Jose Rivera is a member of the Fire Research Lab in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in Energy Science and Technology. He also serves as a peer reviewer for the Fire Safety Journal.

Jose’s research is dedicated to advancing our understanding of fire behavior, including the ignition of solids and combustion mechanisms, through expertise in combustion science, heat transfer, and fluid dynamics.

His work emphasizes:

• Theoretical modeling of combustion initiation.

• Flammability assessments of aerospace materials to develop fire-resistant alternatives.

• Integrating machine learning to enhance fire safety standards in confined environments such as spacecraft and high-altitude platforms.

Current projects and collaborations

• NASA SoFIE-MIST (Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction): Conducting experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to study the ignition and flammability of solid spacecraft materials. The project aims to determine safer material selection for spacecraft cabins and validate low-gravity flammability protocols.

• NASA Saffire (Spacecraft Fire Safety Mission): Supporting microgravity fire safety research through Earth-based experiments and analyses that complement ISS experiments.

• NASA FLARE/JAXA (Fire Safety Standards Collaboration): Contributing to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) project, focusing on AI-driven modeling of wire burning behavior in spacecraft environments to establish international fire safety standards.