Plenary Speakers

The following distinguished Speakers have accepted our invitation to give a Plenary Lecture at the Symposium:

 Progress in Computational Hydrogen Safety:
Overview of Selected ProblemsVladimir Molkov
Professor
Director of HYSAFER Centre
Ulster University, N. Ireland, UK

Prof Vladimir Molkov, MSc Quantum Radiophysics; PhD Chemical Physics; DSc Fire Safety. Fellow of Higher Education Academy, Energy Institute. Director of HYSAFER Centre at Ulster University. Member: UN GTR#13; ISO/TC197 Hydrogen Technologies; CEN/CLC/JTC6 Hydrogen in Energy Systems; IEA Task 43 Hydrogen Safety; European Hydrogen Safety Panel, IA HySafe. 42 national/EU projects on hydrogen safety, £12M. 400+ publications, e-Book Fundamentals of Hydrogen Safety Engineering, 15 inventions.

Field-scale Experiments of
Wildfires for Fire Behavior

Albert Simeoni
Full Professor
PhD, Department of Fire Protection Engineering
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA

Albert Simeoni is a Professor of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. He has over 25 years of experience in developing experimental, analytical, and numerical techniques to better understand fire and wildfire dynamics. Before WPI, he held academic leadership positions in fire research in the UK at the University of Edinburgh and in France at the University of Corsica. He has also spent over 10 years volunteering and working as a firefighter in France.

Early Stages of Flame Propagation and Physical Mechanisms
of Tulip Flame Formation

Mikhail Liberman
 Professor, The Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics,
Stockholm University, Sweden

Professor Mikhail Liberman: MSc. in Theoretical Physics; PhD: Symmetry groups in quantum theory; DSci.(‘habilitation’) Nonlinear Phenomena and Shock waves. About 400 peer-reviewed articles in numerous areas of theoretical physics; Books: Physics of Shock Waves in Gases and Plasmas, 1985; Physics of High-Density Z-pinch Plasmas, 1998; Introduction to Physics and Chemistry of Combustion, 2008; Combustion Physics. Flames, Detonations, Explosions, Astrophysical Combustion. Springer, 2021.

Combined Use of Testing, Computer Modeling and
Analytical Correlations to Address Fire Protection Problems

Franco Tamanini
 Formerly affiliated with FM Research
Rhode Island, USA

Dr. Tamanini started working at Factory Mutual Research in 1974 with a Laurea in mechanical engineering from the Politecnico di Torino, an MS in aeronautics from Caltech, and a PhD in applied physics from Harvard. He retired from FM on February 28, 2025. He has contributed to the areas of: fire extinguishment; computer modeling of flames; material flammability; hydrogen combustion; silane reactivity; gas and dust explosion vent sizing; nitrate storage protection; large-scale fire testing.

Computational Fluid Dynamics from Explosion
of Atomic Bomb to New Concept of Space Propulsion

Akiko Matsuo
 Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University,
Yokohama, Japan

Prof. Akiko Matsuo began her academic carrier at Keio University in 1995. She holds master’s degree and PhD in aeronautical engineering from Nagoya University in Japan. Her specialization is computational fluid dynamics, with particular focus on compressible flow including chemical reactions. Her main areas of research include explosion, detonation, and aerospace propulsion engineering. She currently serves as a member of committee on National Space Policy in Japan, and as president of Japan Explosive Society.