Ph.D., Purdue University, 2000.

Research Areas: Combustion, Optical Diagnostics.

Dr. Michael Renfro joined the University of Connecticut as an Assistant Professor in 2002 and is currently the Director of Graduate Studies in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1995 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in 1997 and 2000, respectively. He was a visiting Assistant Professor at Purdue from 2000-2002. Prof. Renfro's research is in the area of optical diagnostics applied to power production technology, particularly combustion and fuel cell systems. Current research focuses on the development and use of laser-based measurement tools to study flame stability and propagation; ignition and extinction; turbulent flame statistics and numerical simulation validation; and sensor development for high temperature fluid systems. Dr. Renfro's research is funded by NSF, AFOSR, ARO, DOE, and industry with total funding in excess of $1.1M. He is an NSF CAREER award recipient and was named Outstanding Junior Faculty Member in 2004 by the UConn School of Engineering. He has published over 25 journal papers and is active in the Combustion Institute and AIAA. Professor Renfro teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, turbulence, and heat transfer.