IAWF Awards 2 Scholarships

           

The International Association of Wildland Fire has awarded two scholarships to students in Canada and Australia. These scholarships, each worth $2,500, are designated for Master of Science or Ph.D. students studying wildland fire or wildland fire-related topics.

Sean T. Michaletz, a Ph.D. student at the University of Calgary in Canada, received one of the scholarships. Michaletz has developed models for deciduous and coniferous mortality following low-intensity fires, and he also has worked with crown scorch models. His doctoral research will concentrate on combining some of his individual tree models into stand- and landscape-level models.

Andrew Sullivan, a Ph.D. student at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, received the other scholarship. Sullivan, who has been working on the development of fire spread simulation software, co-authored a book on grassfire behavior and management and conducted field experiments in Australian forests. His doctoral research focuses on the role of the competitive thermokinetics of cellulose thermal decomposition and combustion in patterns of bushfire spread.

The IAWF is exploring ways to expand the scholarship program in 2008 to also include students enrolled in undergraduate wildland fire programs.