DFC is pleased to welcome three talented engineers to our growing team in Leeds.

Shrey Shekhar, Engineer

Shrey holds a Master’ in Mechanical Engineering from University of Limerick, Ireland. Prior to joining DFC, Shrey worked for an international Fire Engineering company for over two years. There, he was involved in a wide range of projects and sectors including, Residential, Education, and Healthcare. Shrey is familiar with building processes in the Republic of Ireland and holds some experience in Disability Code Compliance.

From his degree and experience, Shrey developed a good understanding of Computational Fluid Dynamics for Aerodynamics, Heat and Mass transfer, CAD Modelling and Finite Element analysis, which is useful in fire engineering. He is excited to explore his career in Fire engineering at DFC.

Akshay Rathee, Graduate Engineer

Akshay recently graduated as a Fire Engineer from the International Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering (IMFSE) programme, which he studied at Ghent University, Lund University, and the University of Edinburgh. His father, an active firefighter in India, motivated him to pursue a career in fire prevention which led him to obtain his Bachelor’s degree in Fire Engineering from NFSC, India. Akshay has experience working as a Fire Safety Engineer in an oil and gas refinery and his duties included performing risk assessments and investigating incidents.

Outside of work, Akshay loves traveling and aims to visit every country in the world. He enjoys learning new things, being outdoors and often engages in trekking and hiking trips.

Shiban Fayaz Ahmed, Graduate Engineer

Shiban’s fascination with fire safety began at the age of ten, when he playfully activated the fire alarm button in his classroom. Fast forward to 2020, he stumbled upon the world of Fire Engineering, and was instantly captivated by it, prompting a wholehearted pursuit. Shiban completed his Master’s in Fire Safety Engineering through the IMFSE programme, a collaborative degree with The University of Edinburgh, Lund University, and Ghent University.

With the recent rise in many unfortunate forest fires, along with the impact of the irreversible climate change, many communities have been damaged and the weather conditions have become more extreme, and as such, Shiban was led to do a thesis on the wildfires at The University of Edinburgh. The subject of his thesis study involved experimentally exploring the smouldering propagation in peat samples under different conditions with a key focus on the effect of geometrical changes to the sample.

Apart from his career endeavours, Shiban has a deep passion for exploring new places and the art of cooking Indian cuisine. He also finds joy in spending time with horses and nurturing his passion for them. He says the most heart pounding experience of his life was when he went skydiving and took a wild leap out of an aeroplane – a moment where the sky was not the limit!

Images above: Shiban with a horse; Akshay and Shiban at DFC Leeds.