Jennifer X Wen

Professor Jennifer X Wen is a leading academic in energy and environment safety at the University of Surrey, serving as Chair in Energy and Environment and Head of the Fire and Explosion Modelling Group (FMEG). She previously held professorial positions at the University of Warwick and other institutions since 2000. Her research focuses on numerical studies of safety-related reactive flows, including fire and explosion physics, hydrogen safety engineering, and lithium-ion battery fire hazards. She leads projects using OpenFOAM® for CFD-based model development.

Her academic credentials include a BEng and PhD, and she is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng). Notable achievements include launching a liquid hydrogen safety project in 2024 and receiving a prestigious engineering fellowship. She chairs the Institute for Sustainability’s Energy and Environment programme and oversees the FMEG’s work on predictive tools for battery fires and CO₂ dispersion models like CO2FOAM.

Research interests span flame dynamics, thermal runaway modeling, and cryogenic hydrogen safety. Recent publications emphasize hydrogen flame acceleration, lithium battery fire hazards, and fire whirl prediction. Awards highlight her contributions to engineering safety and sustainability.