Dan Ridley-Ellis
Dan Ridley Ellis

Dr Dan Ridley-Ellis BEng MRes PhD FIMMM

Associate Professor

 0131 455 2449

  D.Ridley-Ellis@napier.ac.uk

   

Biography

Dan Ridley-Ellis is head of the Centre Wood Science and Technology at Edinburgh Napier University. He is one of the UK’s technical experts on guessing the strength of wood and can talk for hours on the topic – which he frequently does if nobody stops him.

His main area of research is understanding the properties of wood, and how they are influenced by tree growth, forest management, and climate. He represents the UK at European Standards Committees for grading of construction timber, and the majority of structural sawn timber produced in the UK is now graded with settings he developed. He was named “woodland hero” for 2016 by Grown in Britain, and is also active in online learning, public engagement and science communication. He was the lead organiser of Bright Club Edinburgh from 2011 to 2023.

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Research Groups

Themes

Research Areas

News

Events

Esteem

Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

  • Expert witness (materials)
  • Timber in Construction Working Group (DEFRA etc)
  • Invited speaker at All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Forestry and Tree Planting
  • CSIC Innovation Champion
  • Judge, Structural Timber Awards 2019
  • Judge, Structural Timber Awards 2018
  • Leader, CEN TC124 (Timber Structures) WG 2 TG1 (Task Group for grading and strength properties)
  • Member - Scottish Forestry and Timber Technologies Skills Group
  • Advisory Board Member of TRADA
  • Secretary, CEN TC124 (Timber Structures) WG 2 TG1 (Task Group for grading and strength properties)
  • Member, CEN TC124 (Timber Structures) WG 2 TG1 (Task Group for grading and strength properties)
  • Northern UK representative for the Northern European Network for Wood Science & Engineering
  • Member, CEN TC124 (Timber Structures) WG 2 (Solid Timber)
  • Member, British Standards Committee B/518
  • Member of the Board of the Wood Technology Society (IOM3)
  • Member, CEN TC124 (Timber Structures) WG 1 (Test methods)
  • Member, UK Timber Grading Committee

 

Conference Organising Activity

  • Local organising committee member for 2DCOS-11
  • COST Actions

 

Editorial Activity

  • Editorial board member of the European Journal of Wood and Wood Products
  • Editorial board member of the International Wood Products Journal

 

External Examining/Validations

  • External validator for Technological University Dublin
  • External validator for London Metropolitan University

 

Fellowships and Awards

  • Scottish Forestry, Sir George Campbell Memorial Trophy
  • Grown in Britain Woodland Hero
  • Edinburgh Beltane Public Engagement Fellow
  • FIMMM
  • Queens Anniversary Prize 2015

 

Invited Speaker

  • Scottish Association for Metals
  • Invited speaker at ICF Innovation for Change Webinar
  • Guest lecturing at Hooke Park
  • Guest lecturing at Ecole Supérieure du Bois (France)
  • Royal Forestry Society's Lawrence Pilling Memorial Lecture

 

Media Activity

  • Quoted in Chemistry World news article
  • Quoted in news articles worldwide about Ethiopian tree planting
  • Guest on rialtalk podcast
  • Interviewed on 2ser radio (Sydney, Australia) about Ethiopian tree planting
  • Quoted in Chemistry World news article
  • Contributor on BBC World Service programme “The Forum” broadcast on 19 January 2015.
  • have discussed Bright Club live on BBC Radio Scotland’s Comedy Café (29 July 2011) and in pre-recorded interview on BBC Radio Scotland's "Good Morning Scotland" (14 November 2012). Performed live on BBC Radio Scotland's MacAulay and Co (25 May 2012).
  • BBC Bang Goes The Theory “Ask Yan” expert 2009/10

 

Public/Community Engagement

  • Invited speaker at Lantra VirtRural careers event
  • Engineering Showoff Performer
  • STEM ambassador
  • Main organiser/trainer of Bright Club Edinburgh and Bright Club Scotland (in which academics do stand-up comedy).

