Dear Professor Beér,
What struck me was your humility and empathy for
everyone in the conversation, which tend to
differentiate truly accomplished men. I can only
imagine that these traits brought out the best in
your students.
Murray Abbott
Fuel & Furnace Consulting
Dear Professor Beér,
My fond remembrances are all accompanied with a
smile. I remember attending your graduate
combustion class (“I apologize in advance for
putting this on the board”), and meeting with you on
my thesis work. I remember consulting with you for
Westinghouse, and developing your Multi-Annular
Swirl Burner.
But mostly I remember good cheer and friendship.
Dennis Bachovchin
Combustion Kinetics Consultant
Dear János,
On behalf of the members of The National Coal
Council, it is an honour and a privilege to say
“Congratulations” on such a long and distinguished
career. The service and leadership you have
provide to your country, your university and the
many professional organizations you have given
your time to over these many years is exemplary
and of the highest standard.
Robert Beck,
Executive Vice President and CEO,
The National Coal Council
Dear Professor Beér,
Every day I utilize and appreciate the skills that
originated in your lab, where I learned the
fundamentals of combustion, fluid flow, research
method, and teamwork.
I frequently reflect on my time with you and your
lab at MIT with fondness and appreciation. Thank
you for your key role in launching me on a
wonderful career path.
Karen Benedek, Primaira LLC
Dear János,
In this day when we are being continually
disappointed by the inappropriate actions of our
political leaders or sports super stars, it is important
to remember that there are people who are super
star in their field and they happen to be very decent
and honourable human beings – János Beer is one
of these people to me. You not only have been at
the top of your profession for many decades, but
you have always conducted yourself in such as
exemplary manner.
Dick Borio
Hallo John
I was immediately impressed by your smiling
face and the positive attitude with which you
approached your work here in IJmuiden. I
recall that we worked very well together not
only at the scientific level but also on a
personal level. Indeed I remember very well
your bright personality.
G.W. van Stein Callenfels
Dear John,
For three years you and I interacted daily; we rode
our bicycles, ate our meals, and led research
teams from France, Germany, Holland and further
afield, pushing water-cooled probes into flaming
furnaces.
You can look back with pride on the great many
researchers, colleagues, students and friends
whose lives and careers have also been enhanced
by your teaching, guidance and influence.
Norman Chiger
Emeritus Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Dear John,
Every year the graduating class of 1965 meets somewhere
in the UK for a weekend of celebration and reminiscence,
and I have to say that the combined lifetime contributions of
those who passed through Sheffield in the Glory Years
stand as a permanent tribute to your efforts during your time
as an Honorary Yorkshireman, and remind me of the adage
that the purpose of life is to plant trees without ever
expecting to sit in their shade.
May your shadow never grow smaller!
Tom Davies
Professor, University of Exeter
What does it take to order a drink when János is
around:
I remember presenting work on the char burn out
project at the Intnl Combustion Symposium which
was held in Poitiers in France in 1967 during the
student rebellions. JMB was "captured" by some
French students and made to dance on a table
before we could get a drink in the bar!
Tom Davies
Professor, University of Exeter
János and his graduate students:
My first ever encounter with JMB was in September 1965
when during the first week of my appointment he callled me
into his office, lit his pipe and showed me his Ph.D. thesis.
He asked me to read it and then construct a mathematical
model to explain the results. The outcome was "The use of
a mathematical model for the prediction of the burn out of
char suspensions" TWDavies, JMBeer and RGSiddall,
Chem Eng Sci, 24, 1553-1564, 1969. The delay was
caused mainly by the primitive state of computing. I had to
punch paper tape with the code and then post off the reel to
Oxford, wait two weeks for a reply, usually a small compiler
error, and then repeat the process.
Tom Davies
Professor, University of Exeter
“Cool” action:
Another incident from the Sheffield era- he had developed a
multi-annular swirling jet burner (probably about 1978) and
was testing it in the labs. I was there with him with the aim
of doing some HWA measurements, and Chigier and a
couple of technicians. It was burning very fiercely when one
of the gas hoses popped off and started snaking around,
creating a severe explosion risk. Everyone ran for their lives
except JMB who calmly grabbed the hose and stuck it back
on the burner. Very impressive display of "cool".
