FEMTC 2018 Summary

The Fire and Evacuation Modeling Technical Conference (FEMTC) 2018 concluded earlier this month as a tremendous success. Moving back to the United States after visiting southern Spain in 2016, this year's conference was held in Gaithersburg, Maryland just around the corner from the NIST campus.

This stretch of boardwalk lies just outside the conference room.

Over 70 individuals were in attendance. Conference members included engineers, researchers, and instructors. These attendees came from all over the world including the UK, Germany, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, Cape Verde, and Canada. Thunderhead Engineering brought six of our own staff to meet and engage with this excellent representation of the fire and evacuation modeling community.

Thirty topics were presented over the two and a half day event. FEMTC is a single track event, so all participants were able to attend each one. After the first day of presentations, snacks and drinks were shared on the balcony overlooking the boardwalk near the hotel. Thunderhead Engineering brought an Oculus Rift kit to allow others to experience fire simulations in virtual reality.

After the event, conference attendees were invited to join on a tour of the NIST Fire Research Laboratory. Kevin McGrattan and Matthew Bundy led groups through the facility and demonstrated how various projects operated.

All talks are available on the FEMTC 2018 event page.