Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Ryan Falkenstein-Smith (Fed)

Mechanical Engineer

Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Ph.D. is a Mechanical Engineer in the Firefighting Technology Group of the Fire Research Division (FRD) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). As the leader of the Smart Fire Fighting Project, Dr. Falkenstein-Smith has focused his research efforts on developing measurement science that
1) enables the fusion of trusted data from and trusted models of buildings, apparatuses, and personal protective equipment, and
2) enhances situational awareness, operational effectiveness, and firefighter safety.

Dr. Falkenstein-Smith's other research efforts include improving the measurement science capabilities within FRD to identify and quantify volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds using various chemical analysis equipment.

Before joining FRD's research staff, Dr. Falkenstein-Smith was a NIST postdoctoral fellow working in the Fire Research Division. During his post-doc, Dr. Falkenstein-Smit created model validation datasets of pool fire characteristics to support the International Association of Fire Safety Science’s Measurement & Computation of Fire Phenomena Working Group.

For a full list of publications, please visit Dr. Falkenstein-Smith's Google Scholar Page

Awards

  • Selected Speaker for the “40 under 40: E‑lecture series on combustion”, Belgian Section of the Combustion Institute (2023)
  • Proulx Early Career Award, International Association for Fire Safety Science (2023)
  • Morale Builder Award, Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology (2023)
  • Outstanding Teaching Assistantship Award, Syracuse University Graduate School (2016)
  • East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Fellowship, National Science Foundation (2016)
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, Syracuse University (2015)

Publications

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighter Turnout Gear Textiles Exposed to Abrasion, Elevated Temperature, Laundering, or Weathering

Author(s)
Andrew Maizel, Andre Thompson, Meghanne Tighe, Samuel Escobar Veras, Alix Rodowa, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Bruce A. Benner Jr., Kathleen Hoffman, Michelle K. Donnelly, Olivia Hernandez, Nadine Wetzler, Trung Ngu, Jessica Reiner, Benjamin Place, John Kucklick, Kate Rimmer, Rick D. Davis
Textiles used in the construction of structural firefighter turnout gear jackets and pants have been found to contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Report on High Energy Arcing Fault Experiments: Experimental Results from Medium-Voltage Bus Duct and Switchgear Enclosures

Author(s)
Gabriel Taylor, Anthony D. Putorti Jr., Scott Bareham, Christopher U. Brown, Wai Cheong Tam, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Stephen Fink, Michael Heck, Edward Hnetkovsky, Nicholas Melly, Kenneth Hamburger, Kenneth Miller
This report documents an experimental program designed to investigate high energy arcing fault (HEAF) phenomena for medium-voltage, metal-enclosed bus ducts and

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in New Firefighter Turnout Gear Textiles

Author(s)
Andrew Maizel, Andre Thompson, Meghanne Tighe, Samuel Escobar Veras, Alix Rodowa, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Bruce A. Benner Jr., Kathleen Hoffman, Michelle K. Donnelly, Olivia Hernandez, Nadine Wetzler, Trung Ngu, Jessica Reiner, Benjamin Place, John Kucklick, Kate Rimmer, Rick D. Davis
Turnout gear is increasingly recognized as a potential source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure to firefighters. To determine the type
Created November 5, 2019, Updated January 2, 2024