Fire Protection Engineering
Programs of Study
Fire protection engineers specialize in applying modern technology to the solution of firesafety problems. The successful fire protection engineer must know something about building construction and industrial processes; must interact with and be somewhat competent in other design professions including architecture and electrical, mechanical, civil and chemical engineering. In addition, the firesafety aspects of human behavior, business, management and public administration are important aspects of practice.
The Department of Fire Protection Engineering serves as a crossroads for bringing together talents from many disciplines to focus on fire and explosion safety problems. The department features formal degree and certificate programs in fire protection engineering, continuing education for the practitioner, and research to uncover new knowledge about fire behavior and fire protection methods.
The fire protection engineering program at WPI adapts previous educational and employment experiences into a cohesive Plan of Study. Consequently, the program is designed to be flexible enough to meet specific and varying student educational objectives. Students can select combinations of major courses, non-major courses, thesis and project topics that will prepare them to proceed in the career directions they desire. The curriculum can be tailored to enhance knowledge and skill in the general practice of fire protection engineering, in fire protection engineering specialties (such as industrial, chemical, energy or power), or in the more theoretical and research-oriented sphere.
Practicing engineers or others already employed and wishing to advance their technical skills may enter the program as part-time students or take off-campus courses via WPI’s Advanced Distance Learning Network (see page 11) The master’s degree may be completed on a part-time basis in less than two years, depending on the number of courses taken each semester.
WPI offers both master’s and doctoral degrees as well as the advanced certificate and graduate certificate in fire protection engineering.
Combined B.S./Master's Program
High school seniors and engineering students in their first three years can apply for this five-year program. This gives high school graduates and others the opportunity to complete the undergraduate degree in a selected field of engineering and the master’s degree in fire protection engineering in five years. Holders of bachelor of science degrees in the traditional engineering fields and the master’s degree in fire protection engineering enjoy extremely good versatility in the job market.
Admission Requirements
High school graduates applying for the Combined B.S./Master’s Program must meet normal undergraduate admission criteria and submit a two-page essay articulating their interest in the field. Applicants for the master’s or certificate programs should have a B.S. in engineering, engineering technology or the physical sciences. Applicants with no FPE work experience should submit a two-page essay articulating their interest in the field. GRE scores are required for all international students and strongly recommended for all others.
Students with science degrees and graduates of some engineering disciplines may be required to take selected undergraduate courses to round out their backgrounds.
GRE scores are required for all international students and Ph.D. applicants, and strongly recommended for all others.
Degree Requirements
For the M.S.
The program for a master of science in fire protection engineering is flexible and can be tailored to individual student career goals. The fire protection engineering master’s degree requires 30 semester hours of credit. Both a thesis and non-thesis option are offered.
For the Ph.D.
The degree of doctor of philosophy is conferred on candidates in recognition of high scientific attainments and the ability to carry on original research. Ph.D. students must complete a minimum of 90 semester hours of graduate work after the bachelor’s degree (or 60 semester hours after the master’s). This includes at least 15 semester hours of fire protection engineering course credits and 30 hours of dissertation research.
Doctoral students must successfully complete the fire protection engineering qualifying examination, a research proposal and public seminar, and the dissertation defense.
Graduate Internships
A unique internship program is available to fire protection engineering students, allowing them to gain important clinical experiences in practical engineering and research environments. Students are able to earn income by alternating work with on-campus classroom and laboratory activities. With departmental permission, students may take courses during the full-time work cycle. For more information, see page 16, or contact the Department of Fire Protection Engineering.
Research Interests
Faculty research interests cover a wide range of topics in fire protection engineering and related areas. Research is directed toward both theoretical understandings and the development of practical engineering methods.
Specific capabilities and interests include computer modeling, fire performance of structural systems, fire detection and suppression, fire and smoke dynamics, firesafety design methods for buildings and marine applications, explosion phenomena, failure analysis, risk assessment, material composites and regulatory reform.
