Mac Holton received his Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in the thermal fluid sciences from the University of Maryland, College Park in December 2008.  The title of Mac’s M.S. thesis was “Autoignition Delay Time Measurements for Natural Gas Fuel Components and Their Mixtures.”  The focus of this project was to determine the effect of variations in concentrations of higher-order hydrocarbons on the ignition characteristics of natural gas.  This work contributed to an understanding of the impact of burning natural gases with varying compositions in combustion devices, and showed the need for continued development of chemical kinetic predictive tools.