Naian Liu

Professor Naian Liu serves as Director and Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Fire Science (SKLFS) at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), where he also leads the Division of Wildland and Urban Fires. Having earned his PhD in thermo-physics from USTC in 2000, he progressed from lecturer to associate professor in 2004, and to full professor in 2007 before becoming Director in 2019. His international experience includes visiting scholar positions at the University of Tokyo and Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Professor Liu's research focuses on Wildland Fire Dynamics, Decomposition and Combustibility of Forest Fuels, Extreme Fire Behaviors including fire whirls and spot fires, and Wildland-Urban Interface Fire. His work has established fundamental understanding of thermal decomposition of forest fuels and dynamical behaviors of extreme fire phenomena. The research demonstrates strong interdisciplinary connections between combustion science, fluid dynamics, and wildfire management.

His publication record shows consistent output in high-impact journals including Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, Combustion and Flame, and Fire Safety Journal, with recent work emphasizing fire whirl dynamics, firebrand behavior, and smoldering-to-flaming transitions. Professor Liu has authored over 140 publications with significant citation impact in the fire science community.

• National Science and Technology Progress Award (First-class)
• National Liangxi Forestry Science and Technology Progress Award (Second-class)
• Lu Jia Xi Youth Excellence Prize of Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Excellent Paper Award at 9th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science
• Recipient of New Century Talents Supporting Program

Professor Liu has successfully advised numerous students and researchers while leading major research initiatives including the National Basic Research Program of China ('973' Program) and multiple National Natural Science Foundation projects. His leadership extends to international collaborations with institutions including NIST, Russian Academy of Science, and University of Tokyo. He currently serves as Executive Organizing Committee Chair for major international fire science symposia and holds editorial positions with leading fire science journals.