Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. (AFR), is a privately owned small business, founded in 1980, that supplies contract research, product development, and analytical services to corporate research centers, research institutes, and government laboratories. AFR's initial work employed advanced Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy methods to understand the starting composition and reaction behavior of solid and liquid, hydrocarbon and biomass fuels. These diagnostic techniques were subsequently extended to a wide range of applications, including the measurement of gas compositions and temperatures, particle size distributions, and the thickness, temperature, optical properties, and composition of thin films. Through this research, AFR scientists and engineers became pioneers in infrared instrumentation and its applications, producing numerous patents, publications, and commercial applications in areas ranging from continuous emisions monitoring to semiconductor process analysis.

Today, AFR has diversified into a broad range of technologies and applications through the addition of leading research in several technical areas, including: spectroscopy, gas turbine instrumentation, carbon capture, biochar and biofuels, hydrogen generation and storage, solid waste conversion, mercury control, radiation detection, electronic materials and testing devices, and image analysis. Applications include: defense, homeland security, energy, aerospace, chemical, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, biotech, fuel cells, medical and educational software, and is now being continued in an initially affiliated company called TheBeamer.