The Combustion Institute and Elsevier, with the assistance of an award committee, have selected the annual Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award winner. This year’s recipient is Michael P. Burke, who is recognized for significant contributions and research in fundamental or applied combustion or combustion-related fields.
Michael P. Burke is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University, where he also holds affiliate appointments in Chemical Engineering and the Data Science Institute. Prior to joining Columbia in 2014, Burke earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2011 at Princeton University with Frederick Dryer and Yiguang Ju and worked as a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory with Stephen Klippenstein. His research focuses on combining physics and data across multiple scales to understand and predict the outcomes of complex reacting systems – primarily in combustion. To this end, he and his research group focus on theoretical studies of kinetics in mixtures (and associated non-equilibrium phenomena), uncertainty quantification that combines ab initio and experimental data across multiple scales, and high-throughput/information-rich experimentation.
“I am honored to be selected for the Hiroshi Tsuji award. Research is very much a team effort. The monumental efforts and insights from the very talented students in my group at Columbia University as well as my collaborators, with whom I have had the pleasure of working, have been instrumental. We all share in this recognition together,” said Burke. “Research is also a humbling process. I am immensely grateful for the constant encouragement and inspiration from my wife, Alice, and family, and guidance and support from my advisors and mentors. I am fortunate to be part of a vibrant community of colleagues that has a growing number of initiatives to foster researchers’ early careers in a field that has so much to offer to society and to other scientific disciplines.”
Co-sponsored by The Combustion Institute and Elsevier, the international award and prize of US $10,000 recognizes up to two early career researchers who have demonstrated excellence in fundamental or applied combustion science and have achieved a significant advancement in their field within four to ten years of completing a doctoral degree or equivalents. The annual award is named after Professor Hiroshi Tsuji, whose stable porous cylinder counterflow burner configuration has influenced fundamental studies and applications in laminar and turbulent combustion.
“We are honored to present the sixth annual Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award to an esteemed early career researcher,” said The Combustion Institute President Philippe Dagaut. “The combustion community has a growing number of excellent and accomplished young researchers, and Michael is a prime example of that. We are proud to present him with the 2022 Tsuji Award.”
“Elsevier is excited to once again be involved in the presentation of the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award in partnership with The Combustion Institute for the sixth consecutive year,” said Kathleen Ahamed-Broadhurst, Elsevier Executive Publisher. “We would like to thank the Award selection committee for their hard work and devotion in the process. Congratulations to Michael on earning this prestigious award.”
Burke will be recognized for receiving the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award during the 39th International Symposium on Combustion in Vancouver, British Columbia to be held in July 2022. Past recipients of the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award can be found on The Combustion Institute website. Questions regarding the award may be directed to: office@combustioninstitute.org.