The Call for Nominations for the 2018 Gold Medals of The Combustion Institute will be released in November 2017. Every two years, the international combustion community recognizes major contributions to the advancement of combustion science with the awarding of four gold medals. Please visit CombustionInstitute.org in November to download the Call for Nominations and learn more about the submissions process.
Visit each respective gold medal’s award page for more information and complete listings of past recipients.
Bernard Lewis Gold Medal is named after Bernard Lewis (1899-1993), a founding member of The Combustion Institute. As a physical chemist in the Chief Explosives and Physical Sciences Division of the U.S. Bureau of Mines in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Lewis was a pioneer in theoretical and experimental combustion research. In this position Lewis directed research in combustion, flames, explosions, and explosives. Lewis’ lifetime of work and his passion to help young scientists shaped the modern field of combustion research.
Alfred C. Egerton Gold Medal is named after Sir Alfred C. Egerton (1886-1959), the first chairman of the British Section of The Combustion Institute. As a professor at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, Egerton was an acknowledged leader in Britain among scientists engaged in research in the field of combustion, explosions, and flame. In his later career, Egerton devised with his students, a flat-flame burner configuration that advanced flame measurements under ideal conditions for combustion scientists around the world.
Ya B. Zeldovich Gold Medal is named after Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich (1914-1987), a pre-eminent Soviet physicist. His far-reaching scientific achievements spanned many fields ranging from physical chemistry to nuclear and particle physics, and finally astrophysics and cosmology. Zeldovich worked on the theory of ignition, combustion, and detonation. He achieved important results in the theory of nuclear chain reactions. He also discovered an oxidation of nitrogen mechanism, known in physical chemistry as Thermal NO Mechanism or the Zeldovich Mechanism.
Jürgen Warnatz Gold Medal is named after Professor Jürgen Warnatz (1944-2007), a former managing director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR) at Ruprecht Karls University, Heidelberg, Germany. He also served as a chair of the German Section of The Combustion Institute. Warnatz pioneered a research approach on modeling and simulation of chemical reactive flows, particularly looking at the molecular reactions involved and transport processes. His life’s work and publications influenced the application of combustion science around the world.
The Combustion Institute will host an awards ceremony during the banquet at the 37th International Symposium on Combustion in Dublin, Ireland. The international combustion community will then recognize the gold medal recipients and other award winners who have made an outstanding contribution and significant impact in combustion science.