Federation for International Refractory Research and Education

Education Committee

Thorsten Tonnesen

Thorsten Tonnesen

RWTH Aachen - Germany

Chair

Emmanuel de Bilbao

Emmanuel de Bilbao

University of Orléans - France

Marc Huger

Marc Huger

Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Ceramique Industrielle - France

Kinga Klima

Kinga Klima

Tata Steel Europe - The Netherlands

Victor Carlos Pandolfelli

Victor Carlos Pandolfelli

University of São Carlos - Brazil

Hong Peng

Hong Peng

Elkem - Norway

Jacques Poirier

Jacques Poirier

University of Orléans - France

Michel Rigaud

Michel Rigaud

Polytechnique Montreal - Canada

Paul Van Beurden

Paul Van Beurden

Tata Steel Europe - The Netherlands

Christoph Wohrmeyer

Christoph Wohrmeyer

Imerys - France

Last news

Highlight of FIRE Alumni - Bruno Luchini - Tata Steel Nederland

Humans have been gathering around fire for hundreds of thousands of years — for warmth, protection, food, and simply to talk. In a funny way, my own career also began around “fire,” just a far more engineered version of it. I first heard about FIRE during my Master’s in São Carlos, Brazil, thanks to Prof. Pandolfelli. I joined without imagining that this decision would quietly shape my entire professional path.

Jan 28, 2026
Highlight of FIRE Alumni - Otávio Henrique Borges - Doctoral Student at Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Brasil

I began my journey in refractory materials in 2017, when I started my Master’s degree at GEMM (Materials Microstructure Engineering Group), under the supervision of Prof. Victor Pandolfelli. From that moment on, and with the continuous support of the FIRE network, my interest in this challenging and fascinating field of refractory ceramics has only grown stronger.

Jan 21, 2026

Contact us and/or Become Member!

Contact us for any information and/or to Become Member of FIRE: fire@ecers.org 

Contact us

fire@ecers.org

Av. Gouverneur Cornez , 4

7000 Mons

Belgium

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