Elizabeth Mills Fisher
Biography
Professor Fisher served as president of the Yale chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society in her senior year, and was graduated summa cum laude in physics. She then worked at the Thermal Sciences Branch of the Solar Energy Research Institute in Golden, Colorado, for several years. As a graduate student, she was the recipient of two fellowships from the Air and Waste Management Association. After completing her doctorate, Fisher came to Cornell as a postdoctoral research associate. In 1991 she joined the faculty and was named to a five-year Clare Boothe Luce Professorship. She received the Teetor Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1995 and the Dennis G. Shepherd Memorial Teaching Prize in 1997. She is a Fellow of the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future and is a member of the Combustion Institute, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Research Interests
I use bench-scale laminar flame and flow-reactor experiments to investigate the combustion chemistry of various practical systems. My focus is on understanding the chemical kinetic mechanisms relevant to the formation of desired products as well as pollutants. Applications include: biomass combustion and pyrolysis to produce fuels, biochar, and heat; flame inhibition; combustion of practical liquid fuels including biodiesel and jet fuel; oxycombustion for carbon sequestration; incineration of hazardous wastes and chemical warfare agents. Techniques used include: Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), laser-doppler velocimetry (LDV), detailed chemical kinetic modeling.
Teaching Interests
I have taught Introduction to Mechanical Engineering, Thermodynamics, Combustion Engines and Fuel Cells, Fluids/Heat Transfer Laboratory, and Combustion Processes. I encourage active learning, and have made use of problem-based learning in Introduction to Mechanical Engineering.
Service Interests
Much of my recent service to Cornell has been in connection with administering the undergraduate program for the Mechanical engineering major. Service to the research community is through reviewing papers and proposals, serving on graduate and postdoctoral selection panels, and serving on the nominating committee of the Combustion Institute. I am also a core member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Climate Research Working Group.
Selected Publications
- . 2011. "Pyrolysis and Oxidation of Ethyl Methyl Sulfide in a Flow Reactor." Combustion and Flame 158 (6): 1049-1058.
- . 2011. "Experimental and Computational Study of Oxidation of Diethyl Sulfide in a Flow Reactor." Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 33 (1): 467-475.
- . 2010. "Subatmospheric Extinction of Opposed Jet Diffusion Flames of Jet Fuels and Its Surrogates." AIAA Journal 48 (1): 158-165.
- . 2009. "Subatmospheric extinction of counterflow diffusion flames of jet fuel and its surrogates." Paper presented at 47th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Orlando, Florida, January (1st Quarter/Winter).
- . 2009. "Experimental and Computational Study of Diethyl Sulfide Pyrolysis and Mechanism." Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 32 (1): 469-476.
Selected Awards and Honors
- Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future Faculty Fellow (Cornell University) 2009
- McManus Faculty Fellowship 2006
- Dennis G. Shepherd Memorial Teaching Prize (Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) 1997
- Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award (Society of Automotive Engineers) 1996
- Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professorship 1991
