Luis Yerman

Dr. Luis Yerman is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland, specializing in timber durability and fire safety engineering. His multidisciplinary background bridges chemical engineering, materials science, and environmental technology.

• Current affiliations: National Centre for Timber Durability and Design Life (UQ leader)
• Key research themes: Smouldering combustion, fungal decay, moisture intrusion, and timber fire performance

Yerman's research focuses on timber durability under environmental stressors and fire safety engineering innovations. His work integrates smouldering combustion for waste treatment and energy recovery, alongside assessing timber connection integrity in treated/untreated states.

Recent publications (2023–2025) highlight advancements in CCA-treated timber behavior under accelerated weathering, moisture cycling impacts on fastener performance, and catalytic smouldering processes. Keywords span Civil Engineering, Environmental Technology, and Materials Science.

Supervision: Currently advising 6 PhD students on topics like novel preservative-treated timbers, moisture effects on timber connections, and decay mitigation. Grants include funding from the National Centre for Timber Durability (2017–2026) and Flame Security International (2021–2022).