JOHNSTON, R.I., USA, June 5, 2024 – Commercial property insurer FM Global today announced Dr. Sergey Dorofeev, vice president, research area director, fire hazards and protection at FM Global, has received the Howard Emmons Lecture Award from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).
Professor Howard Emmons was an early pioneer in the fields of fire research and fire safety science in the United States. WPI created the award in his name to recognize global leaders in fire research and education and to encourage them to deliver lectures to the WPI community on their work. WPI presented the award during its celebration of the 45th anniversary of its Department of Fire Protection Engineering. The department offers the only master’s program and one of only three fire protection engineering programs in the United States.
“I am honored to receive this recognition from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute,” said Dorofeev. “Professor Emmons was a leader in driving the science and regulation of fire safety. His work has been an inspiration for me in my career, and I hope to continue to build on his legacy in my work.”
Following the award ceremony, Dorofeev provided a lecture on models for fire protection design that he and his team developed through their research at FM Global. The models – which range from simple engineering models to high fidelity computer fluid dynamics simulations – describe fire growth and fire suppression of various commodities to help develop fire protection solutions.
“Dr. Dorofeev is receiving this award not only because of his individual achievements as an outstanding scientist, but also because of his leadership on the FM Global research team,” said Albert Simeoni, WPI fire protection engineering professor and department head. “Dr. Dorofeev embodies Professor Emmons’ legacy and reflects WPI’s critical mission of advancing safety and innovation in fire protection engineering.”
“We are proud of Sergey’s accomplishments and congratulate him for this prestigious award,” said Dr. Louis Gritzo, chief science officer at FM Global. “We are also very appreciative of our longtime partnership with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, which is helping to prepare the next generation of scientists, engineers, and business leaders through its leading curriculum and academic approach of project-based learning.”
About FM Global
Established nearly two centuries ago, FM Global is a mutual insurance company whose capital, scientific research capability and engineering expertise are solely dedicated to property risk management and the resilience of its policyholder-owners. These owners, who share the belief that the majority of property loss is preventable, represent many of the world’s largest organizations, including one of every four Fortune 500 companies. They work with FM Global to better understand the hazards that can impact their business continuity to make cost-effective risk management decisions, combining property loss prevention with insurance protection.