This opportunity involves a direct working collaboration of modeling and experimental diagnostics. Our goal is to understand flame and fire behavior by experimentally characterizing well-defined systems and developing models to describe the observed behavior. Modeling surfactant-fuel interaction at a gas-liquid interface is cruical to designing surfactnat molecules that have a potential to replace fluoro-surfactant, which are environmentally damaging. Developing surfactnat replacement requires a co-ordinated effort between molecular level modeling and surfactant synthesis experiments. Experiments are designed to help us understand fire behavior as it relates to the suppression and extinguishment of flames. Potential research areas include the effect of added aerosols (drops and particles) on flame behavior, specific chemistry of various added suppression agents including the investigation and development of relevant chemical mechanisms, and other flame stability issues (such as the interaction of flames and surfaces). Facilities consist of SGI workstations, access to supercomputers, and various commercial and public domain computer codes. Specifics on the experimental aspects are listed under opportunity 64.15.15.B2778, “Combustion Diagnostics and Mechanisms”. For more information, see related opportunity 64.15.15.B2723, “Mechanisms of Combustion-Suppression Chemistry”, and http://www.chemistry.nrl.navy.mil/6180/6185/index.php/ on the World Wide Web.