Abstract :

Structures in Fire or Fires in Structures? What do we Need to Know to Achieve Innovative Fire Safety The role of combustion research in fire safety is revisited through the process of Scaling-Up fire. Scaling-up fire requires the adequate definition of all the building blocks and couplings associated with the construction of a fire model. The model then has to deliver predictions of the evolution of a fire and its environment with the precision, completeness and robustness relevant to fire safety. Areas of combustion research relevant to the development of fire models emerge from an assessment of methodology, complexity, incompatibility and uncertainty associated to the Scaling-Up process. BIOGRAPHY José L. Torero obtained a BSc from the Pontificia Universidad Catolice del Peru (1989) and a MSc (1991) and PhD (1992) from the University of California Berkeley. He joined The University of Queensland in 2012 as Professor of Civil Engineering and Head of School. He came from The University of Edinburgh where he was the Head of the Institute for Infrastructure and Environment, BRE Trust/ RAEng Professor of Fire Safety Engineering and Director of the BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering. He previously held the Landolt & Cia Chair in Innovation for a Sustainable Future at École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne (Switzerland), Associate Professor at the University of Maryland (USA) and Charge de Recherche at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France). He is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Building Research Establishment. In 2008 he was awarded the Arthur B. Guise Medal by the Society of Fire Protection Engineering and in 2011 the Rasbash Medal from the Institution of Fire Engineers (UK) for eminent achievement in the advancement of the science of fire safety. Professor Torero has received numerous education related awards and in 2010 he received the Tam Dalyell Prize for Excellence in Communicating Scientific Knowledge to the Public. His work on bringing technology to the Fire Service was the subject of the April, 2007 BBC Horizon show: “Skyscraper Fire Fighters” that has been shown in more than 30 countries. He is the author of a book and more than 500 other technical documents for which he has received multiple awards. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Fire Safety Journal and was the Associate Editor of Combustion Science and Technology (2005-2010). He is a member of the Editorial Board of Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Fire Technology, Journal of Fire Protection Engineering, Fire Science and Technology and the International Journal for High-Rise Buildings. He is the vice-Chair of the International Association for Fire Safety Science, chair of the Fire Safety working Group of the International Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and a member of numerous influential committees and standards development bodies. He is a consultant to many private and government organizations around the world having participated in landmark projects such as the Buncefield, Sago Mine and Texas City Explosions, the collapse of the World Trade Centre and the design of complex infrastructure. He is recognized for leading edge research in a broad arrange of subjects associated to Fire Safety and for the development of many innovative educational programmes in several countries.