Alison M. Ferris

Alison M. Ferris is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University. Her research group focuses on experimental work at the intersection of chemical kinetics, optical diagnostics, and fuel science. They use shock waves and optical diagnostics to study high-temperature, gas-phase reaction chemistry and develop laser-based diagnostic tools to guide the development of next-generation, sustainable fuels. Current areas of interest include measuring key reaction rates related to low-carbon fuels, probing the link between aviation-produced particulates and contrail formation, and accelerating the development of sustainable aviation fuels through data-driven predictive modeling.

Alison M. Ferris is a researcher in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, focusing on synthetic fuels, chemical kinetics, and combustion diagnostics. Her work involves experimental and numerical studies of laminar flame speeds, shock waves, and ignition mechanisms in hydrocarbon and ammonia-based fuels. Ferris employs advanced techniques such as laser sensing, gas chromatography, and shock tubes to investigate combustion properties and their dependence on temperature and pressure. Her research contributes to the development of sustainable aviation fuels and clean energy technologies through the analysis of vapor-liquid equilibrium, distillation curves, and combustion intermediates. She also explores the application of machine learning for predicting fuel properties from spectroscopic data.