As a founding member of the Center for High-Speed Flight, he is also advancing the basic science needed to one day field vehicles at hypersonic speeds (exceeding Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound) — and defend Israel from a new generation of airborne threats.
Prof. Michaels’ work further promises to advance a new generation of power plants and jet engines that can meet the increasing global demand for cheap, carbon-based energy with minimal impact on human health and the environment. He also researches alternative fuels, examining the impact of fuel composition on the combustion processes in jet engines and land-based gas turbines. With funding from the Israel Electric Corporation, he is developing a gas turbine for electrical power plants that can use different fuels, including hydrogen. Within the field of energy conservation, he concentrates on the fundamental physical and chemical processes in combustion systems.
In addition to the Center for High-Speed Flight, he is associated with the Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program.
Prof. Michaels holds a B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Technion. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Reacting Gas Dynamics Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.