In the News

As brush fires in the northeast continue, WPI students and faculty in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering are doing research and hands-on projects that help better understand how wildfires spread and their impact. Spectrum News 1 Worcester reported on the laboratory experiments being conducted aimed at protecting solar energy infrastructure from wildfire threats.

James Urban, assistant professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, spoke with 7News about active brush fires in Massachusetts, the elevated fire risk in the area, smoke hazards, and the challenges of putting out these types of fires in dry and windy conditions. 

Drought and winds have increased wildfire risk in Massachusetts. Dozens of fires have started in the last month. James Urban, assistant professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, provided insight into the factors leading to the elevated risk for an article in The Boston Globe.

“When you go from a lot of wet weather to a lot of dry weather, there’s a lot of fine fuels that grow and then die. If it dries out, that can be very dangerous tinder for a wildfire to start and spread.” James Urban, assistant professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, explains how dry weather is a factor in brush fires around the Northeast. 

James Urban, assistant professor in Fire Protection Engineering, talked with the Telegram & Gazette about using a federal grant to test his forest-fire research at the International Space Station. 

Astronauts on the International Space Station will perform experiments for a study led by James Urban, assistant professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering. A spacecraft carrying materials for the experiments was launched to the space station on August 4. Urban studies wildfires and believes the experiments in microgravity will provide insight on non-steady flame behavior and lead to better understanding of how wildfires spread on Earth. 

New announcement will allow WPI to build upon its longstanding expertise in fire protection to study new fire detection methods, robotics solutions to enhance first responder safety, and fire suppression systems for wildfires.

WBUR reports on the addition of WPI to a federal Wildlife Interdisciplinary Research Center. The work will focus on fire detection models, first responder safety, and wildfire suppression systems.

Fire protection engineering professors Albert Simeoni and James Urban were quoted in a Reuters Fact Check article on the dynamics of the devastating fires in Hawaii. They explain how wildfires spread and why some things in a burned area avoid damage when so much else is destroyed.

Drought and high winds were major factors in the devastating Maui fire. In this Los Angeles Times article, fire protection engineering professor James Urban explains the dangerous combination and how flying embers can spread. The article was republished by more than 40 newspapers and digital outlets including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Chronicle, Miami Herald, and Yahoo!

ISS360 reports fire protection engineering professor James Urban is working on cutting edge research to better predict the spread of massive, deadly wildfires by studying flames on the International Space Station.