This seminar will be a survey of several combustion research topics as CAL.  Nearly all of these topics are motivated by profits.  Topics include changes to engines that improve efficiency (and thus less CO2) and reduce harmful emissions of urban pollutants. Biofuels will also be discussed.  In particular, I will discuss a Green Diesel fuel process that was profitable 2 years ago when gasoline and diesel fuel were $4.00 per gallon (subtitle:  How I missed $100 million).  As new synthetic fuels are developed, the Octane number becomes increasingly important.  I will show you how CAL measures Octane number of synthetic fuels.  These fuels include proposed fuels from a gasified wood producing synthesis gas that can be burned directly or used to synthesize hydrocarbons.  Instead of gasification, one could heat wood for 1 to 2 seconds to produce a liquid that can be a fuel or can be further processed, by hydrogenation, to produce gasoline.