An international dialogue to inform an update to the Canadian total cost of fire will be following the conclusion of IAFSS 2020 in Waterloo. For more information and how to sign up for the event please read the attached invitation.
Fire Safety Science News #42 – December, 2018
The December, 2018 edition of the IAFSS Newsletter, the official newsletter of the IAFSS is now available.
Workshop to define a Fire Safety Mission for Europe
The IAFSS recently hosted a meeting in Brussels to define a Fire Safety Mission for Europe. A summary of the workshop and presentations are now available!
Workshop presentations
WHERE WE ARE COMING FROM?
- Why fire safety is important in tomorrow’s world, Patrick van Hees, Chair IAFSS and ISO TC92
- Lessons Learned from Fire Research in H2020, the example of wildfire research, Nicolas Faivre, DG RTD
WHERE ARE WE HEADED?
- Fire Information Exchange Platform, Georgios Katsarakis, DG GROW
- What do we mean by Missions in Horizon Europe? Neville Reeve, DG RTD
WHY A FIRE SAFETY MISSION – STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES?
- Funding Agency: Björn Sundström, Chairman of the Board, Brandforsk
- Fire Fighter: Pieter Maes, Brussels Fire Department
- Fire Engineer: Brian Meacham, President-Elect, SFPE
- Academia: Guillermo Rein, Imperial College
- Industry: Jonathan Crozier, pinfa and Quentin deHults, Modern Building Alliance (MBA)
IAFSS Workshop: Agenda 2030 for a Fire Safe World
The IAFSS will be holding a workshop on the afternoon of Tuesday, 11 September, just ahead of the ESFSS in Nancy, France.
Although great strides have been made in reducing the negative impacts of fire over the past few decades, the global impact of fire remains staggering. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates global burn deaths to 180,000 annually, the vast majority of these in low and middle-income countries. Within Europe, more than 3,500 people are killed annually. The losses in the USA are similar. In most developed countries the cost of fire damage is estimated to be at least 1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the USA, alone the total cost of fire has been estimated at US$328.5 billion. Global loss due to wildand fire is presently greater than at any time in the past. SwissRe has reported that the combined insurance losses from all wildfires worldwide in 2017 were US$14 billion, the highest ever in a single year. According to Allianz, fires and explosions in the built environment accounted for 59% of 1,807 business interruption claims globally from 2010-2014, resulting in billions of US dollars in loss.
Something must be done to facilitate substantial reduction in these losses. To better characterize the problems and develop solutions, fire safety science and engineering research needs to be integrated into societally-transformative risk mitigation and resiliency initiatives. Grand societal challenges such as changing demographics (an aging and diversely able society), rapid urbanization, the need to be more sustainable, the need to slow climate change, and the need to develop more resilient communities all have fire safety implications. Yet fire safety is rarely thought of as part of the solution to these challenges.
We would like your help in raising the profile of the benefits of fire safety science and engineering research in helping to solve critical societal challenges facing the world. We therefore invite you to participate in the IAFSS Workshop, Agenda 2030 for a Fire Safe World, on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 11, to begin work on this challenge. We have prepared a short White Paper that you should read in advance of the Workshop, which provides additional detail on the challenges and objectives moving forward.
If you accept this challenge and invitation to participate, you will be tasked with helping to draft text that can be used with key research funding entities, governmental agencies, and NGOs worldwide to facilitate funding to advance a fire safe world. Participation will be limited to the first 50 registrants. Please register only if you want to actively help develop a research strategy, talking points, and potentially white papers, which will be used to facilitate the generation of directed funding towards fire safety science research to address emerging societal challenges. Your participation will not require you to sign a joint statement on research needs although this will be encouraged as one possible outcome of the Workshop.
Registration for the workshop can be done here and register for ESFSS here. The tentative workshop agenda is below.
Tentative Workshop Agenda, 13:00-17:00, Tuesday, 11 September 2018
13:00-14:00 Introductory presentations to frame the challenges
14:00-16:00 Break-out groups to work on strategies to address future challenges
16:00-17:00 Reporting, consensus development, and framing steps forward
As we get closer to the date of the Workshop, additional information will be posted, and registrants may receive additional information by email. Thank you for your interest in this important initiative, and we look forward to seeing you in Nancy in September!
