7/10/2012 By William Bowman
Written by By William Bowman
The CEFRC was established by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2009 as one of the 46 new centers around the country dedicated to addressing the pressing issues of energy sustainability, energy security, and climate change. The center’s 2011 Combustion Summer School featured courses from three leading professors from around the world, with Professor Matalon delivering the Combustion Theory course, Professor Michael J. Pilling of the University of Leeds, UK, presenting Combustion Chemistry, and Professor Marcus Alden of Lund University, Sweden, presenting Combustion Laser Diagnostics.
“Professor Matalon not only is an internationally renowned expert in combustion theory, he is also a powerful and inspiring lecturer,” said Professor Chung K. Law, the CEFRC director. “The lectures that he delivered have no doubt enriched the theoretical knowledge base of the participants, and in due time they will impact the progress of combustion and energy science through fundamental discoveries.”
Approximately 140 students from numerous universities attended this year’s Combustion Summer School, about 100 of which attended Matalon’s course. After preparing a jam-packed course and a full presentation of notes to go with it, Matalon was extremely pleased with the program overall and the interest level of the attending students.
“There were a lot of questions that came from the students,” he said. “They even caught me in the half hour break between lectures, and they caught me after class, too. There’s more to it for the students than just going on a week trip. They interact with other students who, eventually if they continue to work in this field, will be their colleagues in this research area.”
Matalon also noted that much of the material from the sought-after Combustion Theory course is included in his Combustion Fundamentals course (ME 501) at the University of Illinois, giving students the opportunity to obtain this instruction here on campus.