Meet the Team

Richard Walls (PhD, MSc, GDE, BScEng, BTh, PrEng) is the head of the Fire Engineering Research Unit at Stellenbosch University (FireSUN). He worked as a professional structural engineer designing industrial, petrochemical and commercial buildings before joining Stellenbosch University as a lecturer and researcher. His areas of research include structural fire design, informal settlement fire safety, timber in fire (CLT), full-scale fire testing, fire modelling and bulk storage facilities.

Natalia Flores (PhD, MSc, BEng) is a senior lecturer at the Fire Engineering Research Unit at Stellenbosch University. She worked as a fire safety engineer designing active fire protection systems for the mining industry. She holds a M.Sc. in Fire Safety Engineering from Ghent University. Her areas of research include reconstruction of past incidents, wildland urban interface (WUI) fires.

Courtney Devine (BEng, MEng) is a mechatronic engineer with a masters in electrical engineering. Her areas of research include fire safety for recycling facilities, renewable energy fire safety and green fire safety challenges.

Antonio Cicione’s (PhD, BEng) areas of research include full-scale fire testing numerical modelling (Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling, Zonal modelling and Finite Element modelling), and 3D printed concrete structures in Fire. He has collaborated with some of the world’s leading fire experts and has published numerous journal and conference papers on various fire related topics. He now runs Cicione Fire & Structures consulting engineers in Nelspruit.

Dirk Streicher (BScEng, MSc, PrEng) is the owner and founder of Ignis Testing in Cape Town. He has been passionately working with students and active in research carrying out fire tests as part of numerous projects. He has led the design, construction and implementation of Ignis’ test equipment including full-scale furnaces, a cone calorimeter and various test setups. He is an extraordinary faculty member of Stellenbosch University.

Danielle Antonell is (BS, MS) is the Founder & Executive Director of Kindling, a nonprofit dedicated connecting fire safety knowledge to local and global humanitarian and development efforts to reduce the unequal impact of fire on people, property and livelihoods in vulnerable communities around the world. A passionate safety and resilience consultant, Danielle has a proven track record of establishing and leading interdisciplinary teams to tackle intractable problems.

Lesley Gibson (BSc, Hons, MSc, PhD) is a geographer with a particular interest in geospatial science and its application across disciplines. She spent over three years at University of Edinburgh, UK, where she was a postdoctoral researcher in fire safety for international development. Here she was involved with the IRIS Fire project where she applied geospatial techniques to map and understand fire spread in Cape Town’s informal settlements. She is currently a Fire Safety Researcher at Kindling, a fire safety NPO.

Prof Oscar Asumani (PhD) is a highly experienced professional engineer with over 25 years of industry expertise spanning Oil & Gas facilities, processing plant design, and clean energy solutions, along with a decade of academic research in engineering. A registered Chartered Engineer (CEng MIEI) and Professional Engineer (Pr. Eng.), recognized for technical excellence and leadership. He serves as a subject matter expert on several technical committees of the South African Bureau of Standards and ISO, including ISO TC 61 and TC 67, contributing to the development and standardization of engineering practices.

Dr Marika du Plessis (B.Eng (Electronic), B(Hons) Technology Management, PhD (Structural Engineering) started her career in the mining industry, then became a fire engineering consultant. She also has hold an IFE Level 4 Certificate, is a member of SAICE and associate member of IFE.

Jocelyn Evans (PrEng, PMSFPE, FSAICE, MSc Structural and Fire Safety Engineering (University of Edinburgh), BEng (University of Pretoria)) has worked in the Fire Protection Industry for over 15 years on a myriad of projects (for the client, contractor and insurer, project depending) including: special risks on power stations, smelters, mines, SX plants and other process and industrial plants, as well as normal sprinkler installations in retail, fresh produce markets, hotels and other commercial properties. She has acted as an expert witness and advocates’ specialist advisor in a High Court matter and has provided a number of post loss assessments. Jocelyn is registered as a PrEng and as a Professional Member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. She is recognized by ECSA as a fire specialist, performing assessments on behalf of ECSA for registration in the category of specified fire safety practitioners. She is currently the Chairperson of the Fire Division within SAICE and President of the SFPE South Africa Chapter. Jocelyn also enjoys a collaborative relationship with the University of Stellenbosch Fire Research Group and is currently serving on the Executive Board of the South African Institute of Civil Engineers.

Dr Niel Jordaan is an accomplished Senior Mechanical Engineer with a Masters and PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Focus Area: Energy Management /Demand Side Management). He has 20 years of working experience which cover a variety of field, including Energy Management/Demand Side Management in large industrial facilities, Consulting Engineering (EPCM) in various technical and management roles, He has been deeply involved in Special Risk Fire Protection Engineering in mining and industrial facilities for the past 10 years. He is also and experienced Engineering Manager. He has been registered as a Professional Engineer with ECSA (Pr. Eng) since 2012. Currently he owns and manages FIRENSYS, an Engineering Consultancy focussing on Special Risk Fire Protection Engineering and Risk Assessment and management. He is also a repeat speaker at Fire Engineering Conferences.

Dr Vigneshwaran Narayanan is an experienced fire safety engineering professional with expertise in developing and testing passive fire protection systems, railway fire safety, and active fire protection system installations. He holds a PhD in Fire Safety Engineering, a M.S. in Fire Safety Engineering, Diploma in Industrial Safety and a BEng in Mechanical Engineering. With a strong background in managing fire safety challenges across various industries, he leverages tools like numerical modeling and fire risk assessments to deliver technical solutions and ensure compliance with global fire safety standards.