Professor in Fire Safety Engineering with focus on fire-related environmental protection and fire chemistry, Lund University, Sweden
Lund University, LTH,
Lund University was founded in 1666 and is repeatedly ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The University has 40 000 students and 7 400 staff based in Lund, Helsingborg and Malmö. We are united in our efforts to understand, explain and improve our world and the human condition.
LTH forms the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University, with approximately 9 000 students. The research carried out at LTH is of a high international standard and we are continuously developing our teaching methods and adapting our courses to current needs.
Subject description
The subject contains overall aspects of Fire Safety Engineering with respect to general performance based design addressing safety of life, property protection, continuity of operation and the protection of the environment but with a clear focus on environmental and chemical aspect of fires. The research includes environmental impact of fires e.g. pollution of ground water by extinguishing water, analysis of fire retardants and spread of fire gases in the environment. The research also includes the analysis of the production of gases with different measuring techniques e.g. FTIR. Finally, the research shall also focus on the detailed chemistry of fires connected to pyrolysis of materials.
Work duties
The work duties include:
- Research within the subject area
- Teaching in the first, second and third cycles of studies
- Supervision of degree projects and doctoral students
- Actively seeking external research funding
- Collaboration with industry and wider society
- Administration related to the work duties listed above
- Management duties within the division.
Qualification requirements
Appointment as a professor requires that the applicant has:
- Demonstrated research expertise in the subject.
- Demonstrated teaching expertise.
- Completed at least five weeks of training in higher education teaching and learning, or acquired equivalent knowledge by other means, unless there are valid reasons.
Additional requirements:
- Very good oral and written proficiency in English.
- Leadership experience
- Experience in international collaboration
- Proven ability to attract external funding in the subject area of environmental and chemistry research.
Assessment criteria
When assessing the applicants, special importance will be given to research and teaching expertise within the subject, with greater importance to research.
For appointments to professor, the following shall form the assessment criteria:
- A very good national and international standing as a researcher.
- The requirement for international experience shall be assessed with consideration to the character and traditions of the subject.
- A very high level of teaching skill, including a very good ability to conduct, develop and lead teaching and other educational activities on different levels and using a variety of teaching methods.
- A good ability to supervise doctoral students to achieve a PhD.
- A good ability to collaborate with wider society and communicate his or her activities.
- A good general ability to lead and develop activities.
Other qualifications:
- Knowledge of the Swedish language
Consideration will also be given to good collaborative skills, drive and independence, and how the applicant’s experience and skills complement and strengthen ongoing research, first and second cycle education and innovation within the department, and how they stand to contribute to its future development.
Instructions on how to apply
Applications shall be written in English. Please draw up the application in accordance with LTH’s Academic qualifications portfolio – see link below. Upload the application as PDF-files in the recruitment system. Read more here
Lund University welcomes applicants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We regard gender equality and diversity as a strength and an asset. We kindly decline all sales and marketing contacts.
Read more and apply here.
Second Announcement and Call for Papers – 3rd ESFSS
The 3rd European Symposium on Fire Safety Science will be held on September 12-14, 2018 at the University of Lorraine, in Nancy, France.
Following the conference held in Cyprus (2015), the 3rd ESFSS, will be the third edition of a series of symposia organized in Europe, with the participation of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS). The aim is to gather researchers from and beyond Europe to have exchanges and discussions about fire safety science.
The submission site is now open. You may submit your paper on the submission platform: https://esfss2018.sciencesconf.org/ The submission deadline for papers (6 pages) is March 15, 2018. More information on the the Symposia webpage.
Call for Papers – The 3rd European Symposium on Fire Safety Science (Nancy, France 12-14 September 2018
The 3rd European Symposium on Fire Safety Science will be held on September 12-14, 2018 at the University of Lorraine, in Nancy, France.
Following the conference held in Cyprus (2015), the 3rd ESFSS, will be the third edition of a series of symposia organized in Europe, with the participation of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS). The aim is to gather researchers from and beyond Europe to have exchanges and discussions about fire safety science.
The program will have oral and poster sessions for the presentation of fully peer-reviewed papers over the three days, including invited lectures from world’s top fire science researchers.
The 3rd ESFSS will be hosted by the LEMTA, a French laboratory affiliated to the University of Lorraine and the CNRS in Nancy, with the support of the GDR Feux – the French Research Group on Fire.
