Dr. Elaine S. Oran, Senior Scientist
for Reactive Flow Physics at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
received the Ya. B. Zeldovich Gold Medal from the Combustion
Institute on August 3, 2000. The Combustion Institute biennially
awards three gold medals to distinguished researchers in the
broad area of combustion science and technology. The Ya. B.
Zeldovich
Gold Medal, which was prepared by the Russian Academy
of Sciences,
was awarded for "outstanding contributions to
the theory
of combustion and detonations." The award was
presented
at the banquet of the 28th International Symposium on
Combustion
held in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dr. Oran is known for her pioneering
applications of numerical simulation for solving problems in
fluid dynamics and reacting flows. She has made pivotal
contributions
to a wide range of problems in combustion and
propulsion, atmospheric
physics, and solar physics and
astrophysics. Her work has contributed
to both basic science
and to advanced engineering applications.
Dr. Oran is a Fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a previous AIAA
Vice President for Publications. She is also a Fellow of the
American Physical Society and one of the founders and previous
chairs of the Division of Computational Physics.
In 1979, she received the Arthur
S. Fleming Award and in 1988 the WISE Award in Science, given
for achievement in science by Women in Science and Engineering.
In 1999, she received the Oppenheim Prize for "outstanding
contributions to the theory of the dynamics of explosions and
reactive systems."
Dr. Oran received her A.B. degree
from Bryn Mawr
College in 1968. She earned her M.Ph. degree in
physics in 1968
and her Ph.D. degree in engineering and applied
science in
1972, both from Yale University.
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