Key details
Professor Steve M.V. Gwynne
Professor of Evacuation and Pedestrian Dynamics, Centre Lead (Centre for Safety, Resilience and Protective Security)
Steve Gwynne is currently Professor of Evacuation and Pedestrian Dynamics at the University of Greenwich and Lund University.
Steve has nearly 30 years of experience in pedestrian dynamics, human behaviour in fire and evacuation modelling. He has worked in government roles (e.g. National Research Council Canada and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, US), academic roles (Lund University (Sweden), Memorial University (Canada), King’s College, London (UK), Univ. Maryland (US), Univ. Waterloo (Canada) and University of Greenwich(UK)) and in consultancy (e.g. Movement Strategies, UK; Hughes Associates, US).
Steve has been involved in data collection, model development/application, procedural design, and regulatory development. He has worked in the aviation, maritime, rail and built environments, and worked in large-scale disasters (e.g. wildfire incidents). Steve has developed and delivered numerous academic and industrial courses (e.g. SFPE and ICC) and supervised PhD students, Masters students and undergraduate projects in North America, the EU, and the UK. He has 100+ peer-reviewed publications. He co-authors several chapters in the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Handbook and was a co-author of the SFPE Guides to Human Behaviour in Fire and Very Tall Buildings (both 2nd Edition). He has also contributed to NFPA, ISO, IMO, ICC, NBC and SFPE regulatory and guidance documents.
Responsibilities within the university
Steve is Professor of Evacuation and Pedestrian Dynamics within CSRPS (within M34Impact).
Research / Scholarly interests
- Pedestrian Movement
- Protective Actions / Evacuation
- Simulation Modelling
- Engineering Calculations
- Safety in Built Environment / Aviation / Maritime / Rail settings
- Wildfire Urban Interface Community Evacuation
- Data Collection
- Field Observations – Exercises, Drills, Movement in Public Spaces.
Recent publications
Article
Lundstedt, Rikard , Kinateder, Max, Berthiaume, Maxine, Kassabri, Nicholas , Bènichou, Noureddine , Kuligowski, Erica , Renner, Nicole , Wahlqvist, Jonathan , Kimball, Amanda , Rein, Guillermo (2026), Development and testing of the collaborative wildfire evacuation platform WUISHOW. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Fire Safety Journal, 166: 104969 ISSN: 0379-7112 (Print), 1873-7226 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2026.104969).
Dugstad, Ann‐Kristin , Berthiaume, Maxine, Ronchi, Enrico, Bénichou, Noureddine , Geoerg, Paul , Gwynne, Steve , Xie, Hui , Kubose‐Peutz, Kamryn , Kimball, Amanda , Kinateder, Max (2026), Traffic flow data collection methods during wildfire evacuation. Wiley. In: , , , . Wiley, Fire and Materials (FAM), 50 (5) . pp. 601-612 ISSN: 0308-0501 (Print), 1099-1018 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/fam.70077).
Menzemer, Leo Willem , Gwynne, Steve, Ronchi, Enrico (2026), Memory retention of spatial knowledge in fire evacuation and safety training. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Fire Safety Journal, 163: 104799 ISSN: 0379-7112 (Print), 1873-7226 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2026.104799).
Kuligowski, Erica D. , Morrison, Rosie, Gwynne, Steve, Atas, Gulsah , Lovreglio, Ruggiero , Roohafza, Fatemeh , Kimball, Amanda (2026), A theoretical framework explaining evacuation travel behaviour in bushfires: a qualitative study of destination and mode choices. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Fire Safety Journal, 162: 104782 ISSN: 0379-7112 (Print), 1873-7226 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2026.104782).
Dugstad, Ann-Kristin , Geoerg, Paul, Bénichou, Noureddine, Gwynne, Steve , Berthiaume, Maxine , Kimball, Amanda , Kubose-Peutz, Kamryn , Xie, Hui , Ronchi, Enrico , Kinateder, Max (2026), Drilling for disaster preparedness: insights from a community wildfire evacuation exercise. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 154: 105258 ISSN: 1361-9209 (Print), 1879-2340 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2026.105258).
Filippidis, Lazaros , Gwynne, Steve M. V., Lawrence, Peter J., Galea, Edwin R. (2025), Assessing the impact of rider-only escalator etiquette using agent-based modelling. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Safety Science, 196: 107064 ISSN: 0925-7535 (Print), 1879-1042 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2025.107064).
Lundstedt, Rikard , Wahlqvist, Jonathan, Kimball, Amanda, Rein, Guillermo , Kalogeropoulos, Nikolaos , Mitchell, Harry , Gwynne, Steve , Xie, Hui , Kinateder, Max , Berthiaume, Maxine (2025), WUISHOW: A digital collaborative wildfire evacuation platform. IOP Publishing (Institute of Physics Publishing, UK). In: , , , . IOP Publishing (Institute of Physics Publishing, UK), Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 3121: 12030 . pp. 1-6 ISSN: 1742-6588 (Print), 1742-6596 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/3121/1/012030).
