In the News

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Wildfire research at WPI

The devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area exemplify the dangers of wind-driven fires in inhabited areas. WPI’s Department of Fire Protection Engineering is leading research designed to understand how fires spread with the goal of contributing to measures that can better protect communities and firefighters. 

WPI’s experts in this field include those who are part of the National Science Foundation’s Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center, a collaboration with San Jose State University, to study new fire detection methods, first responder safety, and wildfire suppression systems.

WPI’s research, which involves faculty and ongoing experiments conducted by students in a state-of-the-art wind tunnel on campus, was featured by several media outlets including The Boston Globe, WCVB, NBC 10 Boston, NECN, and Spectrum News 1.

The Associated Press also interviewed James Urban, an assistant professor of fire protection engineering, for an article that helps explain how firebrands, or flying embers, contribute to the spread of wildfires. The AP also interviewed Urban and visited campus to observe fire laboratory experiments for its coverage explaining how fire whirls, or fire tornadoes, can develop in large fires like those occurring in the Los Angeles area. Their experiments were photographed and featured in an AP article, "Fire tornadoes pose a threat in California. A fire lab shows how they work"  and in an AP video.

Professor Urban also spoke with WPTF, a news radio station in Raleigh, NC, about how wind and drought factored into the California fires, and about wildfire prevention.

Read the report from The Boston Globe Watch the story on NBC 10 Boston
Worcester Business Journal
WPI awarded $3M for graduate data program

In the article, “WPI Awarded $3M for Graduate Data Program” the Worcester Business Journal reported on WPI using a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a unique graduate curriculum to train the next generation of scientists who can apply chemical sciences along with data analytics, mathematics, and computing power to reduce energy usage, waste, and pollution. Elke Rundensteiner, professor of computer science, founding director of the Data Science program, and principal investigator on the grant, is collaborating with Michael Timko and Aaron Deskins, associate professors of chemical engineering, and Randy Paffenroth, associate professor of mathematical and data sciences, among others.

WBZ News Radio 1030
WPI Mathematician Creates Chemical Sensors For Army Soldiers

Randy Paffenroth, associate professor of mathematical sciences, computer science, and data science, told Boston-based WBZ radio how he is helping the U.S. Army create a thumbnail-sized chemical sensor to protect soldiers. In the five-minute segment, he noted that he is using a “combination of classic and new math to extract from these many sensors what’s in the environment.”​

WBZ News Radio 1030
WBZ Interviews WPI Mathematician Helping NASA Spacecraft Travel Faster and Farther

WBZ radio interviewed Randy Paffenroth, associate professor of mathematical sciences, computer science, and data science, on his work to make NASA spacecraft lighter and more damage tolerant. “Any mission that NASA wants to do, they have to build spacecraft out of materials, and they want those materials to be stronger, to improve the safety of the spacecraft,” Paffenroth told WBZ. WPI, he said, helps make the materials even better.

Aerospace Daily
Algorithm Seeks To Advance Space Communications

WPI professors Alexander Wyglinski and Randy Paffenroth discuss how WPI is using the International Space Station as a testbed for space communications.