Researchers, and Practitioners, are invited to submit contributions related to one of the following themes:
- Material behavior in fire
- Fire dynamics, structure in fires
- Wildland fires
- Fire suppression
- Evacuation and Human behavior
Special topic: during the conference a special tribute will be also paid to Margaret Law for her work dedicated to fire safety and fire engineering.
Authors are invited to submit short papers (6-pages) that fits within one of the themes.
Papers will be peer-reviewed and accepted communications will be presented either through oral presentations or poster sessions.
Important note: the themes will be interpreted in a broad manner, so authors are encouraged to submit their work, even if it does not fit perfectly into one of the themes.
‘Work in progress’ submissions are particularly encouraged.
Awards
Awards for the best paper, the best poster and the best presentation will be provided.
Publication
All accepted papers, either for oral or poster presentation, will be published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, an open journal with fast publication process, referenced in Scopus and Web of Science.
In addition, a selection of the best papers will be done, based on the recommendations of the reviewers and with a final decision made by the Symposium Co-chairs.
Authors of selected papers will be asked, if interested, to extend their paper before submission for a special issue in Fire Safety Journal.
Important Dates
- Paper due: March 15th 2018
- Notification of acceptance: April 15th 2018
- Revised Paper submission due: May 15th 2018
- 2nd ESFSS conference: June 16th to 18th 2018
Cost of Participation
The cost of participation to the 3rd ESFSS is 400 Euros for IAFSS members, 500 Euros for non IAFSS members and 300 Euros for students.
This includes the conference registration, the proceedings, the publication costs in the open journal JPCS, buffet lunches, coffee breaks,the welcome reception and the Conference Gala Dinner.
Paper Submission
The website for paper submission will be available January 15th, 2018. Papers must be submitted no later than March 15th, 2018.
More information in the symposium 3rd ESFSS flyer.
We hope to welcome you in Nancy next september!!
Pascal Boulet, for the organizing committee
Summary of the 12th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science
The Division of Fire Safety Engineering at Lund University hosted the 12th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science on June 10 to June 16. The Symposium was a success in regards to the quality of the papers and posters presented. Furthermore, a record number of participants (> 470) from all continents except Antarctica were present.
The Symposium is the premier fire safety science meeting in the world and has been organized triennially since 1985 by the IAFSS. The program included presentations of more than 119 papers, including ten invited papers that had undergone a full peer review.
The papers were presented in the following seven streams: Material Behavior in Fires (18 papers), Fire Dynamics (26 papers), Structures in Fire (10 papers), Fire Suppression (17 papers), Wildland Fires (17 papers), Evacuation and Human Behavior (9 papers), and papers addressing Additional Topics in Fire Safety (12 papers). The papers are now published as a Special Issue of the Fire Safety Journal that can be accessed online. (Free access for current IAFSS members here.)
In addition to the published papers, a total of 136 posters and a wide selection of fire and combustion images were presented during the Symposium.
The Symposium also featured several workshops on the weekend prior to the Symposium. The IAFSS Working Group on Measurement and Computation of Fire Phenomena organized a one and half day long workshop with focus on experimental validation of CFD-based fire models. Workshops on Quantification of Fire Effluent Toxicity, Large Outdoor Fires and the Built Environment, New approaches to evacuation modelling, Global perspectives of Timber in high-rise buildings and Better Linking Fire Safety Science and Fire Safety Engineering were also organized. All the workshops were fully booked. For the first time there was also a workshop on equal opportunities workshop and women in fire safety science held during the Symposium.
The Symposium was held on the Faculty of Engineering campus at Lund University just a 15-minute walk from central Lund. The delegates enjoyed free public transportation during the Symposium and had the opportunity to see Lund and the surrounding areas. There were also several social activities organized. On the evening of the first symposium day the delegates could participate in a Swedish midsummer celebration at Kulturen in central Lund. 
The event started with a guided tour and a dance performance, and was followed by a traditional Swedish Midsummer dinner.
On Tuesday evening the delegates had the chance to see the MSB Revinge rescue service collage and training field during. Several of the large-scale laboratories and research experiments at Lund University are conducted at MSB Revinge.
The Symposium Awards Ceremony was held after the last session on Thursday. The awardees were presented with their awards in the University Aula located in the main University Building. The awards ceremony was follow by the Symposium Banquet, which included very nice three-course meal and high quality entrainment.
The local organisation committee is very honoured to have hosted this prestigious symposium and to receive so much positive feedback from the participants. The Symposium would not have been possible without the hard work of the staff at Division of Fire Safety Engineering and the volunteer students!
