Summary of workshop for fire structure interaction and urban and wildland-urban interface (WUI) Fires–operation Tomodachi–fire research

A workshop, known as “Operation Tomodachi—Fire Research” was held in Tokyo, Japan from July 1 to July 4, 2012. Tomodachi means friendship in Japanese. This workshop, under the direction of Dr. Samuel L. Manzello of EL-NIST and Dr. Tokiyoshi Yamada of the University of Tokyo, was conducted in partnership with the Japan Association of Fire Science and Engineering (JAFSE). The objective was to: (1) develop scientific knowledge and translate it to building codes and standards that will be of use to both countries to reduce the devastation caused by unwanted fires, (2) provide a forum for next generation researchers to present their work in order to develop new research collaborations, (3) and allow USA participants a chance to visit excellent large-scale research facilities available in Japan that are of use to the research topics of this workshop. This is a formal continuation of the kickoff meeting held at NIST's Engineering Laboratory (EL-NIST) in June 2011. USA presentations were delivered from: NIST, Purdue University, University of Texas-Austin, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), University of California-Berkeley, California Polytechnic University (CALPOLY), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the University of Delaware (organizations are listed based on the order of oral presentation). Japanese presentations were delivered from: The University of Tokyo, Building Research Institute (BRI), Takenaka Corporation, Center for Better Living, Shimizu Corporation, Tokyo University of Science (TUS), National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management (NILIM), Kyoto University, National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster (NRIFD), Yamagata University, and Kobe University (organizations are listed based on the order of oral presentation). All of the presentations are documented in a recent NIST Special Publication (NIST SP 1137). The present paper provides a detailed summary for the need of this workshop as well as the findings obtained from the event. It is desired that this activity will motivate the next generation of researchers to explore and develop research collaborations related to emerging areas of fire safety science. The authors are hopeful that new and exciting activities specific to other countries may come out of this type of event.