Invited Speakers

Prof. Bourbigot got his PhD in 1993. He was assistant professor in 1993, associate professor in 1999 and then full professor at Centrale Lille Institut in 2003. He has been awarded by the prestigious ERC-AdG for his project FireBar-Concept (budget = 2.5 millions€) in 2015 and he became fellow of IUF (University Institute of France) in 2020 (renewal in 2025).  

His research interest deals with the reaction and the resistance to fire of polymeric materials. It includes the processing of materials, the evaluation of the fire behavior of the materials in complex and extreme conditions (batteries fire, hydrogen fire and microgravity) considering the development of characterization methods and novel measurements. His research is organized according to: (i) processing of filled materials and of coatings (synergy and formulation, reactive extrusion, nanocomposite, spectrochemistry) and (ii) similitude and modeling (scale reduction and dimensional analysis, kinetic analysis, pyrolysis model).

The term "intumescence" is derived from the Latin word "intumescere", which translates to "to swell up". When heated beyond a certain temperature, the intumescent material starts to swell and then to expand. The result of this process is a foamed cellular charred layer on the surface which protects the material underneath from the action of the heat flux or the flame.

The talk will explore the utilization of the intumescence concept for fire retardancy and fire protection over the past decades, with a focus on contemporary and future applications. The lessons and the experience learnt from the past will be examined in the development of the today’s intumescent materials. It will also emphasize the characterization of intumescence, as well as the mechanisms of action. The future of intumescent materials and their applications appears promising and will be examined as (i) innovation in material composition, (ii) advanced applications, (ii) performance under extreme conditions, (iii) testing enhancements and advanced characterization methods.

Simo Hostikka received his DSc (Tech) in 2008 in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the Helsinki University of Technology. He worked several years as a researcher and team leader at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, developing the numerical methods of fire and evacuation simulations and risk analysis. Since his guest researcher period at NIST in 2000-2001, he became one of the FDS developers, focusing on the thermal radiation and pyrolysis routines. Currently, he works as a Professor of Fire Safety Engineering Aalto University, Finland, leading a team of about 10 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. He serves as a co-chair of the MaCFP Radiative Heat Transfer Phenomena -subcommittee of the IAFSS.

Thermal radiation sub-models are essential components of computational fire models, enabling the prediction of radiative heat fluxes and the closure of combustion equations. This presentation begins with a review of the radiation model development in the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS), followed by an overview of current methods and research on assigning medium properties and solving the radiative transfer equation. Advanced techniques—such as non-gray radiation models—are introduced, along with their advantages and computational challenges. The use of high-fidelity methods, including Photon Monte Carlo with line-by-line spectral resolution, is discussed in the context of model improvement. Particular attention is given to the calculation of the radiation source term and its relationship to turbulence–radiation interaction. The presentation concludes by examining the complexities and potential solutions for coupling radiation fields across multiple phases. It highlights the need for sustained model development, even as the gap between frontier research and routine engineering practice appears to widen.

Jie Ji is a Full Professor and serves as the Vice Director of the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science at the University of Science and Technology of China. He earned his undergraduate degree in Safety Engineering in 2002 and obtained his Ph.D. in Fire Safety Science in 2008, both from the University of Science and Technology of China. In 2015, he was appointed as a professor at the same university. In recognition of his contributions to fundamental fire research on combustion and flame dynamics under restricted air entrainment conditions, he was elected a Fellow of The Combustion Institute in 2022. He leads a research group dedicated to the dynamic evolution and protection of fire in both wooden heritage buildings and modern buildings, based on multi-scale experiments, numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis.

Fire incidents in cultural heritage buildings constitute a critical issue requiring urgent societal attention. Unlike modern timber structures, the fire development process in historic wooden buildings exhibits distinct characteristics, primarily due to differences in wood properties, building configurations, fire hazards, and the limited integration of fire safety measures. This study, grounded in multi-scale experimental results accumulated over several years, investigates the ignition, combustion, and flame spread behaviors in wooden heritage buildings. The thermal characteristics of common ignition sources within such buildings are analyzed, alongside the ignition properties of wooden components, which are influenced by factors including species type, moisture content, cracks, fungal degradation, and surface treatments such as tung oil or painted finishes. Representative fire behaviors of wooden components are identified, such as jet flame from combustible ceilings, burn-through of wooden boards, and accelerated double-sided flame spread on wooden boards—each significantly influencing fire progression. Several full-scale fire experiments are presented, serving to validate predictive models derived from small-scale and component-scale tests, while also enabling detailed analysis of typical fire propagation paths. These research achievements provide important support for the development of fire prevention and control strategies, including risk assessment and early fire detection systems, which have been successfully implemented across seven UNESCO World Heritage sites in China.

Sara McAllister earned her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.  She is a Research Mechanical Engineer with the U.S. Forest Service at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana.  As part of the National Fire Decision Support Center, Sara’s research focuses on the fundamental governing mechanisms of wildland fire spread.  Specifically, her research includes understanding the critical conditions for solid fuel ignition, flammability of live forest fuels, ignition due to convective heating, and fuel bed property effects on burning rate. She has authored two textbooks, one on combustion fundamentals and one on wildland fire behavior, as well as over 80 peer-reviewed publications and conference papers.  She is the recipient of the 2019 International Association for Wildland Fire Early Career Award in Fire Science and the 2023 International FORUM of Fire Research Directors Mid-Career Researcher Award.

