Grunde Jomaas

Grunde Jomaas is a Norwegian fire-safety scientist and engineer whose work includes combustion, fire dynamics, sustainable built environments, and fire safety related to emerging energy technologies. He is Executive Director of Fire & Risk Alliance's operations in the United Kingdom and Europe. He previously led the FRISSBE research programme at the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (ZAG) and has held academic positions at the University of Edinburgh and the Technical University of Denmark.

Education Jomaas earned a BSc in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland in 2001. He then obtained an MSc in 2005 and a PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2008 at Princeton University.

Career After a short period as a staff engineer at Combustion Science and Engineering, Inc., Jomaas undertook post-doctoral research at École Centrale Paris (2008–2009). He joined the Technical University of Denmark in 2009, rising from assistant to associate professor and overseeing master’s programmes in fire safety and civil engineering. In 2016 he became Professor and BRE Chair of Fire Safety Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, where he also directed the local node of the International Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering. Since 2021 he has led the EU-funded FRISSBE research centre at ZAG in Slovenia. He had visiting appointments at the University of Waterloo and the University of Queensland.

Awards and honours Recognition for Jomaas’ contributions includes the NFPA Bigglestone Award for best fire-technology paper (2023) and the Society of Fire Protection Engineers’ John L. Bryan Award for mentoring (2021). In 2018, he shared the David A. Lucht Lamp of Knowledge Award.

Selected works

Jomaas, G., Zheng, X. L., Zhu, D. L., & Law, C. K. (2005). Experimental determination of counterflow ignition temperatures and laminar flame speeds of C2–C3 hydrocarbons at atmospheric and elevated pressures. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute, 30(1), 193-200. Jomaas, G., Law, C. K., & Bechtold, J. K. (2007). On transition to cellularity in expanding spherical flames. Journal of fluid mechanics, 583, 1-26. Poulsen, A., & Jomaas, G. (2012). Experimental study on the burning behavior of pool fires in rooms with different wall linings. Fire Technology, 48, 419-439.