Kenneth Kuo, distinguished professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at Penn State University, died July 31, 2016, at age 76.

Born in China, he graduated from the National Taiwan University with a bachelor’s degree in 1961. He earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1964, and in 1971 he earned a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton. Kuo taught for 39 years at Penn State, where he was a professor of mechanical engineering and director of the High Pressure Combustion Laboratory.

Kuo was an internationally recognized authority in chemical propulsion and propellant combustion. He founded the combustion laboratory at Penn State, led more than 100 research projects, and wrote several textbooks and hundreds of technical articles. He received many awards from various professional associations and U.S. government agencies.

Kuo collaborated with colleagues around the world and advised more than 140 graduate students. He considered these relationships the most personally fulfilling part of his work. Passionate about the need to promote young and promising faculty members in combustion and propulsion, he endowed two early-career professorships in his department at Penn State.

He is survived by Olivia, his wife of 51 years; two daughters; and two grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.