Automotive Gasoline Direct-Injection Engines

Dr. Fuquan (Frank) Zhao is currently a senior engineering specialist of technical affairs at DaimlerChrysler Corporation and is engaged in many facets of engine research and development, including combustion system development, emissions control, fuel economy improvements, and energy management systems. He is the principal author of 102 publications, including 38 refereed journal papers and 64 conference papers. He was a co-editor of the book Direct Fuel Injection for Gasoline Engines published by SAE in 2000. Dr. Zhao’s previous experience includes time as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Wayne State University; research fellow at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine; and postdoctoral fellow at Wayne State University and University of Hiroshima. He was awarded the 1993 British Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) Visiting Research Fellowship, and was also honored in 1998 as one of the 100 outstanding engineers selected nationally for the National Academy of Engineering’s “Frontiers of Engineering” Symposium. In 2001, he was selected nationally by the National Academy of Engineering as one of the 30 outstanding engineers to attend the German-American “Frontiers of Engineering” Symposium held at Essen, Germany. He also won the 2001 SAE Forest R. McFarland Award. He is a member of SAE, ILASS-America, The Combustion Institute, and SAE-Japan, and has served as session organizer and chairperson for many international technical conferences. He is the vice chairman of combustion for the SAE Fuels & Lubricants Activity (2002-2004). Dr. Zhao received his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Jilin University of Technology in 1985. He obtained his M. S. in mechanical engineering and his Ph.D. from the University of Hiroshima in 1989 and 1992, respectively.

Dr. David L. Harrington is currently the director of the Optical Fuel Spray Laboratory at the General Motors Research and Development Center, and has conducted research in the areas of fuels, automotive fuel systems, particle measurement, mixture preparation and combustion system development. He is a recognized authority on fuel injection, spray measurement and the development of international measurement standards. He has received many awards for outstanding technical papers in the field, including the Horning Award from SAE. Dr. Harrington is the chairman of the SAE Gasoline Fuel Injection Standards Committee, and cochairman of the Diesel and Automotive Spray Committee of the Institute for Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems (ILASS). He is a Fellow and member of the board of governors of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Harrington obtained his undergraduate degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics, and his doctorate in mechanical engineering (1968), at the University of Michigan. His doctoral thesis was one of the first computer simulations of automotive fuel systems, and he has contributed continuously to this field for more than three decades.

Dr. Ming-Chia Lai is currently a professor of mechanical engineering at Wayne State University (WSU). Before joining Wayne State in 1987, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Gas Dynamics Laboratory of the University of Michigan and at the MIT Energy Laboratory. His research area is IC engine and gas turbine combustion and emissions, laser diagnostics and computational fluid dynamics applications. He has conducted sponsored research projects for more than 15 key agencies and industries. He has also served as consultant to GM, Ford, Delphi, Honda, IGT, CFDRC and ITRI. Dr. Lai is active in SAE, ASME, AIAA and ILASS-America and has published over 130 publications in refereed journals and conference proceedings. His awards include the Charles DeVlieg Distinguished Endowed Professorship, WSU Career Development Chair Award, the WSU Faculty Research Award, Japanese Ministry of Education Visiting Professorship, ASME Young Engineer of the Year, and the Best Paper Award of the 23rd National Heat Transfer Conference (AS ME and AIChE). Dr. Lai received his B .S. in mechanical engineering from National Taiwan University in 1979, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University, the latter being obtained in 1985.