An image gallery from the symposium is available here, compliments of Michael Strömgren.
Signed:
Local organisation committee of the 12th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science
Register now for IAFSS2017!
Registration is now open for the 12th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science. The Symposium is the premier fire safety science meeting in the world, and the number one symposium to visit for fire safety researchers and experts. You do not want to miss this event. Register now or visit iafss2017.se for more information.
Early registration fees apply until April 18. IAFSS members gets a substantially discount on the registration fee; however, the membership fee must be paid by March 31, 2017, and verified, to be eligible for the discount. Click here for information about IAFSS membership.
Announcing the Recipients of the Inaugural IAFSS Proulx and Magnusson Early Career Awards
The International Association of Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) is presenting two new awards, the Proulx and Magnusson Early Career Awards, at the 12th Symposium in Lund, Sweden in June 2017. Each of the awards consists of a grant of US$4000, a plaque, and free registration to the Symposium. Each recipient will also deliver at the Symposium a review paper drawn from their body of work.
The Proulx and Magnusson Early Career Awards recognise meritorious achievement by members of the IAFSS who are early in their careers and have contributed a body of work that is of significance to any area of fire safety science. The two awards are distinguished by the period of time from completion of the candidates’ most recent educational degree.
Proulx Award
The recipient of the inaugural 2017 Proulx Award is Prof. Michael Gollner from University of Maryland for his major scientific contributions to the understanding of flame spread, wildland and wildland-urban interface fire spread, and fire whirls. Michael is a rising star of the fire science community, an innovative engineer with great vision of the important issues in fire safety.
For the Proulx Award, candidates must be within five years from completion of their most recent degree at the time of nomination. The award commemorates Dr. Guylene Proulx (1960-2009), an expert in human behaviour in fire at National Research Council Canada, and IAFSS Board member at the time she passed away.
Magnusson Award
The recipient of the inaugural 2017 Magnusson Award is Dr Anna Stec from University of Central Lancashire for her major and lasting contributions in the field of fire chemistry and fire toxicity which she has applied to many areas of fire safety from material properties and risks to egress from fires. She is an excellent experimentalist with a sound understanding of fire dynamics and fire science.
For the Magnusson Award, candidates must be within five to ten years from completion of their most recent degree at the time of nomination. The award commemorates Prof. Sven Erik Magnusson (1938-2014), pioneer of parametric fires and risk management at Lund University, Sweden, and a driving force in creating the first education curriculum for fire safety engineering.
The awards subcommittee was chaired by Dr Guillermo Rein, and supported by Dr Anne Steen-Hansen, Dr Steven Gwynne and Prof Ritsu Dobashi as co-chairs from each of the IAFSS world regions. The help of 13 independent experts who contributed to evaluate the nominations is greatly acknowledged.
Dr Natalia Flores-Quiroz is a researcher with experience in fire safety engineering. She worked for five years as a fire safety engineer in the mining industry before joining academia. She holds a MSc in fire safety from Ghent University, and her PhD focused on Fire investigations in Informal Settlements. Currently she is a lecturer at Stellenbosch University, where her main research areas are reconstruction of incidents in low-income settlements (i.e., informal settlements, refugee camps) and wildland urban interface (WUI) fires.
Bronwyn Forrest is a 3rd year PhD student at the University of Waterloo, conducting multi-disciplinary research investigating human physiological response to fire exposure. Bronwyn graduated in 2017 with a BSc. Honours Kinesiology and in 2020 with a MASc. Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering (Heat Release Rate in Ventilation-Limited Furniture Fires) before merging her two degrees in her PhD research. As a senior graduate student in the Fire Research Group, Bronwyn spear-heads large-scale fire experiments, mentors junior graduate and undergraduate students, and has recently set-up a new ‘human exposure lab’ at the Fire Research Facility where she leads new research in that area. Since her induction into the world of fire science, Bronwyn has grown more and more passionate about the multi-faceted nature of emerging fire safety challenges. Through innovative research, she hopes to make meaningful contributions that help shape changes to fire safety over the course of her career.
