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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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)
  • 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)
  • Northern UK representative for the Northern European Network for Wood Science & Engineering
  • Member, CEN TC124 (Timber Structures) WG 2 (Solid Timber)
  • 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
  • Queens Anniversary Prize 2015
  • FIMMM
  • Grown in Britain Woodland Hero
  • Edinburgh Beltane Public Engagement Fellow

 

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
  • 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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171 results

Lesser-used UK-grown timber

Book Chapter
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2019)
Lesser-used UK-grown timber. In TRADA Timber Industry Yearbook 2019, 200-205
Daniel Ridley-Ellis looks at the grading properties of different species in comparison with the highly commercial Sitka spruce.

Grading of British Timber

Journal Article
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2018)
Grading of British Timber. The Full Circle: The Journal of the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers, 34-36
A summary of grading of home grown timber for the magazine of the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers (ASHS).

Some thresholds for grading British grown spruce to optimised strength classes using longitudinal resonance

Conference Proceeding
Ridley-Ellis, D., Adams, S., & Lehneke, S. (2018)
Some thresholds for grading British grown spruce to optimised strength classes using longitudinal resonance
The main commercial species in the UK and Ireland is Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), which is graded in combination with a small amount of Norway spruce (P. abies). It is typ...

Strength grading of timber in the UK in 2018

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2018, June)
Strength grading of timber in the UK in 2018. Paper presented at Timber 2018 (By the Wood Technology Society of IOM3), London
This paper summarises the state-of-the-art of strength grading of UK-grown timber. It lists the following information along with the primary references: visual grading grades ...

Strength grading of timber in the UK in 2018

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2018, June)
Strength grading of timber in the UK in 2018. Presented at Timber 2018
This paper summarises the state-of-the-art of strength grading of UK-grown timber. It lists the following information along with the primary references: visual grading grades ...

The daily cycle of moisture content expansion and contraction in UK-grown Sitka spruce trees

Presentation / Conference
Adams, S., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2018, June)
The daily cycle of moisture content expansion and contraction in UK-grown Sitka spruce trees. Paper presented at Timber 2018, London
The diameter of five dominant Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) trees at Griffin Forest (near Aberfeldy, Scotland) were monitored at two minute intervals with dendrometers betwe...

Impulse excitation measurement of small changes in elastic moduli and damping using R

Journal Article
Ridley-Ellis, D., Libeau, M., & Mignerat, D. (2018)
Impulse excitation measurement of small changes in elastic moduli and damping using R. International Wood Products Journal, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/20426445.2018.1475928
Impulse excitation is commonly used to assess wood stiffness in both scientific and industrial settings. Modes of vibration are excited by a mechanical impulse and their reson...

Equipping ourselves for future forests and timber.

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2018, May)
Equipping ourselves for future forests and timber. Presented at Institute of Chartered Foresters National Conference, Edinburgh
Presentation to the Institute of Chartered Foresters National Conference, "Innovation for change - New drivers for tomorrow’s forestry" Edinburgh 2-3 May 2013 https://www.cha...

TG1/201804/25rev Derivation of MTG grading machine settings for Douglas fir (IE & GB, C classes)

Report
Ridley-Ellis, D., & Gil-Moreno, D. (2018)
TG1/201804/25rev Derivation of MTG grading machine settings for Douglas fir (IE & GB, C classes). WoodProps for Ireland project
Grading machines MTG 960 mtgBATCH 962 mtgBATCH 966 MTG 920 mtgBATCH 922 mtgBATCH 926 Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) (PSMN) Permitted timber sizes Thickness: 33 mm to 84...

Home grown timber now and in the future.

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2017, November)
Home grown timber now and in the future. Presented at WTS British Timber Seminar
Presentation to the wood technology society "British Timber Seminar" at IOM3, November 2017

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