Email
ndembsey@wpi.edu
Office
Gateway Park II 1212
Phone
+1 (508) 8315000 x5971
Education
BS University of Michigan
MS University of California, Berkeley
PhD University of California, Berkeley

My research focuses on the building performance applications of fire dynamics, fire characteristics of materials and fire models.  I am working in the following areas: closing the fire performance gap in buildings; fire safety of green buildings; development of new techniques and guidance documents for practicing engineers to measure fire properties of materials; the optimization of building assemblies for fire performance, ease of manufacturing and cost effectiveness.

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

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Preview Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Goal
Research Interests
Building fire performance
Fire characteristics of materials and assemblies
Fire dynamics and fire modeling

Scholarly Work

Development of a Performance-Based (Multi-characteristic) Tool for Wall-Insulation System Optimization 2023

A Sensitivity Matrix Method to Understand the building Fire Egress Performance Gap 2022

Comparison of Sensitivity Matrix Method, Power Function-based Response Surface Method, and Artificial Neural Network in the Analysis of Building Fire Egress Performance 2021

Numerical Modeling of Fabric Vertical Flame Testing: Textile Samples 2016

Thermal and Fire Characteristics of FRP Composites for Architectural Applications 2015

Evaluating Effects of Applying Different Kinetic Models to Pyrolysis Modeling of Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer Composites 2015

Professional Highlights & Honors
SFPE Fellow, 2010

SFPE's 2014 Jack Bono Award: Best JFPE paper for 2013, 2014

News

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Media Coverage

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The Worcester Guardian
NSF taps WPI's fire protection program for its research center

New announcement will allow WPI to build upon its longstanding expertise in fire protection to study new fire detection methods, robotics solutions to enhance first responder safety, and fire suppression systems for wildfires.