Tom Davies
Professor, University of Exeter
On the car János drove:
János was really keen on American cars, and when he came
back to Sheffield from PennState he brought with him his
beloved Chevrolet convertible - the model which was dubbed
by Ralph Nader to be "unsafe at any price".
After travelling with John in this
death trap when the front end
lifted off, we renamed it the "flying
bedpan". It had a large engine in
the rear and the front was just a
trunk so that even at moderate
speeds the aerodynamic lift
forces were sufficient to reduce
contact with the road.
Tom Davies
Professor, University of Exeter
Dear Professor Beér,
During my stay at MIT I noticed that you were a
very busy person attending meetings and
conferences or receiving awards all over the globe!
Whenever you were back in the office at MIT,
however, you were always very accessible. I
enjoyed the discussions we had: they were always
very thought provoking and led to further insight.
Arunava Dutta
R&D Manager, Osram Sylvania
Dear Professor Beér,
I recall a pleasant country walk with you and
Martha through Chee Dale in Derbyshire with a
French colleague, Claude Meunier, and his wife
Therese and their baby son Eric.
You possessed both a clear notion of the direction
of the work and the diplomatic qualities to both
release and support your active staff.
P J Foster
Reader, University of Sheffield
How János chooses his people:
It seems difficult to believe that it is now over 40 years since
you interviewed me for the position of Investigator at the
IFRF. How on earth did you decide to interview someone
with such an irrelevant background? Well I am mighty
pleased that you did, and even more grateful that I was
offered the position. Many years later, I was impertinent
enough to ask you why you offered the job to someone
without the right experience, and I still remember your
saying – “Well you asked such interesting questions during
the interview”, an example of your ability to look at things
from the unexpected perspective?
Neil Fricker
Deputy Superintendent of Research
International Flame Research Foundation
On the classical book “Combustion
Aerodynamics”,
Those of us in combustion use your book on
Combustion Aerodynamics to find answers to
many recurring and vexing questions, and
see in it a source of valuable insight and
elegant exposition of complex phenomena.
Ahmed Ghoniem
Professor, MIT
About the research papers,
We use your papers to learn about your research
approaches and valuable developments especially
in multifaceted field of coal combustion. Above all,
we find the depth and breadth of your scholarship
inspiring, and your ability to link fundamental
knowledge to applications in complex and often
unwieldy systems impressive and unique.
Ahmed Ghoniem
Professor, MIT
Dear John,
While in retirement, I have kept a continuous
interest in your considerable contributions to
the technology in firing systems. Along with
many colleagues at Combustion
Engineering, now Alstom, I want to thank you
for your service and wish you a continuous
good health in the future.
Hilary Grabowski
Past Director of Research
Combustion Engineering (Alstom)
The extra mile János would take to get his people –
be a post man:
After finishing my MS in 1970, I decided to join
Sheffield University as a doctoral student and you
kindly helped me obtained the SRC graduate
research assistantship even though there was
postal strike in the UK at that time. You personally
took efforts to take my application for approval at
SRC during your next visit to London.
Ashwani Gupta
Professor, University of Maryland
How János directed student:
You gave me the topic of noise emission from swirl
combustors. With this topic in hand I had to swim by myself
from the deep ocean to the coast. You provided me all the
support and flexibility to do research using facilities.
I remember working on the MIT combustion research facility
for long hours (sometimes day and nights) in testing and
diagnostics with you and many our staff colleagues. Your
generous loyalty to students and staff was always
appreciated with fond memory to data.
Ashwani Gupta
Professor, University of Maryland
Dear John,
You were one of the very few colleagues I have
worked with whom people asked to be
remembered at meetings and conferences
throughout the world. I remember that this was a
confidence booster for me when I presented my
first paper, to the Winter Annual Meeting of the
ASME in New York in 1968, when I was greeted by
a total stranger with the words “How’s John Beer?”.
