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Infrastructure and Environment
Postgraduate
K.K.Meshram@sms.ed.ac.uk
G.1 John Muir
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
Postgraduate
T.Liao-5@sms.ed.ac.uk
1.4 John Muir
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
Ting-Hsuan Liao (Capybara) is a PhD candidate specialising in fire safety engineering. He currently serves as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Edinburgh, where he tutors or demonstrates for core courses including Fire Science Laboratory and Models for Fire Safety. His research focuses on fire safety in metro and tunnel systems, with particular emphasis on the impact of ventilation on fire dynamics and on evacuation simulations within complex underground infrastructure.
He earned his bachelor's degree in Forestry and Conservation at National Taiwan University. After becoming a volunteer firefighter in 2014, he dedicated his life to fire safety and later earned an MSc in Fire Science from Central Police University. After that, he served as a Fire Officer in the Taipei City and Hualien County Fire Departments, bringing valuable frontline operational experience to his research. After being awarded the Fellowship of Government Sponsorship for Overseas Study from the Ministry of Education in Taiwan in 2020, he decided to take a PhD programme at the University of Edinburgh. He is the Vice-President of the University of Edinburgh SFPE Student Chapter and the PG representative of the Edinburgh Taiwanese Student Society (ETSS).
He has published extensively in premier international symposiums, such as ISTSS, IAFSS, and Fired Up. His work spans from lab-scale experimental investigations to complex numerical modelling, all aimed at enhancing the fire resilience of modern metro systems.
Ting-Hsuan is currently tutoring and demonstrating the following courses:
- (CIVE11047) Fire Science Laboratory 5
- (CIVE11049) Models for Fire Safety 5
- (CIVE11055) Models for Fire Safety 5
- Tunnel fires
- Effect of ventilation on fire dynamics
- Evacuation in metro systems
Experience
- 2025 - Present: Vice-President @ University of Edinburgh SFPE Student Chapter
- 2025 - Present: PG Representative @ Edinburgh Taiwanese Student Society (ETSS)
- 2024 - Present: Teaching Assistant @ University of Edinburgh
- 2022 - 2023: Fire Officer @ Taipei City Fire Department
- 2021 - 2022: Fire Officer @ Hualien County Fire Department
- 2018 - 2022: Research Assistant @ Central Police University
- 2014 - 2019: Volunteer firefighter @ New Taipei City
Awards
- 2024 - Delegate Place for 21st International Symposium on Aerodynamics, Ventilation and Fire in Tunnels (SOHATSU, Japan)
- 2021 - Research Grants (Chung Hua Rotary Educational Foundation, Taiwan)
- 2020 - Fellowship of government sponsorship for overseas study (Ministry of Education, Taiwan)
- 2019 & 2020 - Chen Yuan Scholarship (Central Police University, Taiwan)
Publication
- Ting-Hsuan Liao, ‘Metro fire and egress modelling considering the effect of ventilation on fire behaviour’, presented at the Fired Up 2026, London, UK, Jun. 2026.
- Ting-Hsuan Liao and Ricky Carvel, ‘Investigating The Impact of Longitudinal Ventilation On Fire Behaviour of Wood Crib Fires In A Lab-scale Tunnel, Including Carbon Monoxide Production [Poster presentation]’, presented at the 15th International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS), La Rochelle, France, Jun. 2026.
- Ting-Hsuan Liao, Finu Rishad CT, Ricky Carvel, and Stephne Welch, ‘Investigating the impact of longitudinal ventilation on burning behaviours of fires in a lab-scale tunnel, including carbon monoxide production [Manuscript submitted for publication]’, Edinburgh Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, UK, Mar. 2026.
- Ting-Hsuan Liao and Ricky Carvel, ‘Numerical investigation of the effects of ventilation on the tenability of egress paths in a metro tunnel fire’, in Proceedings from the 11th International Symposium on Tunnel Safety and Security ISTSS 2025, Iceland, Apr. 2025.
