UB Aerospace Professor Wins Prestigious ONR Award

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- David Forliti, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is the recipient of a Prestigious Department of Defense Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program Award.

Forliti is one of just seven engineers and scientists across the United States to be honored with the award this year, out of nearly 250 individuals who applied.

The award comes with a three-year research grant of $355,000.

ONR's Young Investigator Awards recognize exceptional young scientists and engineers. Criteria include prior professional achievement, submission of a meritorious research proposal and evidence of strong support by the applicant's institution.

Forliti will use the grant to conduct research aimed at boosting combustion efficiency for the U.S. Navy's Ramjet engine, a supersonic, flight propulsion system used for anti-ballistic missile systems.

According to Forliti, it is extremely difficult to find ways to improve thrust in these high-speed propulsion systems while stabilizing the combustion process, where the speed of air tends to blow out the flame unless a flame-anchoring technique is employed.

Current methods of stabilizing combustion always result in increased drag, he explained.

Forliti's research is geared toward developing an innovative method of stabilizing combustion without producing drag.

"My concern is, 'How do we get the most out of one kilogram of fuel?' We want to reshape the inside of the engine so that the flame is stabilized but there's also less drag. We will use flow control techniques to stabilize the flame while avoiding drag penalties," he explained.

Preliminary data developed by Forliti show that his method could achieve increases in thrust of up to 25 percent beyond what is currently possible in these engines.

In addition to the high-speed propulsion engines, Forliti's research will be applicable to improving the efficiency of other energy-conversion devices, as well as controlling the emission of harmful pollutants.

Forliti, a UB faculty member since 2004, earned his doctoral and undergraduate degrees at the University of Minnesota and his master's degree at Florida State University.

He lives in Amherst.