Dr. Peng Zhao is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering and Space Institute of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He obtained his PhD from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University in 2015. From 2015-2020, he is an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University. His research interests primarily focus on fundamental-based and application-oriented problems in the frontier areas of combustion, propulsion, energy conversion and fire safety. His current research activities include reacting flow CFD, open-source multi-physics modeling, Li-ion battery safety and thermal management, low carbon fuels, advanced engine combustion strategy, etc. He has published around 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading combustion and energy journals and 1 book chapter. He is a Bernard Lewis Fellow of the International Combustion Institute, session chair of the International Combustion Symposium, session organizer of SAE World Congress on advanced propulsion and powertrain, member of the Early Career and Diversity Development Committee of the US Combustion Institute.