Michael Selepak (Fed)

Michael J. Selepak is an engineering technician in the Engineered Fire Safety Group of the Fire Research Division (FRD) of the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Mr. Selepak joined NIST in September 1997 as an Engineering Technician in the Fire Sensing and Extinguishment Group. Prior to joining NIST, Mr. Selepak was employed as a Technical Specialist in the Environmental Test Laboratory of Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) in Germantown, MD. During his tenure at OSC, he was involved in the preparation and conduction of environmental testing of components and subsystems for programs such as, Fairchild's Military Multimission Modular Spacecraft (M3), Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO), Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS), Explorer Platform (EP), and TOPEX programs.

As a member of the Engineered Fire Safety Group, Mr. Selepak assists in the fabrication and operation of many laboratory measurement devices, including the Fire-Emulator/Detector-Evaluator, the heat flux calibration facility, the Fire Equipment Evaluator flow loop, and the Hydrogen Sensor Test Exposure Device.

Mr. Selepak also assists with large-scale field experiments, including characterization of wind-driven fires, positive pressure ventilation, as well as providing technical support to experiments in flame inhibition chemistry and flammability limits.

In 2007, Mr. Selepak was awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award for his work to characterize the effects of wind on compartment fires.

Additionally, Mr. Selepak in 2008 was awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award for his work to characterize the performance of firefighter safety gear in high-heat conditions.