- Professor, Mechanical Engineering
- Nelson-Jackson Chair Professor
- Director, Turbomachinery Laboratory
- Phone: 979-845-1257
- FAX: 979-845-3081
- Email: epetersen@tamu.edu
- Office: MEOB 418
- Website: Research Webpage

Educational Background
- Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering , Stanford University – 1998
- M.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida – 1990
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Central Florida – 1988
Research Interests
-
- Combustion
- Propulsion
- Gas Dynamics
- Chemical Kinetics
- Rocket Propellants
- Laser Diagnostics and Spectroscopy
- Laminar and Turbulent Flames
- Shock Tubes
- Gas Turbine Combustion
- Detonations
Industry Experience
-
- Research Scientist at The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA, 1997 – 2001.
- Analytical Engineer at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, West Palm Beach, FL, 1990 – 1993.
Awards & Honors
- 2020 Combustion Institute Fellow
- 2020 AIAA Associate Fellow
- 2019 Holder of the Nelson-Jackson Chair in Mechanical Engineering
- 2019 Dean of Engineering Excellence Award, Professor Level
- 2017 TEES Senior Faculty Fellow Award
- 2015 The James J. Cain Graduate Teaching Award
- 2014 Best Paper Award, X ISHPMIE
- 2013 Nelson-Jackson Professor
- 2011 TEES Fellow Award
- 2010 & 2011 Teaching Excellence Award
- 2010 ASME Fellow
- 2010 Faculty Fellow, Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center
- 2010-2012 Leland T. Jordan Career Development Professorship
- 2009 Best Paper Award, 2008 ASME Turbo Expo
- 2007 Research Incentive Award, UCF
- 2006 Outstanding Researcher Award, Assistant Professor, CECS, UCF
- 2006 Teaching Incentive Program Award, UCF
- 2003, 2005 & 2006 Pi Tau Sigma Professor of the Year, UCF
- 2006-2011NSF CAREER Award
- 2004 Pi Tau Sigma Advisor of the Year, UCF
Selected Publications
- M. A. Turner, P. Parajuli, W. D. Kulatilaka, and E. L. Petersen, “Emission Spectra of Hydrocarbon Flames Doped with Phosphorus-Containing Compounds,” Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2022, pp. 685-693.
- C. M. Grégoire, C. K. Westbrook, O. Mathieu, S. P. Cooper, S. A. Alturaifi, and E. L. Petersen, “A Shock-Tube and Chemical Kinetics Model Investigation Encompassing all Five Pentene Isomers,” Fuel, Vol. 323, 2022, 124223/13.
- O. Mathieu, C. M. Grégoire, M. A. Turner, D. J. Mohr, S. A. Alturaifi, J. C. Thomas, and E. L. Petersen, “Experimental Investigation of the Combustion Properties of an Average Thermal Runaway Gas Mixture from Li-Ion Batteries,” Energy & Fuels, Vol. 36, 2022, pp. 3247-3258.
- J. C. Thomas and E. L. Petersen, “HTPB Heat of Formation: Literature Survey, Group Additive Estimations, and Theoretical Effects,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 60, No. 3, 2022, pp. 1269-1282.
- S. A. Alturaifi, O. Mathieu, and E. L. Petersen, “An Experimental and Modeling Study of Ammonia Pyrolysis,” Combustion and Flame, Vol. 235, 2022, 1