Joe Alascio Wins 2020 John L. Bryan GRA Award

Joe Alascio, a senior in the UMD Department of Fire Protection Engineering, has won the John L. Bryan Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) Award for the 2020/2021 academic year. Alascio, who is part of the combined B.S./M.S. program, is set to begin his graduate studies in the fall under the tutelage of FPE Associate Professor, Stanislav Stoliarov.

“My research with Dr. Stoliarov will work on identifying the mechanisms of firebrand development and transport by combining an experimental and numerical approach to develop a model capable of describing the degradation and ignition of various materials under firebrand attacks,” Joe said.

The John L. Bryan Chair endowment provides support for a single GRA each year. The funding is offered to outstanding, incoming FPE Master of Science (M.S.) students, domestic or international, and is awarded on a competitive basis. The award includes up to 25 standard tuition credits, health benefits and a $30K stipend.

Post-commencement, Alascio plans to work with Isaac Leventon, Ph.D. – an FPE alum and fire research scientist at NIST – on his project, “Experimental Measurement of Oxidation of Combustible Solids: Quantifying the Impact of Sample Surface Area on the Kinetics of Oxidative Decomposition.”

Published March 11, 2020