Professor Emeritus Kenneth Kuan-Yun Kuo, founder of the High Pressure Combustion Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University, United States, passed away on 31 July 2016 at the age of 76. A longtime member of The Combustion Institute, Kuo’s work in high-pressure combustion influenced a wide range of laboratory testing and theoretical exploration into the characterization of specific combustion behaviors.
As an internationally recognized authority on chemical propulsion and propellant combustion, Prof. Kuo founded the High Pressure Combustion Laboratory in the mid-1970s and served as its first director. Since that time, Kuo’s important work established the university as an international leader in energetic materials research and chemical propulsion. What began as a single test cell evolved into a world-class university laboratory. The High Pressure Combustion Laboratory has acquired equipment and facilities through various projects funded by United States government agencies and industrial companies.
Prof. Kuo’s research inspired fruitful collaborations with an international network of colleagues. He also advised and mentored more than 140 graduate students. He provided leadership on over 100 scientific projects, and authored four textbooks and several papers on energetic material combustion and chemical propulsion. After a long and distinguished career, Kuo retired from The Pennsylvania State University in 2011.
The Combustion Institute honors the accomplishments of scientific leaders who make significant contributions for the advancement of many diverse communities around the world.