Dr. (HDR) Eric Guillaume has worked in fire sciences since 1998. He formerly led the fire behaviour department of SNCF (French Railway), then changed company in 2005 to join LNE (The French National Laboratory for Testing and Metrology) as head of Fire safety studies department, and later as head of research for whole testing activities of LNE. Nowadays (since 2015), he works for Efectis France, first as Technical Director and more recently as General Manager of the company, leading one of the most important fire testing and fire safety engineering companies in Europe (With approx. 180 people and 28 M€ turnover)
Dr. Albert Simeoni is Professor and the Department Head of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He is the WPI site director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC), an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States. Dr. Simeoni has served IAFSS by being chair or co-chair of the Wildland Fire track (2014, 2020 and 2023), Co-chair of the Awards Committee for the Best Thesis Awards (2023), Associate-Editor of Fire Safety Journal (2010-2015), member of the Editorial Board of Fire Safety Journal (since 2016), and Contributing Editor of Fire Safety Science News (since 2011).
Brian J. Meacham, PhD, PE (CT&MA), EUR ING, CEng (UK), FIFireE, FSFPE, is the Managing Principal of Meacham Associates. He develops risk-informed performance-based solutions to complex building and infrastructure challenges, provides peer-review services, and undertakes building and fire regulatory system studies. He also conducts research in these areas as well as in sustainable and fire resilient built environments and fire safety technologies. Brian has authored more than 300 publications, given more than 300 presentations and has been awarded more than $4M in research funding. His prior positions include Associate Professor of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Principal at Arup, Technical Director and Research Director at SFPE, and fire safety engineer in Europe and the USA. Brian is Chair of the ICC Performance Code Committee, Chair of the NFPA Technical Committee on Fire Risk Assessment Methods, Immediate Past Chair of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS), a Past President of the SFPE, and a past Chair of the Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee (IRCC). He is a licensed Professional Engineer in CT and MA, a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers (UK), a registered European Engineer (EUR ING), a Fellow of the SFPE, and a Fulbright Global Scholar.
Kazunori Harada is a professor of architecture & architectural engineering at Kyoto University, Japan. He has a career in fire research for over 35 years. He has authored 14 IAFSS symposium papers. His expertise covers the fire resistance of construction materials, smoke movement and control, burning of combustibles in open and compartment, performance-based code & design of buildings and so on. He serves as a vice president of AOAFST, Asia-Oceania Association of Fire Science and Technology. He also serves as the Convenor of ISO/TC92/SC4 WG9, calculation methods for fire safety engineering (FSE), which develops calculation standards concerning FSE.
Dr Xinyan Huang is an Associate Professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Deputy Director of the Research Centre for Fire Safety Engineering. He received his PhD from Imperial College London, MSc from UC San Diego, and BEng from Southeast University, and was a Postdoc at UC Berkeley. Dr Huang is a Combustion Scientist and a Fire Safety Engineer who has co-authored over 200 journal papers. He is an Associate Editor of Fire Technology and International Journal of Wildland Fire, an editorial member of J. Building Engineering, Fire Safety J. and Fire and Materials, a Chartered Building Services and Fire Engineer, a committee member for HK Fire Safety Code, and a Fire Expert for HK High Court. He receives the NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund, Bernard Lewis Fellowship and Sugden Best Paper Award from Combustion Institute, “5 under 35” and Bono Award from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE).
Arnaud Trouvé is Professor and Chair in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park, USA. He joined the Faculty in 2001 with a Ph.D. (1989) and Engineering Degree (1985) from École Centrale of Paris, France, and with previous experience as a combustion research engineer. Professor Trouvé’s research interests include fire modeling and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD); application of data assimilation to fire and combustion; and physical modeling of combustion- and fire-related phenomena, including compartment fires, wildland fires and explosions. Professor Trouvé is a Fellow of the Combustion Institute and the recipient of the 2017 FORUM Sjölin Award. He has served on the editorial boards of the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Combustion and Flame, and Fire Technology, and is currently on the editorial boards of Combustion Theory and Modelling and the Fire Safety Journal. Professor Trouvé is also a past Chair of the US Eastern States Section of the Combustion Institute (ESSCI) and a past Member of the Executive Board of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS). He is a co-Chair of a recent initiative endorsed by IAFSS and called the “IAFSS Working Group on Measurement and Computation of Fire Phenomena” (the MaCFP Working Group) and the past Chair of a new network of leading higher-education institutions and research laboratories in fire safety engineering called the International Fire Safety Consortium (IFSC).
