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 is the lead organiser of Bright Club Edinburgh.

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Advisory panels and expert committees or witness

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

 

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 London Metropolitan University
  • External validator for Technological University Dublin

 

Fellowships and Awards

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

 

Invited Speaker

  • Invited speaker at ICF Innovation for Change Webinar
  • Scottish Association for Metals
  • 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
  • Interviewed on 2ser radio (Sydney, Australia) about Ethiopian tree planting
  • Quoted in news articles worldwide about Ethiopian tree planting
  • Guest on rialtalk podcast
  • 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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165 results

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...

Test Machine Effect in the determination of modulus of elasticity for strength-graded timber

Conference Proceeding
Gil-Moreno, D., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Harte, A. M. (2021)
Test Machine Effect in the determination of modulus of elasticity for strength-graded timber. In WCTE 2021: World Conference on Timber Engineering Proceedings
This paper investigates if the relationship between the global and local moduli of elasticity (MoE), measured in bending tests, is affected by the test machines employed, and ...

Perception and use of timber in construction: A case study of Ireland and the UK

Conference Proceeding
O'Ceallaigh, C., Gil-Moreno, D., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Harte, A. M. (2021)
Perception and use of timber in construction: A case study of Ireland and the UK. In WCTE 2021: World Conference on Timber Engineering Proceedings
A survey was carried out to examine the perception of timber in construction among industry stakeholders within northwest Europe. The survey received responses from 17 countri...

RIAS practice note SC216 - Grade in Britain: enabling a wider range of home-grown species

Other
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2021)
RIAS practice note SC216 - Grade in Britain: enabling a wider range of home-grown species

Alternative UK timber species

Book Chapter
Adams, S., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2021)
Alternative UK timber species. In Timber 2021 Industry Yearbook (104-111). High Wycombe: TRADA
Steven Adams and Dan Ridley-Ellis discuss the findings of a recent research project into the properties and potential uses of lesser-used species in the UK.

Grade in Britain: enabling a wider range of home grown species

Book Chapter
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2021)
Grade in Britain: enabling a wider range of home grown species. In Timber 2020 Industry Yearbook (132-137). High Wycombe: TRADA
Dan Ridley-Ellis summarises the different home-grown species currently available, and looks to the future of strength grading for an increasingly wide range of species.

Estimating mechanical properties of clear wood from ten‐year‐old Melia azedarach trees using the stress wave method

Journal Article
Van Duong, D., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2021)
Estimating mechanical properties of clear wood from ten‐year‐old Melia azedarach trees using the stress wave method. European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, 79(4), 941-949. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-021-01664-8
The objective of this study was to examine the potential of stress wave velocity (SWV) as a rapid and non-destructive method to estimate the mechanical properties of Melia aze...

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