On 11^th November, Dr Andrea Lucherini acted as the external examiner for the PhD thesis defence of Hafeez Ahmadi at the Hempel Foundation Coatings Science and Technology Centre (CoaST), Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The defence took place within DTU’s Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering.

The thesis, titled “Novel Intumescent Coatings for Fire Protection of Steel”, explored the development of next-generation intumescent coatings using inorganic alkali silicate particles. The research focused on improving the fire protection performance of steel structures by investigating alternative coating formulations with enhanced thermal and mechanical stability.

The thesis was supervised by Professor Kim Dam-Johansen (Principal Supervisor) and Professor Hao Wu (Co-supervisor). The PhD defense was chaired by Assistant Professor Narayanan Rajagopalan (DTU Chemical Engineering), and Professor Peter Arendt Jensen (DTU Chemical Engineering) and Angela Llavona Serrano (R&D Manager, Passive Fire Protection Division, Hempel, Spain) were also part of the PhD assessment committee.

Dr Lucherini’s participation in the examination process reflects FRISSBE’s continued engagement in international research activities and its commitment to the advancement of fire protection science through academic collaboration.