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Beni Cukurel
Assoc. Prof. , Technion-Israel Institute Technology
Assoc. Prof. Beni Cukurel is a faculty member at Aerospace Engineering Department of Technion- Israel Institute of Technology. He has received all his degrees (B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D.) from Purdue University, Mechanical Engineering Department. In the meanwhile for over 4 years, in the scope of his doctoral program, Beni conducted research at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Rhode-St-Genese, Belgium. Currently, the Turbomachinery and Heat Transfer Laboratory, which he leads, conducts cutting-edge research and advanced development in the field of micro-gas turbines for propulsion and power generation. The scientific contributions are primarily applicable towards small scale engines, which are commonly used in distributed power generation, business jets, unmanned air vehicles, auxiliary power units, marine application. These activities have been disseminated in ~40 journal articles in archives of leading venues, and resulted in 5 patents. To financially support this work, Beni has received grants from prestigious international funding agencies including National Science Foundation, NATO, US-Navy, US-Army, European Commission’s ERC-Starting Grant, as well as Minerva Foundation of Max Planck Society. As a testament to these early scientific achievements, some of his efforts have been recognized through several prizes including “Crown-Vanguard Award in Science and Technology for World-Changing Breakthrough Potential”, “Hershel Rich Innovation Award”, “Halevy Award for Innovative Applied Engineering”, “Gutwirth Prize for Promoting Excellence”, and “Hanin Prize for Outstanding Faculty Member in Aerospace Engineering”.