V. I. Hanby
Professor, De Montfort University
Dear János,
You have become the standard against which one
measures professional success in the field of applied
fossil fuel combustion. Your intellectual
accomplishments and academic legacy are
incomparable.
However, in retrospect, I find myself remembering most
your qualities of character. These qualities are not
obvious in the product of your efforts but were visible to
those fortunate enough to have worked closely with
you.
Simon P. Hanson
Fuel & Furnace Consulting
János on students, colleagues, and friends:
Your didactic approach to mentoring that focused on
the students’ needs above your own; your calm and
patient perseverance in any endeavor, even under
stress; your gracious treatment of all whom you
encounter, and steadfast loyalty to friends and
colleagues; your strength of convection in defense of
principle. Moreover your polymathic nature did not
overwhelm your humanity. It was always a pleasure to
be in your company.
Simon P. Hanson
Fuel & Furnace Consulting
Dear John,
One enjoyable aspect of life at that time was living
almost opposite your house in Chorley Road, Sheffield.
Of course, my memories are not just you living there,
but also of Marta and your wonderful dogs, who
certainly enjoyed running around the beautiful Mayfield
valley. We still are grateful to you and Marta for
welcoming us so warmly to Sheffield and for caring for
us – the parties at your house were most enjoyable
and memorable.
Allan Hayhurst
Emeritus Professor, University of Cambridge
Dear Prof. Beér,
I appreciate the time and patience you had in
guiding my professional development. You
have been an exemplary mentor to myself
and many others over the years, and your
leadership in the combustion technical
community has set a remarkable standard
for professionalism and congeniality.
Joel M. Haynes
Principal Investigator, GE Global Research
Dear János,
I wish you all the best for your further work in
science and technology and, in particular, for
the supervision of the young generation by
letting them participate in your long years’
experience in benefit to their own
contribution in their tasks for our society.
Klaus Hein
Professor, University of Stuttgart
János on students,
Your instruction had a profound influence on my career
and I am eternally grateful for your guidance. As an
undergraduate at MIT, I took combustion and
fluidization classes taught by yourself and you were my
undergraduate thesis advisor. Your challenging
question and thoughtful patience led me to dig deeper
into the research and to consider going to graduate
school.
Ralph Hulseman
President, Hoowaki LLC
Dear John,
You encouraged me to consider studies for a PhD degree,
and supported this with advice on the topic of research
(radiative heat transfer in furnaces) and most importantly
you arranged for me to participate in the furnace trials at
Ijmuiden that were the M-1 trials. This was immeasurable
help to me for my research effort by providing industrial
scale data for validating the mathematical model that I was
developing. The knowledge and skills I gained at Sheffield
during this time have benefited me to this day and I remain
grateful for the wise guidance and support you gave.
Terry Johnson
Principal Consultant
HRL Development Pty Ltd.
János’ first job at MIT,
When I look back my student days at MIT, I fondly
remember the stimulating discussions on coal
devolatilization and combustion mechanisms with Adel. It
was most fortunate for me that you joined the MIT faculty
and attended my Ph.D. thesis defense as one of the first
work after your arrival in 1976. My technical interpretation of
the data for my thesis work was controversial and hotly
debated among some thesis advisors. I learned later that
your opinion and comments at the thesis committee “saved
my degree”.
Sho Kobayashi
Corporate Fellow, Praxair, Inc.
How János directed his students,
When we first met in your office in Bldg. E40 you told me:
‘Thomas, you will take care of the questions related to
radiation in our trial runs.’ I knew a little about radiation from
my school books, I had never worked on coal or coal-water
slurry before, but you just gave me the responsibility for part
of your projects. This was surprising and a little frightening
for me. But I quickly learnt that there was no reason to
worry. I remember many late hours at the CRF, long
discussions on experimental results and conclusions in your
office, long reports with spilled over coffee and cheerful
TGIF parties.