Dr Felix Wiesner is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia and study the role of engineered timber in fire safety. I work in the Faculty of Forestry as part of the Wood Science department. My research focus has mostly been experimental, considering fire dynamics in timber compartments and the structural fire capacity of engineered timber products. In addition, I am interested in the performance of timber in exterior building or infrastructure setting. This closely interfaces with wildfire considerations for the wildland urban interface (WUI), especially when it comes to smouldering.
Prof. Yuji Nakamura is Full Professor in Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology (TUT), appointed as Affiliate Full Professor in Center for Fire Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science (since 2014). He currently serves the Head of Energy Conversion Laboratory and appointed as Department Chair since 2024. Prof. Nakamura has made professional service in Fire Science Community served as Management Committee of IAFSS during 2021-2023, worked as Co-chair of LOC in the most recent IAFSS symposium at Tsukuba, acting Associate Editor of Fire Technology since 2014 and board member of Fire Safety Journal since 2017.
ROGAUME Thomas is an Professor at the University of Poitiers – Pprime Institute (UPR3346 CNRS), FRANCE.
Yu Wang is a professor at the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). He got joint Ph.D. from USTC and the City University of Hong Kong in 2016 and had working experience at the University of Edinburgh, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and National University of Singapore before returning to China in 2020. His primary research areas are high-rise building fire and large outdoor fire. Yu has published over 50 SCI journal papers, and is currently an Associate Editor in Fire Technology and Editorial Board Member in Fire Safety Journal. He initiated the first English fire course at USTC, Introduction of Fire Dynamics, reported by China News and People’s Daily Online (over 260,000 audiences). In recent years, he has received SFPE Global 5 Under 35 Award, Youth May Fourth Medal (Anhui Province), Young Faculty Career Award (USTCAF), and some Best Paper/Presentation/Poster/Image Awards in IAFSS or AOSFST.
Brian Lattimer, Ph.D. is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech where he performs experimental and computational research on fire safety and disaster resilience. He has nearly 30 years of experience in fire related research. His research areas include material behavior in fires, fire dynamics, suppression agents, heat transfer from fires to surfaces, structural response during fire, and firefighting technology.
Dr. Shuna Ni is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her Ph.D. degree at Texas A&M University in 2018 and her Master’s degree at Tongji University in 2013. Dr. Ni’s research focuses on fire forensics, structural fire engineering, WUI fire resilience, fire safety of tall mass-timber buildings and fire-related multiple hazards. Her research has been funded by National Science Foundation, National Institute of Justice, Fire Protection Research Foundation, University Transportation Centers under the Department of Transportation, Grand Challenges Grants Program at the University of Maryland and industrial partners.
Dr Wojciech Węgrzyński is with ITB, that is the Polish Building Research Institute in Warsaw. He currently holds the position of the Deputy Head of Fire Research Department and the Professor of the Institute, and a Director at SFPE Europe. He is the Author of 40 peer-reviewed papers published in all of the primary FSE journals. His main area of interest is the fundamentals of compartment fire dynamics and standardized fire testing, and also: use of computational fluid dynamics in fire, wind and fire interaction and evaluation of the effects of the spread of smoke in buildings. His research is focused on the impact of the architectural context of the building on the smoke control performance, as well as finding solutions to make the smoke exhaust systems cheaper and more efficient. Member of the Sub-committee for Research of the IAFSS. 2018 NFPA Harry C. Bigglestone Award Recipient; 2019 Jack Watts Award Recipient; 2020 SFPE 5 Under 35 Award Recipient. Member of Editorial Board of ‘Fire Technology. Hosts a fire podcast at 
Jennifer Wen is currently Professor of Energy Resilience in the School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University of Surrey as Professor. Previously, Jennifer held positions at Computational Dynamics Limited (founding vendor of STAR-CCM), British Gas plc, South Bank University, Kingston University London, and University of Warwick. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Vice-Chair for Research for the International Association for Fire Safety Science. Jennifer is also a member and sub-task leader of the European Safety Panel on Hydrogen Safety (EHSP) established by the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (now Clean Hydrogen Partnership) of the European Commission. She is an Associate Editor for the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute.
Enrico Ronchi is an Associate Professor at Lund University, Sweden. His research and education activities are focused on evacuation and human behaviour in case of building fires and wildfires. His work has been published in over 150 publications (including >90 peer-reviewed journal papers). He is currently Associate Editor for the journals Fire Technology and Safety Science and member of the editorial board of the Fire Safety Journal.