Roberts, Ben M. , Adzic, Filipa, Hamilton-Smith, Ailsa, Iddon, Christopher , Wild, Oliver , Cook, Malcolm , Gwynne, Steve , Hunt, Aoife , Malki-Epshtein, Liora (2025), Air quality at mass gatherings: assessing ventilation and occupancy in marquees to evaluate airborne infection risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elsevier Ltd.. In: , , , . Elsevier Ltd., Building and Environment: 113847 ISSN: 0360-1323 (Print), 1873-684X (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2025.113847).
Spearpoint, Michael , Templeton, Anne, Gwynne, Steve, Nash, Claire , Xie, Hui , Kimball, Amanda (2025), Evaluating guidance on fire evacuation from high‑rise residential buildings using Dr Rita Fahy’s research. Springer. In: , , , . Springer, Fire Technology ISSN: 0015-2684 (Print), 1572-8099 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-025-01756-4) NB Item availability restricted.
Menzemer, Leo Willem , Karsten, Mette Marie Vad, Gwynne, Steve, Dragsted, Anders , Ronchi, Enrico (2025), Public perception of fire safety and risk of timber buildings. Taylor & Francis. In: , , , . Taylor & Francis, Wood Material Science & Engineering, 20 (4) . pp. 755-768 ISSN: 1748-0272 (Print), 1748-0280 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17480272.2025.2459350).
Templeton, Anne , Xie, Hui, Gwynne, Steve, Hunt, Aoife , Thompson, Pete , Köster, Gerta (2024), Agent-based models of social behaviour and communication in evacuations: a systematic review. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Safety Science, 176: 106520 ISSN: 0925-7535 (Print), 1879-1042 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106520).
Kinsey, M. , Gwynne, S.M.V., Kimball, Amanda (2024), Pilot study of mental simulation of people movement during evacuations. Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH. In: , , , . Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Collective Dynamics, 9 . pp. 1-8 ISSN: 2366-8539 (Print), (doi: https://doi.org/10.17815/CD.2024.175).
Gwynne, Steve , Hunt, Aoife, Xie, Hui, Owen, Simon , Hamilton-Smith, Ailsa , Hunt, Steve (2024), Methodology developed for field observations of large events during the pandemic. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Safety Science, 176: 106483 ISSN: 0925-7535 (Print), 1879-1042 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106483) NB Item availability restricted.
Gwynne, Steve , Hunt MBE, Aoife, Xie, Hui, Owen, Simon , Hamilton-Smith, Alisa , Hunt, Steve (2024), Methodology developed for field observations of large events during the pandemic. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Safety Science, 176 ISSN: 0925-7535 (Print), 1879-1042 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106483) NB Item availability restricted.
Amos, Martyn , Gainer, Paul, Gwynne, Steve, Templeton, Anne , Kimball, Amanda (2024), A dynamic state-based model of crowds. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Safety Science ISSN: 0925-7535 (Print), 1879-1042 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106522).
Conference proceedings
Kyrollos, Daniel G. , Dabkowski, Ryszard, Pejemsky, Anya, Gwynne, Steve , Roberts, Shelley (2026), Measuring passenger touch behaviors in aircraft cabins with domain-adapted vision models. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). In: 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence for Instrumentation and Measurement (AI4IM), , Amalfi, Italy In: AI4IM Conference Committee (ed.), 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence for Instrumentation and Measurement (AI4IM), Amalfi, Italy, 2026. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), Piscataway, New Jersey 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Artificial Intelligence for Instrumentation and Measurement (AI4IM) . pp. 1-6 . ISBN: 9798331551759 (doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/AI4IM69129.2026.11558203).
Kinateder, Max , Bénichou, Noureddine, Dugstad, Ann-Kristin, Gwynne, Steve , Berthiaume, Maxine , Ronchi, Enrico , Geoerg, Paul , Alexander, Michael , Byrne, Robert Michael , Kimball, Amanda (2025), The 2024 Roxborough Park Wildfire Evacuation Drill : lessons learned after planning, running, and studying a community evacuation exercise. Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM). In: , , In: ISCRAM 2025 Conference Committee (ed.), 2025: 22nd International ISCRAM Conference, Halifax, Canada: Managing and Responding to Coastal Disasters and Climate Change. Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 2025: 22nd International ISCRAM Conference, Halifax, Canada: Managing and Responding to Coastal Disasters and Climate Change (doi: https://doi.org/10.59297/am3g5x02).
Monograph
Armstrong, Jason , Koolhof, Iain, Ozcakir, Ozge, Pepper, Craig , Roberts, Shelley , Lebbin, Paul , Bennett, James , Brown, Clive , Mase, Sundari , Gearhart, Shannon (2026), Aviation infectious risk and safety: a collaborative program for modeling infectious disease transmission in air travel. United States Department of Transportation, National Transportation Library. In: , , , . United States Department of Transportation, National Transportation Library, Washington, DC (doi: https://doi.org/10.21949/1529730).
Working paper
Templeton, Anne , Xie, Hui, Gwynne, Steve, Hunt MBE, Aoife , Thompson, Pete , Köster, Gerta (2023), Agent-based models of social behaviour and communication in evacuations: a systematic review (preprint). arXiv. In: , , , . arXiv, London Arxiv (doi: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2310.15761).