and the release of nano-particles," was authored after developing a model to further investigate the underlying physics that are important for single iron particle combustion. Learn more about their research here.

2023 Distinguished Paper Award (DPA) in the Soot, Nanomaterials and Large Molecules Colloquium

Congratulations to Michael Frenklach and Alexander M. Mebel for winning the DPA in the Soot, Nanomaterials and Large Molecules colloquium. Research for their winning paper, “Prenucleation chemistry of aromatics: A two-ring precursor?” was conducted in 2020 and 2021, mainly at Florida International University and the University of California at Berkeley. Read more about their study here.

Highlights from the 14th Annual Meeting of the Saudi Arabian Section of The Combustion Institute

The 14th Annual Meeting of the Saudi Arabian Section of The Combustion Institute (SAS-CI) was held from 30-31 October 2024 at the King Faisal Conference Center at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This installment focused on the theme, “Igniting Innovation for a Cleaner Energy Future,” and attracted 115 registrants from around Saudi Arabia, as well as several from outside Saudi Arabia. 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

The 16th ICCEU will be held in Hong Kong from 9-13 February 2025. Learn more here.

The 14th USNCM, hosted by the Eastern States Section of The Combustion Institute, will be held in Boston, MA from 16-19 March 2025. Early registration, featuring discounted rates, is still open until 23 January 2025. We encourage prospective attendees to register soon to take advantage of these reduced rates, as well as to book their discounted hotel rooms via the reserved hotel room block. More details are available on the 14th USNCM website.

This workshop will take place 19-20 March 2025, with a focus on the combustion of solid fuels in CO2 and O2 atmospheres. Learn more here.

The IFRF and its French Committee will host an Industrial Combustion training on 18-19 March 2025 at Air Liquide’s advanced testing facilities in France. The training will begin with a comprehensive overview of combustion applications across various energy intensive industrial sectors, including cement, steel, glass, oil and gas, and energy production. Read more here.

The British Section of the Combustion Institute is organizing the 12th ECM, which will take place in Edinburgh from 8-11 April 2025. The ECM is a forum of knowledge transfer in the field of combustion science and related scientific disciplines. Learn more here.

The 15th ASPACC will be held on 18-22 May 2025 at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre. It will be hosted by the Singapore Section of The Combustion Institute. With the theme of “build a zero-carbon and sustainable future”, the ASPACC will feature a comprehensive technical program, reflecting the significant growth and evolving scope of combustion research in the Asia-Pacific region. WiPP abstracts are still being accepted for this meeting until 28 February 2025. Read more here.

The 13th MCS will be held from 1-5 June 2025 in Corfu, Greece, and will feature a technical program of research and presentations, as well as a social program that includes a welcome reception, tour of Corfu and the Old Fortress, a gala dinner, and more. Early registration rates are still available until 28 February 2025. Learn more here.

Providing updates about the upcoming International Symposium on Combustion

Update on the 41st International Symposium on Combustion

The Technical Program Co-Chairs (PCCs), Prof. Osamu Fujita (Hokkaido University, Japan) and Prof. Venkat Raman (University of Michigan, United States) are hard at work to design a remarkable program. Based on the growing number of CI members, symposium submissions, and the expanding applications of the field of combustion, the PCCs will continue the modification of the symposium submissions and presentations. Any changes are motivated by The Combustion Institute’s commitment to serve our members and serve combustion science. 

The 41st International Symposium on Combustion will be held in Kyoto, Japan from 26-31 July 2026, hosted by a team from the Japan Section of The Combustion Institute, led by Prof. Kaoru Maruta (Tohoku University, Japan).

Information for Authors and Reviewers

The submission and review process for the 41st International Symposium will utilize both The Combustion Institute website and Elsevier Editorial Manager (EM) program. Now is the perfect time to confirm that your information is correct in each of these systems. If you have any questions or need any assistance with either program, contact the CI office at office@combustioninstitute.org.

42nd International Symposium on Combustion Site Announced

The Combustion Institute Board of Directors is excited to announce the site of the 42nd International Symposium on Combustion (ISOC). After careful consideration and invaluable assistance from the Site Selection Advisory Committee, led by Chair, Henry Curran, the 42nd ISOC will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Read more here.

Highlighting combustion resources and the accomplishments of CI members