MaREI PI Henry Curran to serve on the NASA High Pressure Science Definition Team

Background

In 2014 NASA held a workshop, in conjunction with the American Society of Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) annual meeting, to determine the priorities of the microgravity combustion science program moving forward.  The focus was more on the fundamental science aspect of the program, although there was a breakout session for Spacecraft Fire Safety as well.  Workshop participants were individuals from academia, industry and other government/GOCO research organizations.   Before the workshop NASA encouraged individuals to submit recommendations for future research projects/programs, either specific or broad topics.  During the workshop these ideas were discussed and prioritized.  For combustion, the overwhelming priority was that NASA’s fundamental microgravity combustion science program should focus on high-pressure, transcritical (HPTC) research.

Science Definition Team Objective

NASA is seeking to further engage the peer community by soliciting the expertise of an outside community of experts (a Science Definition Team, SDT) who can provide insights into high-pressure, transcritical combustion that is not feasible in current terrestrial facilities.  NASA’s ultimate goal is to build a research program in high pressure, transcritical combustion that is complimentary to research in industry and other government agencies such as AFOSR, ARO and/or NSF by providing a capability that is otherwise not available.  While the current funding is limited NASA anticipates that the direction provided by the SDT at the conclusion of this period will lead to a more robust research program in high-pressure, transcritical combustion that critically includes opportunities for both collaboration and funding.

The Science Definition Team:

Dr. M. Colket, UTRC ret., co-chair

Prof. S. Aggarwal, Emeritus, UIC, co-chair

Prof. H. Wang, Stanford

Prof. H. Curran, National University of Ireland, Galway

Prof. R. Yetter, PSU

Dr. S. Goldsborough, ANL

Dr. M. Lightfoot, EAFB (pending)