Dr. Danielle “Dani” Murphy is a Senior Mechanical and Forensic Engineer at WHA International Inc. Dr. Murphy received her doctorate in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Chemical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines, where she conducted laboratory research and CFD modeling on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) systems and reactor technology for hydrogen production. After completing her education, Dr. Murphy started a career in forensic engineering, conducted investigations on a wide variety of incidents including fires and explosions in laboratory, residential, commercial, and large-scale chemical process environments. After returning to the Denver area, she worked as a researcher for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at the Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility (HITRF). Dani carried out laboratory testing and modeling on renewable hydrogen production projects as well as hydrogen fueling station infrastructure, controls, and safety.

After joining WHA in 2019, Dani began investigating forensic incidents involving fires, explosions and pressure equipment failures in flammable fuels and oxygen-enriched environments with a specific emphasis on hydrogen incidents. She is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI) and the hydrogen team lead for WHA. Dani recently advanced and expanded WHA’s capabilities for hydrogen combustion risk analysis and hydrogen safety training courses for general awareness, operations and maintenance personnel, and design engineers. In addition to conducting hazards analyses and teaching hydrogen safety courses, Dani provides consulting and custom testing services for hydrogen and hydrogen mixture systems in a variety of applications including electrolyzers, fuel cells, chemical processes, transportation, and novel hydrogen systems and applications. Dani also pursues and leads research projects to understand and fill gaps in the current hydrogen technology safe handling practices.