Sea Secrets Lecture Series Michael Falkowski, Ph.D.

This lecture will have a complimentary reception at SALT Waterfront Restaurant on the Rosenstiel Campus, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The lecture will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. in the Rosenstiel auditorium. Seating is first come, first served as space is limited.

All lectures are also being offered virtually via Zoom. at 7:00 p.m. on the day of the lecture to watch.

Lecture title: Thriving With Fire: Changing Fire Regimes and Solutions for Enhancing Community Resilience

Fire is a natural disturbance and a fundamental process in many ecosystems. In many parts of the world, however, due to a combination of anthropogenic climate change, increased fire season length, and an expanding wildland-urban interface, fires have become more frequent, larger, faster, and ultimately more dangerous to human communities. This talk will discuss the use of Earth Observation data to understand climate change driven changes in fire regimes and present solutions to improve fire mitigation, management, and recovery that can help build more resilient communities.

Dr. Michael Falkowski is the Program Manager of the NASA Wildland Fire program at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, where he focuses on facilitating the development of wildland fire technology, research, and related applications. Dr. Falkowski joined NASA from Colorado State University in 2018 where he was a Professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and conducted research in conjunction with a variety of governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations to solve problems in ecosystem science and management. He has previously held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota and Michigan Technological University and was also a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Research Fellow with the Canadian Forest Service at the Pacific Forestry Centre in Victoria, British Columbia. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Falkowski also served on wildfire and prescribed fire crews, so he brings hands-on experience from that community.

Host or Publisher University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science