Ann Jeffers
Professor · Engineer · Author
Ann Jeffers is a professor and engineer at the University of Michigan whose research focuses on fire safety engineering, including structure fires, wildfires and computational approaches to understanding fire hazards. She is also the author of the 2023 memoir Can You Hear the Music? My Journey Through Madness. [1][3][4]
Last updated
Career and work
Jeffers earned a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 2004, followed by an M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Virginia Tech. She joined the University of Michigan faculty as an assistant professor in 2009 and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2015. In 2026, she received an additional appointment as associate professor of mechanical engineering. [4][3]
Her research spans structural fire engineering, wildland and wildland–urban interface fires, computational modelling, finite-element methods and fire-structure simulation. Her honors include a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the Harry C. Bigglestone Award for an outstanding paper in Fire Technology, and several teaching and engineering awards. [3]
Jeffers is also the author of the 2023 memoir Can You Hear the Music? My Journey Through Madness, in which she writes about living with bipolar disorder and psychosis while pursuing her academic career. [4][1]
What has been publicly discussed
“There is no shame in having mental illness. People need to realize it’s an illness like any other.“
— Ann Jeffers [1]
