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.

School

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
  • 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, CEN TC124 (Timber Structures) WG 2 (Solid Timber)
  • Member, British Standards Committee B/518
  • Member, UK Timber Grading Committee
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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).

 

Filter by

Date


171 results

Analysis of acoustical properties of wood and mode identification by sample scanning in the very near field

Conference Proceeding
Pantelić, F., Šumarac Pavlović, D., Mijić, M., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2016)
Analysis of acoustical properties of wood and mode identification by sample scanning in the very near field. In Zbornik apstrakata i program 60.konferencije ETRAN, Zlatibor
It is possible to achieve a good visualization of vibration modes by microphone scanning of a vibration excited sample of wood in very near field. The experimental settings, s...

Bright Club Edinburgh backstage

Digital Artefact
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2016)
Bright Club Edinburgh backstage. [YouTube video]
Backstage at the Bright Club Edinburgh show #37.0 (26th April 2016) Public engagement and researcher development through stand up comedy https://youtu.be/gMO0ozKJ7t4

Does home-grown make the grade?

Journal Article
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2016)
Does home-grown make the grade?. Forestry & Timber News,
Summary of research into the properties of UK-grown timber (relevant to grading for construction use).

Making the grade and maximising the opportunities.

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2016, April)
Making the grade and maximising the opportunities. Presented at Institute of Chartered Foresters 2016 National Conference “The Timber Supply Chain – Dynamics and Opportunities”
Institute of Chartered Foresters National Conference 2016 Invited presentation covering: A quick explanation of key properties of wood, relevant to construction The extent ...

The timber resource in G. B.-more species for new challenges.

Presentation / Conference
Gil-Moreno, D., Ridley-Ellis, D., & McLean, P. (2016, April)
The timber resource in G. B.-more species for new challenges. Paper presented at Young Researchers’ Forum III: Innovation in Construction Materials, London, UK
Timber in Great Britain is mostly produced from Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis). Biotic threats have led tree growers to consider the planting of a wider range of species to o...

Strength grading of sawn timber in Europe: an explanation for engineers and researchers

Journal Article
Ridley-Ellis, D., Stapel, P., & Baño, V. (2016)
Strength grading of sawn timber in Europe: an explanation for engineers and researchers. European Journal of Wood and Wood Products, 74(3), 291-306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-016-1034-1
This paper is a concise explanation of the normative background to strength grading in Europe, addressing important aspects that are commonly misunderstood by structural engin...

Current UK timber grading and engineered wood products.

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2016, February)
Current UK timber grading and engineered wood products

Timber grading seminar - Some things you should know about how strength grading works and what is changing in the standards.

Presentation / Conference
Ridley-Ellis, D. (2016, February)
Timber grading seminar - Some things you should know about how strength grading works and what is changing in the standards. Presented at Timber grading seminar, Glasgow, Scotland
Presentations from the seminar on timber grading. "This grading seminar will give you a crash course in timber strength grading, what it is, how it works, and how it is chang...

Comparing usefulness of acoustic measurements on standing trees for segregation by timber stiffness.

Conference Proceeding
Gil-Moreno, D., & Ridley-Ellis, D. (2015)
Comparing usefulness of acoustic measurements on standing trees for segregation by timber stiffness. In R. J. Ross, R. Gonçalves, & X. Wang (Eds.), Proceedings: 19th International Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation of Wood Symposium (378-385
The paper presents a comparison of standard procedures to measure acoustic stiffness of standing trees and logs. The aim is to see how useful they are for predicting the prope...

You’re so hip, darling: Materials researchers do stand-up comedy

Journal Article
Ridley-Ellis, D., & McNamara, L. (2015)
You’re so hip, darling: Materials researchers do stand-up comedy. MRS Bulletin, 40(08), 632-634. https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2015.187
Article about Bright Club (in Edinburgh and Glasgow)

Current Post Grad projects

Previous Post Grad projects