 He initiated studies on diffusion flames inside a boundary layer, and Emmons problem is named after him.He was eventually awarded the Timoshenko Medal by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the 1968 Sir Alfred Egerton Gold Medal from The Combustion Institute.Upon Professor Emmons' death, Professor Patrick Pagni wrote, "It is not possible to properly summarize the magnitude of Professor Emmons' unique contributions to the establishment of fire safety science as a discipline, other than to call him "Mr. Fire Research".