Alex is a combustion scientist. He received his PhD in Physical and Mathematical Sciences from Tomsk State University, Russia.
His early research at Tomsk State University focused on developing a new deterministic and probabilistic model to predict forest, grass and peat fire hazards. Later his research focused on field and laboratory studies of wildfires and their impact on structures. Collaboration with the laboratory of the National Center of Scientific Research in France has resulted in some major findings in understanding thermal properties and smouldering of peat. Alex’s most recent research was focused on ember generation and spotting mechanisms in wildfires.
Since joining the UoM in 2016, Alex’s research focuses on better understanding of dynamic fire behaviours, impact of fire on live vegetation and its survivability, transition mechanisms of wildland fires into Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas and fire performance of structural materials.
Alex serves as a co-leader of the Ignition Resistant Communities subgroup as a part of the Large Outdoor Fires and the Built Environment Working Group (International Association of Fire Safety Science). He is a member of the Universitas 21 International Fire Safety Consortium, representing the University of Melbourne on the wildfire topic. Alex has been awarded the Education and Science Award by the Tomsk Region Government of the Russian Federation and the Early Career Award in Fire Science by the International Association of Wildland Fires.
Alex is currently a subject co-coordinator of the “Building Behaviour in Bushfires” (EVSC90023) and co-lecturing in the “Fire in the Australian Landscape” (FRST30002) and “Patterns and Processes of Landscape Fire” (FRST90025).
Supervising postgraduate students is an important part of his work. Alex supervises students in all aspects of fire dynamics and fire behaviour, from experimental research to computational modelling.
Outside of work Alex likes to explore Australia with his family and doing DIY home projects.