2025 Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award Winners Announced

The Combustion Institute and Elsevier, with the assistance of the selection committee, have chosen the 2025 recipients of the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award. The recipients for 2025 are Prof. Sili Deng and Prof. Mitchell Spearrin.

Prof. Sili Deng is the Class of 1954 Career Development Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University. Her research focuses on energy conversion and storage, including combustion fundamentals, physics-informed data-driven modeling of reacting flows, carbon-neutral energetic materials, and flame synthesis of materials for catalysis and energy storage. Prof. Deng’s honors include the Bernard Lewis Fellowship, NSF CAREER Award, Irvin Glassman Young Investigator Award, and the U.S. Early Career Combustion Investigator Award. 

I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive the 2025 Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award," said Deng. "Combustion has been a constant source of intellectual challenge and inspiration for me, and this recognition holds deep personal meaning. I am grateful to my mentors, students, and colleagues who have shaped my path, and to the community that continues to advance this field. This award motivates me to keep asking hard questions and to support the next generation of researchers as generously as I have been supported."

Prof. Mitchell Spearrin is an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. His combustion research focuses on advanced laser diagnostics and spectroscopy at high temperatures and high pressures, enabling diverse experimental studies of reaction kinetics, detonation physics, rocket propulsion systems and fire dynamics at multiple scales. Dr. Spearrin has received young investigator awards from the U.S. National Science Foundation (CAREER), NASA (Early Career Faculty award), U.S. Air Force (YIP), and American Chemical Society. He was also recently recognized with the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Dr. Spearrin completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University, working in the High Temperature Gas Dynamics Laboratory. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Spearrin worked for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne as a combustion devices development engineer.

Spearrin had this to say about receiving this award: "I am excited and honored to receive the Hiroshi Tsuji Award on behalf of my graduate students, postdocs, undergraduate researchers, and mentors at UCLA, as well as numerous collaborators, who have contributed to our lab’s advancements in understanding combustion science and technologies."

Co-sponsored by The Combustion Institute and Elsevier, the international award and prize of US $10,000 recognizes early career researchers who have demonstrated excellence in fundamental or applied combustion science and have achieved a significant advancement in their field within four to ten years of completing a doctoral degree or equivalent. The annual award is named after Professor Hiroshi Tsuji, whose stable porous cylinder counterflow burner configuration has influenced fundamental studies and applications in laminar and turbulent combustion.

“As in previous years, the selection committee faced the challenging responsibility of deciding the recipient(s) of the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award,” stated the Chair of the Committee and CI President Hai Wang. "We had numerous worthy candidates, and following thorough and thoughtful deliberation, we are pleased to announce that the 2025 Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award has been awarded to two individuals: Prof. Sili Deng and Prof. Mitchell Spearrin. These two recipients are recognized as the top outstanding early career researchers for their original and independent contributions to combustion science and its applications.”

Lantice Brett, Elsevier Journal Publisher, expressed her congratulations and gratitude, stating, “On behalf of Elsevier, I would like to congratulate Prof. Sili Deng and Prof. Mitchell Spearrin, and thank the selection committee for their hard work in making this decision. Choosing the recipients of the 2025 Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award from a list of impressive candidates was a challenging task. We congratulate Prof. Deng and Prof. Spearrin on their well-deserved recognition. We wish them both continued success in their work and commend them for their achievements so early in their careers.”

Prof. Deng and Prof. Spearrin will be recognized for receiving the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award during the 41st International Symposium on Combustion, to be held in Kyoto, Japan from 26-31 July 2026. Past recipients of the Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award can be found here. Questions regarding the award may be directed to office@combustioninstitute.org.