Our Team

Jackson Crane

PhD, PEng
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Smith Engineering
Queen’s University, Canada
jackson.crane@queensu.ca
Google Scholar
Dr. Jackson Crane is interested in low-carbon combustion, electrocatalysis, and renewable energy conversion technologies. His current research focuses on detonation fundamentals with application to high-efficiency engines. He is also active in the area of alternative fuel synthesis via CO2-reduction electrocatalysis.
Dr. Crane did his postdoctoral work at Queen’s University in electrocatalysis with Dr. Cao-Thang Dinh. He received his PhD and MSc from Stanford University with Prof. Hai Wang where he studied detonation kinetics and was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and a Stanford Graduate Fellow. Dr. Crane also worked as an Associate at the sustainability-focused non-profit Rocky Mountain Institute, and as an engineering consultant in the nuclear power industry.
He enjoys cycling, squash, and spending time with his kids.

Graduate Students

Reza Paknahad

PhD Candidate
Reza’s work centers on modeling detonating flows through CFD and the geometric model.
He enjoys reading history and following political news and analysis.
Hung Lai

PhD Candidate
Hung works on CO2 reduction electrocatalysis multiphysics modeling.
Besides academic work, he enjoys tweaking computer hardware and watching geopolitics lectures to understand the world.
Raj Punna

MASc Student
Raj’s project is to develop waveguides to modulate detonation stability.
Outside of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, Raj is very passionate about the environment and conservation. He enjoys a variety of activities in his free time, including reading, hiking, skiing, and volleyball.
Sam Williamson

MASc Student
Sam is focused on introducing bubbles into the detonation channel. It’s harder than it looks!
Outside of the lab, Sam enjoys cycling and building fixed-wing drones. He's looking forward to applying his skills to aircraft propulsion in the future.
Catherine Douglas

MASc Student
Catherine works on liquid-spray detonations.
Catherine is an avid hockey player.