Thomas Kolb
Professor, Karlsruher Institüt fur Technologie
Dear Prof. Beér,
I am much honored to be your student and
appreciate greatly what you have done for
me over the years. I was very lucky to have
the chance to learn from you the knowledge
of fluidized bed combustion.
Yam Y. Lee
Adjunct Professor, California State
Polytechnic University
How János conducted research:
It has always – and right from the beginning of our contacts
– been impressive and exemplary for me to recognize your
way of approaching technical questions and problems; that
is to say as a “scientist in engineering”, first neglecting
obviously minor effects and influences in order to analyses
the dominating mechanisms, and doing this on the basis of
a profound and broad knowledge of the physicochemical
fundamentals including the experience from comparable
systems or constellations. You never needed complicated
computer algorithms and programs to achieve the principal
answer, but only afterwards to improve the accuracy of the
statement.
Wolfgang Leuckel
Professor, University of Karlsruhe
When I met him for the first time, I remember telling
myself: “This gentleman has class!!” I was impressed
by his endearing demeanour, the charming personality,
the agreeable nature, the friendly smile, and the
sparkle in his eyes. Soon I realized that he listens
carefully and he notices everything; I really mean
everything!! As we kept talking, the persona of the
scientist and engineer of those papers that I had read
emerged again. Dr. Beér has vast technical knowledge
and clear and deep understanding in all things related
to combustion, energy and beyond.
Yiannis A. Levendis
Professor, Northeast University
Some time ago, perhaps 14 years ago,
Dr. Beér arrived at Northeastern
University in Boston from MIT, in
Cambridge, to attend the PhD thesis
defence of one of my graduate students.
I met him at the parking lot to escort him to the right
building. As he disembarked his car, he placed a pin on his
ascot. I carefully asked him about this formality. He told me,
in disarming simplicity, that the occasion of an important
event in somebody’s life called for respectful formality. Dr.
János Beér, the perennial gentleman!!!
Yiannis A. Levendis
Professor, Northeast University
Dear Prof. Beér,
Looking back over a career that has spanned academia,
industry and government, I have encountered few people
who have matched either your accomplishments and
knowledge or your grace and humanity, and fewer yet who
have blended the two. As a young man I did not yet
appreciate how extraordinarily fortunate I was to be, on the
one hand, tutored by you, and on the other hand treated
with a special dignity that always made my meager
contributions to our research team feel valued and
respected.
Joel Levy
United States Department of Commerce
Dear János,
Many years ago, little did I know, as a
prospective Ph.D. student then in the middle
of a Mathematics MS degree, what a great
find I had made. And what great applied fuel,
flame and combustion work was taking place
under your leadership. The subsequent three
years were the most formative of my life.
David Lilley
Professor, Oklahoma State University
Dear János,
You are the Dean of the AFRC Associate Members and we
have benefitted not only from your academic expertise in all
matters dealing with combustion but also from your very
active role in applied combustion research. Your works and
its dissemination at AFRC meetings fulfills the AFRC
mission to provide timely forums on application of applied
combustion research and technology.
AFRC forums ability to expediently transfer the application
of applied combustion science had been due in great
measure to your contributions.
American Flame Research Committee (AFRC)
Dear Prof. Beér,
I frequently think back to our many stimulating
discussions on practical combustion issues. I recall
how the Rolls Royce gas turbine combustor in your
office caught my attention and spurred a number of
conversations on high pressure combustion. Since
several of my current projects are based on gas
turbines and novel methods of integrating them
with other combustion systems, I am grateful for
the guidance you provided during those early
discussions.
Scott Macadam
Principal Engineer, ConocoPhillips
Dear János,
Every time I met you, I always learned a lot
from your presentations and our talks, every
time I met you, I found you have been
always very strong and very active. I
sincerely wish you always in a very good
health and continuously contribute to the
development of clean coal combustion.
Jianxiong Mao
Professor, Tsinghua University
Dear Prof. Beér,
My colleagues and I have admired you for your
depth and breadth of technical knowledge and for
your ability to communicate with a high degree of
clarity and understanding. You provide effective
industrially-oriented advice, and have helped us
with an emphasis on the practical side of the
problem solving. We also admire your character
and grace.
