University of Idaho lands $1.4M grant to train next generation of wildland fire scientists

University of Idaho researchers are tackling some of the toughest wildfire challenges with support from a new $1.4 million National Science Foundation grant, which will fund nine additional doctoral-level researchers.

Working alongside NSF EPSCoR-funded postdoctoral scientists and faculty from across the university, the students will engage in research and envision new projects in fire physics, mitigation and forest regeneration and strengthen the resilience of rural communities to wildfires and other natural hazards.

“Wildland fire is inherently complex,” Jessica Miesel, associate professor in the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences and a co-principal investigator of the grant, said in an Aug. 6 news release.

“It can have catastrophic impacts on human communities, yet it is also an essential natural disturbance in many types of ecosystems,” she said. “Understanding fire requires an interdisciplinary scientific approach, as well as close partnerships between scientists and land managers to develop practical and effective management solutions.” 

The three-year award comes from the NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program, which provides graduate fellowship funding to institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions.

Students from institutions across the country who earned an honorable mention from the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program within the last three years are eligible to apply. Visit NSF’s education and training application page at etap.nsf.gov/award/8247/opportunity/11307 for details and to apply for the opportunity.

Fellows have the opportunity to earn doctorates in one of three interdisciplinary degree programs: bioinformatics and computational biology, environmental science or water resources.

“U of I is Idaho’s only Carnegie R1 university and a national leader in foundational and use-inspired wildland fire science,” said Jerry McMurtry, dean of the U of I College of Graduate Studies and principal investigator of the grant. “We’re well-positioned to equip future scientists with the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills needed to address wildland fire challenges facing our world today and in the future.”

Fellows will conduct original research relating to wildland fire science under the guidance of the U of I’s expert research faculty and have the option to pursue an Environmental Education and Science Communication graduate certificate at the U of I’s McCall Outdoor Science School.

“The challenges of living with fire will not go away during our lifetime, but this award will help prepare future professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to create practical solutions,” Miesel said.

This project was funded for the University of Idaho by the National Science Foundation under award 25-00061. The total project funding is $1,431,000, of which 100% is the federal share.

Visit uidaho.edu/cogs for details. 

    An experiment is conducted on the College of Natural Resources ember generator for forest fire simulator. The ember generator is used to simulate wildfire conditions and allow for the study of ember propagated wildfires.
      A College of Natural Resources prescribed burn moves across the University of Idaho Experimental Forest.
  

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