James Urban has been appointed interim head of WPI’s Department of Fire Protection Engineering, effective Aug. 24, 2026, announced Dan Linzell, the Bernard M. Gordon Dean of Engineering.
Urban is an associate professor in the Department of Fire Protection Engineering. His research focuses on material flammability, wildland and wildland-urban interface fire behavior, including topics such as firebrands, spot ignition, flame spread under non-steady airflow, and fire exposure to structures and infrastructure, combining laboratory experiments with computational modeling.
Since joining WPI in 2019 as an assistant professor, Urban has contributed significantly to the university’s fire protection engineering programs. He was promoted to associate professor in 2026and has developed multiple courses including launching a new course. He served as the department’s graduate program coordinator from 2020 to 2024, and again since 2025.
Urban holds a PhD in mechanical engineering with a focus in combustion from the University of California, Berkeley, where he also earned his master’s degree, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Case Western Reserve University. He completed postdoctoral work in Berkeley’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
His accomplishments include securing more than $2.8 million in externally funded research as principal investigator or WPI lead, with sponsors including the National Science Foundation, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, FM, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, and Pacific Gas and Electric. He has published extensively in Fire Safety Journal, Fire Technology, Combustion and Flame, and the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute; serves as a principal member of two National Fire Protection Association technical committees on wildland fire; and has mentored numerous doctoral, master’s, and undergraduate students.
Urban succeeds Albert Simeoni, department head since 2017, who came to WPI from the University of Edinburgh. Under Simeoni’s leadership, the department expanded its research portfolio, created an undergraduate minor, and enhanced its stature among fire protection engineering programs in the U.S. and abroad.