Research Laboratories
Fire Science Laboratory
This laboratory facility supports experimentation in fire dynamics, combustion/ explosion phenomena, detection, and fire and explosion suppression. The Fire Propagation Apparatus, cone calorimeter, infrared imaging system, phase doppler particle analyzer and room calorimeter are also available, with associated gas analysis and data acquisition systems.
The wet lab area supports water-based fire suppression and demonstration projects.
Serving as both a teaching and research facility, the lab accommodates undergraduate projects as well as graduate students in fire protection engineering, mechanical engineering and related disciplines.
Fire Modeling Laboratory
The Fire Modeling Laboratory specializes in computer applications to fire protection engineering and research. Research activities include computational fluid dynamics modeling of building and vehicle fires, and flame spread model development.
Faculty
Core FPE Program Faculty
K. A. Notarianni, Associate Professor and Department Head; Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University; Fire detection and suppression; high-bay fire protection; fire policy and risk; uncertainty; performance-based design; engineering tools.
N. A. Dembsey, Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley; Fire properties of materials and protective clothing via bench-top scale experimentation; compartment fire dynamics via residential scale experimentation, evaluation, development and validation of compartment fire models, performance fire codes, engineering design tools, and engineering forensic tools.
B. J. Meacham, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Clark University; risk and public policy, performance-based design, risk concepts in regulation, uncertainty in egress modeling.
A. Rangwala, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego; combustion, flame spread on solid fuels and compartment fire modeling, dust explosions, risk assessment of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) transport and storage, industrial fire protection.
Associated FPE Program Faculty
L. Albano, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Performance of structural members, elements, and systems at elevated temperatures; structural design for fire conditions; simplified or design office techniques for fire-structure interaction; relationship between building construction systems and fire service safety.
Adjunct FPE Faculty
R. Alpert, Adjunct Professor; Sc.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; combustion gas dynamics, combustion-induced instabilities about blunt-body projectiles, fire dynamics, reduced-scale modeling, enclosure fires; numerical modeling of the interactions between fire flows and sprinkler droplet sprays.
J. Averill, Adjunct Assistant Professor; performance-based codes and economics, human behavior in fires, egress and emergency communications, applications of computer fire models to fire safety engineering problems, fire safety of passenger trains, smoke alarm operability in residential fires and hazard analysis.
R. Fleming, Adjunct Associate Professor; water-based suppression, fire sprinkler systems, codes and standards, residential fire safety, fire pumps, industrial fire protection.
M. Hurley, Adjunct Assistant Professor; performance-based design, structural fire protection engineering, fire exposures to structures, evaluation of fire models, human behavior in fires, automatic fire sprinklers, fire protection in marine applications.
J. Ieradi, Adjunct Assistant Professor; building fire safety, smoke detection, CFD modeling of heat flux and fluid flow, computer fire modeling, engineering design.
M. T. Puchovsky, Adjunct Assistant Professor; fire engineering design practices, codes and standards development, loss control, life safety code and design, performance- based design and risk analysis, fire investigation and litigation support, fire protection systems.
G. Proulx, Adjunct Associate Professor, Ph.D., University of Montreal; human factors studies in emergency situations; evacuation procedures, egress behaviour, repsonse to alarm signal, communication sstem, photoluminescent wayguidance system, wayfinding, safety for people with special needs.
D.T. Sheppard, Adjunct Assistant Professor; Fire incident investigation; failure analysis; computer modeling; large-scale and small-scale experimental test programs; fire dynamics; fire origin and cause; courtroom testimony as expert witness.
FPE Emeritus
R. W. Fitzgerald, Professor Emeritus; Ph.D., University of Connecticut; structural aspects of fire safety, building analysis and design for fire safety, marine fire safety, building codes, real estate development, fire department operations, risk management.
D. A. Lucht, Director Emeritus; building codes and regulatory reform, building fire safety analysis and design, professional practice.
R. Zalosh, Professor Emeritus, Ph.D., Northeastern University; Fire and explosion hazards associated with flammable gases, liquids, and powders. Fire/explosion protection methods and systems designed to deal with these special hazards. Theoretical, experimental, and risk-based engineering tools for addressing these issues.
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Last modified: July 09, 2008 14:30:42