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Fire Research Positions

Active Research Projects | Coop | URA

Contact Professor Vinny Gupta for more details about any opportunities. 

Active Research Projects

PhD/MASc: Deflagration Risk in BESS Enclosures

Project description:
Deflagration risks in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) pose major hazards as vent gases from thermal runaway accumulate inside enclosures. This project uses high-speed imaging, lasers, and instrumentation to evaluate explosion risk in BESS facilities. A reduced-scale, optically accessible test enclosure will be developed, simulating explosion scenarios by recreating gas mixtures from known vent-gas measurements. Flame acceleration will be induced via rack-like obstacle configurations to replicate turbulence in battery-rack environments. Results will inform future BESS enclosure design and venting strategies.
Fields of research: Fire safety engineering; explosions; electrochemistry; experimental fluid mechanics.
Ideal candidate profile: Graduate level in fire engineering, mechanical, chemical, or electrical engineering or related; experience with high-speed diagnostics, experimental design, instrumentation, and combustion/explosion testing.

PhD/MASc: In-situ Quantification of Emissions During Safety Venting

Project description:
This project develops highly sensitive optical techniques to probe and quantify in-situ particle and gas emissions from lithium-ion battery cells as they approach and undergo thermal-runaway venting. Using the laser and optical equipment at the UW Fire Research Facility, the candidate will resolve the time evolution of select gaseous and particulate species, including size distributions of particles. The data will be used to design low-cost sensors for early detection of thermal-runaway events.
Fields of research: Fire safety engineering; lithium-ion batteries; thermal runaway; electro-chemistry.
Ideal candidate profile: Bachelor’s (for MASc) or Master’s (for PhD) in fire, mechanical, aerospace, chemical engineering, chemistry, applied physics or related; experience in instrumentation, experimental methods, thermo-fluids, programming (Matlab, Python, LabVIEW).

PhD/MASc: External Flaming from Mass Timber Compartments

Project description:
This project uses an existing medium-scale compartment test setup at the UW Fire Research Facility to evaluate external flames generated from mass-timber lined compartments. By varying exposed timber surfaces and fuel loading, the research will quantify the external flame behaviour (length, heat exposure) and measure thermal solicitation on an inert model facade. The results will support engineering models to predict exterior flame exposure from mass timber compartments.
Fields of research: Fire safety engineering; fire dynamics; experimental fluid mechanics; sensors; sustainable construction.
Ideal candidate profile: Graduate level in fire engineering, civil/structural engineering, mechanical engineering with interest in mass-timber fire performance, instrumentation, and modelling.

Coop Opportunities

We are always looking for motivated and technically strong co-op students interested in gaining hands-on experience in fire research.
Co-op students may support:

  • Instrumentation setup, DAQ systems, and diagnostics

  • Large-scale fire tests and data collection

  • Wildfire-fuel and emissions sampling

  • Battery failure experiments and gas-sampling preparation

  • Material testing (cone calorimeter, TGA/DSC, LOI)

  • Data visualization, modelling, and documentation

Co-op placements are ideal for students in engineering, science, or environmental fields who want exposure to fire-safety research.

Undergraduate Research Assistantships

We are always looking for keen undergraduate researchers who want to contribute to cutting-edge fire-safety throughout their academic term.

URA students may work on:

  • Wildfire fuel studies and emissions analysis

  • Diagnostics development (optical imaging, particulate sensors, gas analysis)

  • Smoke visibility and detection experiments

  • Lithium-ion battery test preparation and instrumentation

  • Data processing, coding, and modelling support

  • Survey design and human-behaviour research

URA roles provide valuable research training and an excellent pathway toward graduate studies.