- Ting-Hsuan Liao, ‘The Research on Performance Investigation and Improvement Strategies for Installed Smoke Detectors and Wet-Pipe Sprinklers’, Master Thesis, Central Police University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11296/h84knj (Chinese)
- Ting-Hsuan Liao, ‘Smoke Alarms Expiration Problem and Renovation Strategy for Residential Buildings’, Modern Fire Safety Journal, Central Police University, 2021. (Chinese)
- Ting-Hsuan Liao, ‘Smoke Alarm System Renovation Strategy for Old Residential Buildings’, Modern Fire Safety Journal, Central Police University, 2021. (Chinese)
- Ting-Hsuan Liao and Shen-Wen Chien, ‘Hybrid (Water and Inert Gas) Fire Extinguishing Systems - A State-Of-The-Art Choice in Special Occupancies’, Journal of Disaster Mitigation and Rescue, vol. 21, pp. 205–220, Dec. 2020. (Chinese)
Postgraduate
s1758339@sms.ed.ac.uk
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
Lecturer in Structural Engineering
mtaffeta@ed.ac.uk
3.12 Alexander Graham Bell Building
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
Research Institute Services Administrator
K.Saridakis@ed.ac.uk
+44(0)131 6507453
G.05 Scottish Microelectronics Centre
Integrated Micro and Nano Systems
Imaging, Data and Communications
Infrastructure and Environment
Bioengineering
Multiscale Thermofluids
Postgraduate
T.Zhao-30@sms.ed.ac.uk
G.8 John Muir
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
Senior Lecturer
T.Reynolds@ed.ac.uk
+44(0)131 6505633
1.22 William Rankine Building
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
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Tom has been Chancellor's Fellow, Lecturer and Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Civil Engineering at the University of Edinburgh since June 2017. Previously, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Universities of Bath and Cambridge, and in engineering consultancy with White Young Green and Adams Kara Taylor, involved in civil and structural engineering design for projects ranging from a new sea lock in Swansea to the Masdar Institute building with Foster and Partners in Abu Dhabi. He studied for his PhD at the University of Bath in the BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials. He then worked as Postdoctoral Research Associate on the Leverhulme Trust sponsored Natural Material Innovation project at the University of Cambridge. Tom has been a chartered member of the Institution of Civil Engineers since 2010.
MEng Engineering Science (First Class), University of Oxford 2005
PhD University of Bath 2013
PGCert Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, University of Cambridge 2017
Tom has been a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers since 2010
Tom teaches structural mechanics, engineering materials and design courses.
Tom researches the use of wood and bamboo in structures, structural sensing and structural dynamics.
In wood and bamboo, he is interested in connection performance, including the stiffness and strength of dowel-type timber connections, and carpentry connections, including those made by computer numerical control (CNC) fabrication.
In structural sensing and structural dynamics, Tom is interested in what designers can learn by putting sensors on structures and measuring how they move under everyday loads.
Postgraduate
kfowler3@ed.ac.uk
3.02 Alexander Graham Bell Building
Mechanical Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
IIE - Machine learning assisted flood characterisation and simulation in the sponge cities in China
s2207476@sms.ed.ac.uk
3.02 Alexander Graham Bell Building
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
Personal Chair of Fire Science and Head of Research Institute
R.Hadden@ed.ac.uk
+44(0)131 6505944
3.04 Alexander Graham Bell Building
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Infrastructure and Environment
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Rory Hadden holds a Personal Chair in Fire Science. Previously he was the Rushbrook Senior Lecturer in Fire Investigation. Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh he held positions at University of Western Ontario and Imperial College London.
His research interests include pyrolysis, ignition, flammability and flame spread with application to the built and natural environments. Rory specialises in experimental work ranging from laboratory scale studies to field scale measurements of fire phenomena with novel sensing methods.
PhD Engineering - University of Edinburgh - 2011
MEng (1st Class) Chemical Engineering - University of Edinburgh - 2007
CIVE09023 Fire Safety Engineering 3
CIVE10011 Fire Science and Fire Dynamics 4
PGEE11243 Fire Science Lab
- Material flammability.
- Flame spread.
- Fire emissions.
- Wildfire ignition, spread, emissions and risk assessment.
- Fire investigation.
Investigation of fires and wildfires.
I am always interested to talk to anyone with an interest in fire science, fire engineering and how we understand fires and their impacts. Feel free to get in touch.