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

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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
  • Judge, Structural Timber Awards 2019
  • CSIC Innovation Champion
  • 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, UK Timber Grading Committee
  • 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)

 

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
  • FIMMM
  • Edinburgh Beltane Public Engagement Fellow
  • 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
  • Quoted in Chemistry World news article
  • Interviewed on 2ser radio (Sydney, Australia) about Ethiopian tree planting
  • 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

TG1/201410/18: Derivation of ViSCAN grading machine settings for UK larch

Working Paper
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2014)
TG1/201410/18: Derivation of ViSCAN grading machine settings for UK larch
Confidential report for CEN TC124 WG2 TG1 Grading machine: ViSCAN Manufacturer: MiCROTEC GmbH Growth area: United Kingdom Species: European larch Larix decidua Hybrid larch La...

Strength class of minor conifer species, as estimated from log acoustic measurements, small-clear data and knowledge of wood property variation

Conference Proceeding
Gil-Moreno, D., Ridley-Ellis, D., & McLean, J. P. (2014)
Strength class of minor conifer species, as estimated from log acoustic measurements, small-clear data and knowledge of wood property variation. In K. Schober (Ed.), COST Action FP1004 "Experimental Research with Timber", (214-218
It is well known that wood properties vary from species to species. Additionally, trees grow wood in response to their requirement to grow in a certain environment. Therefore,...

Stand-up comedy for researchers

Book Chapter
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2014)
Stand-up comedy for researchers. In I. Daly, & A. Brophy Haney (Eds.), 53 interesting ways to communicate your research, 57-58. The Professional and Higher Partnership Ltd
Effective researchers need both to conduct high-quality research and to communicate it - to subject specialists, researchers in other fields, research participants, business, ...

Stiffness changes during low temperature thermal treatment of Scots pine, assessed by acoustic NDT

Conference Proceeding
Ridley-Ellis, D., Popescu, C., Keating, B. A., Popescu, M., & Hill, C. A. S. (2014)
Stiffness changes during low temperature thermal treatment of Scots pine, assessed by acoustic NDT. In L. Nunes, D. Jones, C. A. S. Hill, & H. Militz (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on Wood Modification
The change, over time, in density, longitudinal modulus of elasticity, shear modulus and chemical structure of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) under thermal treatment (110, 120 ...

Adding value to the Forest through research.

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2014, March)
Adding value to the Forest through research. Presented at Wood Products Innovation Gateway closing event, Royal College of Physicians
Presentation at the closing event of the "Wood Products Innovation Gateway"

Mechanical and physical properties of thermally modified Scots pine wood in high pressure reactor under saturated steam at 120, 150 and 180 °C.

Journal Article
Rautkari, L., Hill, C. A. S., Ridley-Ellis, D., & Hughes, M. (2014)
Mechanical and physical properties of thermally modified Scots pine wood in high pressure reactor under saturated steam at 120, 150 and 180 °C. European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, 72, 33-41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-013-0749-5
Scots pine sapwood and heartwood were thermally modified under saturated steam at 120, 150 and 180 °C in a high pressure reactor. Mechanical properties such as dynamic and sta...

Structural timber on the scales.

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2013, December)
Structural timber on the scales
Telford Institute Workshop on "Anisotropic, Heterogeneous and Cellular Materials: Micro-architecture to Macro-level Responses"

Guessing the strength of UK timber. Grading explained (a bit)

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2013, November)
Guessing the strength of UK timber. Grading explained (a bit)
Event for Chartered Environmentalists, Foresters and other environmental professions

Within- and between-stand variation in selected properties of Sitka spruce sawn timber in the UK: implications for segregation and grade recovery

Journal Article
Context Information on wood properties variation is needed by forest growers and timber processors to best utilise the available forest resource and to guide future managemen...

Timber grading seminar for sawmillers.

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2013, March)
Timber grading seminar for sawmillers
This grading seminar will give you a crash course in timber grading, what it is, how it is done and how it is likely to change in future. It aims to demystify timber grading, ...

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