The SFPE Foundation, known for its dedication to enhancing the scientific understanding of fire, recently announced its award recipients for 2023.

A look at the 2023 SFPE Foundation awardees

Bart Merci, PhD from Ghent University, Belgium, has been awarded the esteemed Arthur B. Guise Medal.

He is scheduled to give the Guise Keynote Address on the significance of competency in fire safety engineering at the 2023 SFPE Annual Conference & Expo.

Silvia Arias, PhD, Axel Mossberg, PhD, Daniel Nilsson, PhD, and Jonathan Wahlqvist, PhD have been honoured with the Jack Bono Award for Engineering Communication.

This recognition comes in light of their article in Fire Technology titled: “A Study on Evacuation Behavior in Physical and Virtual Reality Experiments”.

Jacob Derrick, an undergraduate student at Glasgow Caledonian University, UK, has received the Dr. Guylène Proulx, OC Scholarship.

His award-winning research delves into the behavioural characteristics of neuro-diverse individuals during evacuation scenarios.

Zhuojun Nan, PhD and Pascale Vacca, PhD have been granted the Student Scholar Awards.

While Nan is acknowledged for her structural analysis research under realistic fire situations, Vacca is lauded for her studies on Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fires and her contributions to the SFPE Foundation’s WUI Working Group Initiative.

Oluwatobi Gbenga Aluko from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia is the recipient of the Frederick W. Mowrer Global Scholar Award.

His research focuses on the efficacy of biofibrous concrete when exposed to high temperatures.

Leslie Marshall, Ph.D., Director of the SFPE Foundation, shared: “The annual SFPE Foundation awards and scholarships help us deliver on our mission by recognising and supporting the outstanding work of leaders across the global fire engineering community.”

The awards will be handed out during the SFPE Annual Conference & Expo in Washington DC/Bethesda, MD, USA, from October 8-12, 2023.

Those interested in attending can register here. Anticipate calls for nominations for the SFPE Foundation’s 2024 awards in early 2024.

Comment from International Fire & Safety Journal

The recognitions by the SFPE Foundation continue to play a pivotal role in advancing fire safety research.

By honouring scholars and professionals alike, it ensures the ongoing promotion of quality research and practical advancements in the domain.

Such acknowledgements not only foster a sense of community among fire safety professionals but also serve as an impetus for upcoming researchers in the field.