John Marion
Vice President, Alstom Power Inc.
Dear Prof. Beér,
With Adel and you as advisors, I felt that I had the
great fortune of studying under and working with
giants. Not only did I benefit from your tutelage in
my droplet combustion research and in the
classroom, but I benefited from the gracious
manner that you and Marta offered to Paige and
me on several occasions so early in our
professional and adult lives.
Jim Mulholland
Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
Dear John,
(Your 2009 report to the National Coal Council) is a
perfectly marvelous review, typically modest with
regard to your own accomplishments in several
very significant areas – improved efficiency,
pollutant minimization, higher intensity – subjects
that you were thinking about and exploring for
many productive years, resulting in major
advances, both theoretical and practical, to the last
benefit of the national (and international) energy
scene.
Howard Palmer
Dear Prof. Beér,
I had the opportunity to come to MIT and to spend
two years as a graduate student and research
assistant at the Combustion Research Facility.
Those years were a very busy and rewarding time.
I was just impressed by the systematic, analytic
approach which was applied to reach solutions for
the problems being studied. It was a great time.
Tuomas Paloposki
Professor, Aalto University
Sang-Chen Rah
When did János start to pay attention to CO2
problem:
I particularly remember at that time you introduced
me to Prof. Hottel and that we all later had lunch
together. During lunch the discussion turned to the
subject of carbon dioxide concentrations in the
earth’s atmosphere, the cumulative contribution of
man’s combustion of fossil fuels on these
increasing levels and ultimately what might be
done about it. So the CO2 problem had appeared
“over the horizon’ in those days.
Peter Roberts
Former Director, IFRF
Dear János,
I hope that you know what a privilege it has
been for me (and I know I speak for so many
others as well) to work with you and get to know
you over the many years you have been
associated with the Clearwater Clean Coal
Conference. There is no doubt that the great
success that we enjoy is in great part due to
your support.
Barbara Sakkestad
Vice President, Coal Technology Association
The classical book János edited
I still make significant use of “Combustion
Technology: Some Modern Developments”
that you and Howard Palmer edited, making
frequent reference to your chapter on
radiation which provides one of the more
definitive experimental demonstrations of the
importance of soot radiation in coal flames.
Adel Sarofim
Professor, MIT
The Combustion Power House János led:
It was a golden era for the Department of Chemical
Engineering and Fuel Technology. I was amazed
by the activities in the Department and at Buxton,
the caliber of the combustion faculty (Swithenbank,
Chigier, Hedley, Foster, Brown, …), and the
sophistication of the experimental equipment made
possible by the your in-house expertise in
electronics and optics.
Adel Sarofim
Professor, MIT
The Center of Excellence of coal Combustion at MIT:
It was a very productive period for the Fuels Research
group in the Department as you built up the programs
involving CRF and the associated fluidized bed that
you had constructed. Our joint activities on the drop
tubes for droplets, coal/water slurries, and coal
combustion provided us with an opportunity to use
fundamentals studies to provide insights on the large
scale studies that were of interest to industry. I enjoined
collaborating with you on the supervision of students
that led to many important publications.
Adel Sarofim
Professor, MIT
The well read János,
One of the greatest pleasures for me was our joint travels which
were enriched by the breadth of your knowledge and your
eclectic tastes. A particularly memorable trip for me was that to
Toledo and the visit to the museum of Santa Cruz. I recall
standing with you before the galley flag from the battle of Lepanto
hanging from the high-ceiling of one of the galleries as you
described the role of Don Juan of Austria and the importance of
the battle in arresting the advance into Europe of the
Ottomans. Another incident on that visit, one that you would
expect of two MIT professors, was our looking at an unfinished
picture by El Greco and noticing how he had bent the leg to
anticipate the refraction that would occur with the planned but not
executed painting of the water over it.
Adel Sarofim
Professor, MIT
Dear Prof. Beér,
I also remember that one of the graduate students wanted
to keep me doing more experimentation before I completed
my thesis, in particular the equipment had been down a lot
that semester and my data was a bit incomplete for a full
thesis. You advised me to change the title to “An
Experimental Study” and you told the grad student I needed
to graduate and he would have to get someone else to
perform the experiments. You were so supportive and
sensitive to an undergraduate’s point of view!
Sarah Bingman Schott
Leapfrog Marketing, Inc.
More on how János chooses his people:,
I still remember the day when you, as chairman of the
department, called each of the students in the M.Sc. class,
to inform them about the outcome of their studies. I was the
first one you called in as the only lady of the class. You
asked me to continue with my studies in the same
department and offered me a scholarship which would be
given to a foreign student for the first time. Unfortunately, I
could not take up the offer as I had to go back home. A year
later, after I sent you a Christmas card and mentioned that I
started my Ph.D. in Turkey, I received your card together
with the application form for the Ph.D. scholarship. This time
I did not miss that opportunity.
Nevin Selcuk
Dear János,
I would like to tell you that whenever I had
meetings with my clients, regardless whether
it was in China, Mongolia, Australia,
Indonesia or many other places around the
world, I always started my meetings by
telling my clients that “I learned everything
about coal from Professor Beer”.
Yih Hong (Larry) Song
General Manager, Nexant China
Dear Prof. Beér,
You are a great teacher, and a teacher by
example. You never sought to impose your
opinions; only suggest, add what was
productive, and sure enough it would sprout
within us and bloom. You always aimed to
grow the student with experiences and free
expansion much more than by instruction.
Srivats Srinivasachar
President, Envergex LLC
“Guru (teacher) is indeed the Creator and
Sustainer…, in fact, he is all Knowing and
limitless and to him I salute”.
Srivats Srinivasachar
Dear Prof. Beér,
You have led a rich career and even a richer life,
inspiring your students and the people around you
to achieve more while also treating them with great
compassion. You have always set an example for
the rest of us to follow as both a teacher and a
gentleman. I am very proud to have been one of
your students.
James E. Staudt
Andover Technology Partners
The question János asked about car,
One memory I do remember is though we had a
discussion over a glass of beer in Ijmuiden, I think, if a
Volvo really was a safer car than the common
American vehicles of the time. I remember your
question you asked me, if I preferred to sit in a car
weighting three tonnes or one of one tonne if they
collided. This was a comment from a scientific and
knife sharp person, with his feet deep down in
engineering and scientific basic principles.
Lars Strömberg, Dr.Sc., professor
Chief technology Officer and head of R&D
Vattenfall AB
Dear János,
This is the picture I wear of you, as my master in
the early years, an inspiration over a number of
years, a guide in my whole professional life, and
hopefully also in my retirement coming up. Keep
straight scientific, be clear, and argue so people
understand, use the basic engineering common
sense and engage with the youngsters. They are
our future.
Lars Strömberg, Dr.Sc., professor
Chief technology Officer and head of R&D
Vattenfall AB
Dear János,
After more than 40 years in my professional life, I
was glad when the initiative came to write a
personal greeting to you. You have not only
enriched my life, but I am sure you have been the
inspiration and master for many others, all over the
world, as you have for me.
Lars Strömberg, Dr.Sc., professor
Chief technology Officer and head of R&D
Vattenfall AB
János, the economist
I remember travelling on the train to London
with János and commenting that I did not
understand the significance of the
devaluation of the UK pound currency that
was happening at that time. His vast
expertise in international economic theory
was then revealed during the next two hours!
Jim Swithenbank
Professor, Sheffield University
Dear János,
Whilst I worked under you in the field of combustion and
swirling flows I became enormously impressed by your
broad and in depth range of knowledge in the area, your
abilities to work with and bring out the best in those working
with you and the overall contributions you were making to
the fields of energy and combustion generally. This is all
complimented by your generous and gregarious nature
which is so enlivened my, and others, time at Sheffield
University.