 

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171 results

BM TRADA Webinar Part 2: Machine Strength Grading

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2024, April)
BM TRADA Webinar Part 2: Machine Strength Grading. Presented at BM TRADA Technical Timber Webinars 2024, Online
Strength grading of solid timber – overcoming some common misconceptions. Slides covering machine strength grading, stamps, and EN1912 revision

Wood properties and uses of larch in Great Britain

Report
McLean, P., Ridley-Ellis, D., Price, A., & Macdonald, E. (2024)
Wood properties and uses of larch in Great Britain. Surrey: Forest Research
This report collates and synthesises research into the production and use of larch timber in Great Britain, drawing on information from a range of published and unpublished st...

Models to predict the radial variation of stiffness, strength, and density in planted noble fir, Norway spruce, western hemlock, and western red cedar in Great Britain

Journal Article
Gil-Moreno, D., MClean, J. P., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2023)
Models to predict the radial variation of stiffness, strength, and density in planted noble fir, Norway spruce, western hemlock, and western red cedar in Great Britain. Annals of Forest Science, 80, Article 48. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13595-023-01214-7
Key message: This study compares the measured radial variation in wood stiffness, strength, and density of noble fir, Norway spruce, western hemlock, and western red cedar by ...

A horizon scan of issues affecting UK forest management within 50 years

Journal Article
Tew, E. R., Ambrose-Oji, B., Beatty, M., Büntgen, U., Butterworth, H., Clover, G., …Sutherland, W. J. (in press)
A horizon scan of issues affecting UK forest management within 50 years. Forestry, https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpad047
Forests are in the spotlight: they are expected to play a pivotal role in our response to society’s greatest challenges, such as the climate and biodiversity crises. Yet, the ...

Strength grading options for unusual resources

Presentation / Conference
Cramer, M., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2023, October)
Strength grading options for unusual resources. Paper presented at WSE: 19th Annual Meeting of the Northern European Network for Wood Science and Engineering, Oslo, Norway

Transforming Timber

Digital Artefact
Hairstans, R., Plowas, W., Livingstone, A., Connell-Skinner, K., Cramer, M., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Seminara, P. Transforming Timber. [Website content]

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Hairstans, R., Plowas, W., Livingstone, A., Connell-Skinner, K., Cramer, M., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Seminara, P. Transforming Timber. [Website content]
The construction materials used since the industrial revolution now dominate the sector. This is one of the leading causes of our current climate crisis. We need alternative s...

Wood properties & strength grading

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2022, December)
Wood properties & strength grading. Presented at James Jones & Sons Architects' and Structural Engineers' Open Day, Lockerbie
James Jones & Sons held an open day for architects and structural engineers at its flagship sawmill site in Lockerbie. "James Jones & Sons' new visitor building at its flags...

Correction of Evanescent Wave Influence on the Flexural Wave Velocity and Wavelength Estimation Based on a Mode Shape Function

Journal Article
Pantelić, F., Šumarac Pavlović, D., Mijić, M., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2022)
Correction of Evanescent Wave Influence on the Flexural Wave Velocity and Wavelength Estimation Based on a Mode Shape Function. Archives of Acoustics, 47(4), 539-546. https://doi.org/10.24425/aoa.2022.142017
The aim of this research is to use a simple acoustic method of a very near field recording, which enables measurement and display of oscillation modes, to estimate the velocit...

Strength Grading of Timber in the UK and Ireland in 2021

Journal Article
Ridley-Ellis, D., Gil-Moreno, D., & Harte, A. M. (2022)
Strength Grading of Timber in the UK and Ireland in 2021. International Wood Products Journal, 13(2), 127-136. https://doi.org/10.1080/20426445.2022.2050549
This paper summarises the state of the art for strength grading of construction timber grown in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It includes the latest approval...

The relationship between bending and tension strength of Irish and UK spruce and pine

Journal Article
Gil-Moreno, D., Ridley-Ellis, D., O'Ceallaigh, C., & Harte, A. M. (2022)
The relationship between bending and tension strength of Irish and UK spruce and pine. European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, 80, 585-596. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-022-01787-6
The correct characterisation of wood properties is fundamental for the best utilisation of resources. In Europe, grading is defined by strength classes that are determined bas...

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