An Introduction to the Author

Today we are launching Burning Matters, a newsletter for the fire-safety community, written by one of the fire-safety community.

As this is the first edition of what I hope to be a very successful and useful newsletter to the fire-safety community globally, I thought it best to start with a story of what got me here today. An introduction of sorts. 

My fascination with fire began during fall vacations in the Norwegian mountains, where my brother and I would create campfires to grill various things to eat. The fascination with the engineering and science aspect of fire came at the onset of my professional journey, which commenced in the fire protection engineering education in Haugesund, Norway. Driven to understand more the intricacies of fire science [and upon learning that several of my textbooks and SFPE Handbook chapters were written by professors at the University of Maryland in the USA], I ventured to study abroad. 

Strong mentorship and the fire community

I was fortunate to collaborate with and learn from several prominent figures and study at recognized academic institutions in the field of fire safety and combustion. I attribute my early foundations to Jose Torero, whom I had the pleasure of having as a lecturer in ENFP300 Fire Protection Fluid Dynamics during my first semester at the University of Maryland. Upon completion of my BSc in Fire Protection Engineering, I had the privilege to work for a year for Combustion Science and Engineering, where the CEO, Rick Roby, is a 4-time Bigglestone Award winner and is a renowned combustion engineer. In fact, the first newsletter will be dedicated to some of the work that I did while at CSE. The research passion that was ignited at UMD and CSE led me to pursue a PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University, where I carried out research on high pressure combustion under the supervision of Prof. CK Law. The strong mentorship and ties to the fire community opened several opportunities for me, such as getting the opportunity to contribute to a chapter in the SFPE Handbook - the book that had guided me to pursue studies in the US.

A desire to spend some time in Europe after a decade in the US made me pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at École Centrale (now part of CentraleSupélec) with Sébastien Candel.

My passion for education and mentorship

In addition to research pursuits, I am deeply committed to education and mentorship, which I had the opportunity to contribute towards while at the Technical University of Denmark and eventually as a Professor at the University of Edinburgh. At DTU, I was the head of studies for two educational programs, while I was the program director for the International Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering (IMFSE) at the University of Edinburgh. These positions provided me with very close contact with students and their needs, but they also gave me an opportunity to lead or be part of advisory boards for the educational programs. As such, I was fortunate to make very strong industrial ties and understand what the needs of industry and engineering companies were. 

Still, mentoring students and researchers has always been at the core of my educational existence, with a goal to instill in these young engineers an inquiring mind, thus encouraging them to make significant contributions to the field. It was therefore an extreme pleasure for me to receive the prestigious John L. Bryan mentoring award from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE). Still, the biggest award is that I have had the honor to teach the next generation of fire safety engineers in world-leading fire safety engineering programs.

Currently, I lead the FRISSBE project in Slovenia, where the aim is to create lifelong impacts to legislation and education, and push for excellence in the field of fire safety. Our research endeavors advocate for addressing today’s pressing fire challenges, particularly those intertwined in sustainability and novel technology. The FRISSBE project not only aims to attract and train high quality researchers but also seeks to advance our understanding of fire to prioritize public safety.

In 2023, I was a co-recipient of the Harry C. Bigglestone Award, which is given annually for a paper published in Fire Technology that best represents excellence in communicating fire protection concepts. Thus, the concept of the Burning Matters newsletter started to materialize! Rather than just knowledge and skills, I would say competence and education is the key to fire safety. The newsletter strives to foster a strong community that shares information about recent events, research, manufacturers, spotlights our members and provides insights and opinions on important matters in the fire safety industry.

Burning Matters

Burning Matters is the newest passion project where I bring digestible tidbits and the latest updates on fire engineering to the greater masses. Recognizing the fact that fire and fire protection is a collective responsibility, my goal is to educate on all levels.

“Burning” is relatable to all. It is a fundamental term in the combustion process whereby energy is released through the interaction of material, sparks, and air. When paired with “questions” “issues” and “matters”, it invokes the inception of ideas. Essentially, without burning there is also no learning.

“Matters”, the second component of our running title, are the building blocks of all that we understand about the physical world. The universe, as we perceive it, rests on the foundation of the behaviour of matter. Matter also signifies importance.

Together, Burning Matters conveys a powerful message: stay informed, connect, brainstorm, and share ideas as we all work together to increase the fire safety competence for all stakeholders throughout the entire globe (and in space)!

Do you have any burning matters to discuss with Grunde? Reach out through the Burning Matters feedback form.

More about the fiery author: