Albert Simeoni

Albert Simeoni is a Professor and Department Head of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Université de Corse Pascal Paoli (2000) and MSc/MEng degrees from Polytech Marseille and IUSTI (1996). His expertise spans fire dynamics, wildland fires, and fire science, with over 120 peer-reviewed publications. He previously led fire research at the University of Edinburgh (UK) and Université de Corse (France), and has over 20 years of experience in experimental and numerical fire modeling.

Research Interests:

• Wildfire dynamics and behavior
• Fire safety engineering in built environments
• First responder safety
• Firebrand propagation and ignition mechanisms
• Wildland-urban interface fire mitigation

Key Achievements:

• Recipient of the Rashbash Medal (2019) and Miegunyah Fellowship (2020)
• Leadership in NSF-funded Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center
• Developed fire spread models validated through large-scale field experiments
• Advocate for firefighter safety and wildfire defense strategies

Advising & Grants:

• Mentored over 20 graduate students and MQP teams
• Secured $5M+ in grants from NSF and California wildfire initiatives
• Co-developed fixed exterior firefighting systems and fire suppression protocols

Labs & Projects:

• WPI Fire Protection Engineering Lab (specializing in wind tunnel testing)
• Wildland Firefighter Safety Research Program
• FiGo wildfire robotics project (collaboration with robotics teams)