Fire protection engineering is a field that is in high demand throughout the United States. Despite the growing need for fire protection engineers, fire protection is a relatively unknown engineering discipline. In this seminar, students will be introduced to the field of fire protection engineering and its six main subdisciplines (fire suppression systems, fire alarm systems, life safety, smoke control systems, hazardous materials, and forensic investigations). For each of these subdisciplines, students will learn the role of the fire protection engineer while also being exposed to examples of real-world projects. In addition, students will learn how their Notre Dame engineering degree can lead them to a career in fire protection engineering.
Matthew Harris graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Following his time at Notre Dame, Matthew spent two years pursuing his master’s degree in Fire Protection Engineering at the University of Maryland. As part of his studies, Matthew was selected to be a graduate fellow at the Underwriter’s Laboratories Fire Safety Research Institute where he conducted wildfire research for his master’s thesis. Following his graduation from Maryland in 2022, Matthew joined Jensen Hughes as an associate fire protection engineer in their DFW area office, and has advanced his career at Jensen Hughes for the past 3.5 years. He is currently a licensed fire protection engineer in multiple states.
Outside of fire protection engineering, Matthew’s hobbies include watching sports (especially Notre Dame football), traveling to national parks, spending time with friends, and tackling new home projects.