SOCOTEC Partners with University of Liverpool Student to Advance Fire Safety Science
SOCOTEC UK & Ireland is proud to celebrate the achievements of Alex Burroughs, a Master’s student from the University of Liverpool, who was awarded first place at the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) Graduate Lecture 2026.
Sponsored by OFR Consultants, the £1,000 prize recognises Alex's outstanding research into the long-term performance of open-state cavity barriers (OSCBs), work which has been conducted in close collaboration with SOCOTEC's fire engineering team.
Alex's thesis investigates how OSCBs behave as they age, supported by intermediate-scale experiments. His primary findings reveal that aged OSCBs perform inconsistently, increasing the probability of failure within a building's overall fire safety strategy. As the UK's built stock continues to age, these findings carry significant implications for passive fire protection and regulatory compliance.
The research has been shaped in partnership with SOCOTEC’s Fire Engineering team, namely Sarath Gopi, Dheeraj Karyaparambil, and Hamed Zoghi, alongside academic supervisors Dr Xu Dai, Morvarid Koohkherzi, and William Slaughter at the University of Liverpool.
“Alex did incredibly well to tackle a technically demanding subject and present it with confidence at a national forum, which reflects both his personal drive and the strength of the academic-industry partnership that has supported him.
This collaboration demonstrates what is possible when rigorous research meets real-world expertise.”
Building on his award-winning work, Alex will join SOCOTEC for a six-week summer internship, applying his knowledge within a commercial setting. He will be joined by two fellow University of Liverpool students, further strengthening SOCOTEC's relationship with the institution and its commitment to developing the next generation of fire engineering professionals.
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