Associate Prof. Joseph Lefkowitz

In the Aerospace Engineering Department at the Technion, Dr. Lefkowitz addresses the complex challenges involved in future aerospace applications of combustion, such as the reduction of emissions in order to mitigate global warming, the attempt to reduce fuel usage without causing engine blowout at high altitudes, and overcoming challenges limiting the implementation of high-speed air-breathing engines.

These require the development of innovative new technologies which will enable engine operation in conditions approaching the limits of combustibility, requiring the stabilizing of flames near the flammability limit, initiating and holding flames at supersonic speeds and controlling detonation waves. To this end, Dr. Lefkowitz has been applying a combination of advanced infra-red laser diagnostics together with a fundamental theoretical approach based on the chemistry and dynamics of reacting flows in liquid, gaseous and plasma phases.

Aside from his doctoral research at Princeton University, Dr. Lefkowitz worked at the Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. There he served as a National Research Council Associate, part of a program conducted by the U.S. government to promote excellence in scientific and technological research.