The Australian Research Council (ARC) Training Centre for Fire Retardant Materials and Safety Technologies has been officially launched on the 2nd of July 2019. Partnering with government bodies, domestic and international companies and universities, this training centre will create knowledge on novel green and durable fire retardant materials, advanced fire models for urban and built environment, fire suppression technologies, and new flammability tests for compliance with fire safety regulatory standards.
Group photo of the Investigators and partners of the ARC Training Centre.
The Centre Director, Prof. Guan Heng Yeoh welcomed and led the official opening of the ARC Training Centre at The University of New South Wales (UNSW). The aim of the training centre is to establish a world-leading centre for innovation in environmental-friendly fire retardants, and early intervention with cutting-edge fire preventive measures for safer materials and applications.
Centre Director: Prof. Guan Heng Yeoh
The ARC Training Centre for Fire Retardant Materials and Safety Technologies was funded a totalling $6.3 million over five years through the Industrial Transformation Training Centres scheme, with the following five key research objectives:
- Nanotechnology and bio-inspired flame retardants
- Multi-scale computational models for fire propagation
- Innovative fire suppression and fire control approaches
- Human behavioural models for crowd movement
- Fire testing and standards
Professor Nicholas Fisk, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at UNSW, presented a formal speech addressing the importance of the training centre and the alignment of the strategy within the university. Also, formal speeches were presented by Professor Ian Gibson and Adjunct Professor Guy Templeton on the significance of the Training Centre to the Faculty and Industry.
Professor Sue Thomas, ARC Chief Executive Officer, addressed the training centre aims to accelerate the transformation of Australia’s industries in producing new fire retardant materials, high-value products, engineering services, and to improve the fire safety of lightweight structures and fire protection systems, including fire suppression.
Invited Speakers (Prof. Nicholas Fisk, Prof Sue Thomas, Adjunct Prof. Guy Templeton, Prof. Ian Gibson).
The ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres scheme fosters close partnerships between university-based researchers and other research end-users to provide innovative Higher Degree by Research (HDR) and postdoctoral training, for end-user focused research industries that are vital to Australia’s future.
Footages of the Launch Event.