Nick Syred
Professor, Cardiff University
Dear Prof. Beér,
My offer is that we go on an updated version of Nick Syred’s
(1966) “bombing about Derbyshire”, but not in his old
Sunbeam Rapier; we “borrow” Rachel’s Mustang:
....Surprise Corner, down to Hathersage, past one of
combustion’s holy coordinates (Hope Cement works)
accompanied by Brandenburg no 3, maybe slowing a bit
through Tideswell with BWV 1042. Any sins of speeding,
CO2, and theft would be absolved by “Mach Dich mein
Hertze rein...”.
John Tippetts
Tippetts Fountains
How János run the department:
The Department was a hot-bed (!) of activity. It had some rare
features: two computers that were entirely under its control,
outlying laboratories in the hills above Buxton, and copious
workshops. At the Buxton site, if we wanted a 2-foot hole in the
roof, we just drilled it (no paperwork). In Sheffield if we wanted to
compute we just did it (no genuflecting to the praetorian guard
round the University mainframe). You presided over all this in an
efficient and gentlemanly fashion. Although I did not work directly
for you, if visitors came, I would be introduced like all the others
with proper honour. This contrasted with previous experience:
well-meaning academic heads delivering gaffes and crassitudes
while colleagues winced in the expectation of another solecism.
John Tippetts
Tippetts Fountains
Dear John,
Now looking back on this particular
experience and others during my 13 years of
stay with you, I feel that I owe what I
accomplished so far in my career to you. You
have not only been an advisor to me, but a
mentor, a second father and a dear friend.
Majed Toqan
Creative Power Solutions
Dear John,
Although combustion is as old as modern man it will still be
a very important technology for tomorrow. Your great
contribution to go beyond the limits of knowledge in the field
of combustion will therefore also be of fundamental
importance to solve the problem of the future. But even
more important is that you have contributed to stimulate
research in combustion all over the world, not least by
providing opportunities for foreign students and researchers
to spend time in your company just as myself.
Claes Tullin
R&D Manager
SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden
My dear John,
Thank you John, for what you have
done in developing the science of
combustion, for mentoring so many of
us throughout our careers, and for
being a role model that we can only
aspire to.
Terry Wall
Professor, University of Newcastle
Dear Prof. Beér,
I wish I could have been there to tell you, in
person, that the Combustion Research
Facility and research group that you created
and directed at MIT was the most exciting,
most challenging, most rewarding, and most
enjoyable laboratory in which I have ever
had the good fortune to do research.
Peter Walsh
Professor, University of Alabama
Dear John,
This letter is to express my profound gratitude for
your contribution to combustion science, in
particular to combustion aerodynamics, pollutants
reduction methods, heat transfer, and
measurement techniques. Many of your scientific
publications have been a source of inspiration and
ideas for me.
Roman Weber
Professor, Clausthal University of Technology
Dear Prof. Beér,
On behalf of myself and many other Chinese colleagues, I
would like express the sincerest gratitude to you for your
helping my department, university and nation in coal
combustion and clean energy technology for more than two
decades.
Though the exact number is hard to count, over the past
two decades, I believe hundreds of Chinese scholars and
graduate students have been directly or indirectly
influenced by your research activities. You are one of the
most respectful supervisors and friends for Chinese
researchers in combustion engineering.
Guangxi Yue
Professor, Tsinghua University
Dear Prof. Beér,
I was very please to had the chance to visit you at
MIT again in 2008, recollecting the pleasant time
for me to study under your guidance from 1981
through 1983. I said it many times to my family and
colleagues that this period of time was the best
time of my life. It is really hard for me to find a word
to express my appreciation feeling for what I
learned at MIT under your guidance!
Mingchuan Zhang
Professor, Shanghai Jiaotong University
Dear Prof. Beér,
You exemplify all that is human dignity,
the desire and will of living in a free society,
the curiosity to understand nature, the
conscience of humanity and the willingness
to care about the future, and most important
of all, the perfect example of enjoying life.
Ligang Zheng
CanmetENERGY