The Edinburgh Fire Research Centre has a team of over twenty researchers working on a variety of research projects from detailed studies of fundamental combustion processes through to the application of fire safety engineering in practice. Experimental research is largely conducted in the Rushbrook Fire Engineering Laboratory, while numerical modelling work is carried out on a variety of machines from desktop workstations through to high performance parallel computing facilites.
Details of the research specialities of our academics, with links to their publications are presented below:
Prof Luke Bisby
[Publications on Edinburgh Research Explorer]
Prof Rory Hadden
[Publications on Edinburgh Research Explorer]
Dr Stephen Welch
[Publications on Edinburgh Research Explorer]
Dr Ricky Carvel
Dr Carvel's research interests include all aspects of the interaction of fires with ventilation and suppression systems, especially fires in tunnels, subway stations, and other underground spaces, including basements. Current (as of 2026) research projects include the fire behaviour of Lithium-ion batteries, the effects of ventilation on burning behaviour in model scale tunnels, and issues around tenability during egress in subway systems and stations.
[Publications on Edinburgh Research Explorer]
Dr David Rush
[Publications on Edinburgh Research Explorer]
Dr Angus Law
Dr Law's research sits at the intersection of fundamental fire science and real-world fire safety engineering. He studies the physical behaviour of flames, from diffusion flames and fundamental flame spread mechanisms to the fire performance of modern building materials such as mass timber and cladding systems. These foundational questions directly inform how we design and regulate safer buildings. By combining experimental and analytical approaches, his work aims to bridge the gap between fire science and the codes and regulations that protect lives and structures.
[Publications on Edinburgh Research Explorer]
Dr Zakary Campbell-Lochrie
[Publications on Edinburgh Research Explorer]