Wildfires continue to grab headlines around the world. To find a path forward, we must first define what is meant by “the wildfire problem”. This entails understanding our history with wildland fires and appreciating the needs of our communities as well as our ecosystems. A review of our current available tools and how they are used by fire managers will be provided. This will help us gain insight as to how the fire science community can help to address the weaknesses in our current approach and as well as fill the gaps in our fundamental understanding of wildland fire behavior. The ultimate goal is to realize that wildland fires don’t have to be disasters.

Dr. Yi Wang earned his PhD in 2005 from the Department of Fire Protection Engineering at the University of Maryland, specializing in direct numerical simulation of fire phenomena. Following graduation, he developed probabilistic fire models for insurance risk assessment before joining the Research Division of Factory Mutual Insurance Company (FM), where he developed CFD models for industrial fire and suppression. As the original developer of FireFOAM, Dr. Wang led the fire modeling team at FM. He currently serves as Director of the Fire Hazard and Protection, overseeing all research activities related to fire, explosion, and battery safety. Dr. Wang is an associate editor of Fire and Materials and has served on the editorial boards of Fire Safety Journal and Fire Technology. He was the recipient of the 2018 International FORUM of Fire Research Directors Mid-Career Researcher Award and is recognized as a Fellow of The Combustion Institute. His contributions to the International Association of Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) include roles as committee member, program communication co-chair, scientific program co-chair, and symposium planning committee co-chair.

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are being rapidly deployed across commercial and industrial facilities, both indoors and outdoors. These systems contain high concentration of lithium-ion battery cells packed in modules, cabinets and containers. While providing critical energy storage and supply capabilities, they also pose significant fire and explosion risks due to the potential for thermal runaway.

Traditional passive protection methods, such as water spray, are often ineffective due to packaging induced shielding and the inherent exothermic nature of battery failures. Effective risk assessment and mitigation therefore require a deep understanding of cell-level hazard characteristics and the integration of passive protection strategies within modules and racks.

The presentation will review state-of-the-art techniques for characterizing battery cell energy release and thermal stability. It will also highlight recent advances in experimental, theoretical and modeling approaches for studying thermal runaway propagation in canonical multi-cell configurations. Building on this foundation, large-scale testing of commercial systems – incorporating realistic module and cabinet designs -- will be presented to elucidate heat transfer and fire propagation mechanisms. These insights will bridge cell-level behavior with practical safety design and hazard evaluation methodologies. The talk will conclude with a discussion of future research needs to support the development of safer BESS technologies.

Prof. Beth Weckman (Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering) has specialized in fire safety engineering and combustion for over 30 years. She co-directs the Fire Safety Program and Live Fire Research Facility at the University of Waterloo in Canada. She has delivered numerous invited lectures and contributed over 100 top-tier journals and refereed conference publications in fire science and engineering. She is a Trustee for the International Association for Fire Safety Science, chaired the SFPE Accreditation & Curriculum Committee, and serves on the FSRI and NFPA Research Advisory Boards, ASTM E05: Fire Standards Committee and as technical expert for Standards Council Canada on ISO TC92 on Fire Safety Engineering. Beth has a wealth of experience in fire testing, as well as design and conduct of small- through large-scale investigations into fire behavior over liquid and solid fuels and development of laser and other unique diagnostics for use in plumes and pool fires. Her research with undergraduates, graduate students and partners from university, fire service, industry and government includes small, medium and large-scale experiments aimed toward understanding and improving fire dynamics and fire performance of materials and systems, as well as advancing models of fire risk, fire behavior and hot gas movement across a span of fire safety engineering applications. Through her work, Beth seeks to couple the latest fire research with educational initiatives to enrich learning and promote broad, multidisciplinary technology transfer amongst fire safety stakeholders at all levels.

Understanding the complex physical and chemical processes governing fire phenomena is crucial for advancing fire safety science and validating predictive models. Advancement in this field is intrinsically linked to development and application of temporally and spatially resolved diagnostics capable of making quantitative measurements in harsh, unsteady fire environments spanning a wide array of scales. This review provides an overview of state-of-the-art in fire diagnostics, charting their evolution from traditional intrusive probes to a diverse suite of advanced, non-intrusive methods.

Probe-based instruments (thermocouples, heat flux sensors) are ubiquitous in fire research, providing foundational data across the field. Advancements in camera and laser technologies have enabled use of spectroscopic methods and video mapping for comprehensive monitoring of fire experiments, providing invaluable real-world data. Adaptation of modern combustion diagnostics has revolutionized experimental fire research. Options span from advanced laser diagnostic techniques for measurement of velocity and gas concentration to low-cost field-scale sensor systems, deployable over large areas. Integrating thermal imaging, spectroscopic techniques and high-speed photography has advanced multi-scale fire research in topical areas like suppression, smoke, and health hazards. The significant challenges of applying these methods in optically thick, soot-laden flames at larger scales are examined. Finally, the future trajectory of fire diagnostics is explored, emphasizing simultaneous multi-parameter measurements to create robust, comprehensive systems for both fundamental research and practical fire safety applications.