PhD students complete

A number of previous Bushfire CRC students have recently had their theses accepted to complete their PhD’s, offering important research to support emergency services.

Veronique Florec, Brianna Larsen, Alex Wolkow and Grace Vincent all began their research with the former Bushfire CRC and completed it with the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC.

Veronique Florec explored the economics of prescribed burning and which fire regime is best for which area. She has developed an economic model for evaluating different prescribed burning strategies incorporating biological and economical information.

Brianna Larsen’s studies evaluated the effect of different ambient temperatures on firefighters work performance and physiology. Brianna assessed firefighter participants who performed simulated work tasks in various ambient conditions.

Alex Wolkow investigated the effects of sleep restriction and stress responses on firefighters, using a simulated fireground environment. The aim of the research was to understand if emergency services work has a negative impact on health.

Grace Vincent recruited 50 firefighters from across Australia to help gather important data on firefighters’ sleep behaviour during multi-day deployments. This research is important in managing firefighter health and safety, while providing ongoing protection against bushfires.

The following students all completed their PhD research with the Bushfire CRC.

Amanda Edwards studied the factors contributing to human relationships with fire and land. The research provided deeper insights into the dynamic needs of different landholders, their experiences, perceptions and individual contexts.

For his PhD, Kangmin Moon examined the impact of wind on fire behaviour, measuring and characterising wind in different forest environments to improve the accuracy of fire behaviour models.

Mahfuz Sarwar’s research involved applying a fluid dynamics methodology to assess the performance of eddy viscosity models and their potential as forecasting tools. An outcome of the research has indicated that the models were particularly grid sensitive, with variations in resolution changing the outcomes of the forecasts.

Felipe Aires investigated the leaf traits and combustion features of invasive woody plants in forests of eastern Australia, focusing particularly on olives.

Martijn Van Der Merwe’s research looked at how Incident Management Teams allocate resources during disasters. In particular, Martijn modelled the assignment of resources during large bushfires to protect assets. 

For her PhD Vicki Aerts looked at how smoke from prescribed burning and bushfires affected agricultural and native plant physiology. She tested the effect of smoke from Sydney Blue Gum (Eucalyptus saligna) leaves on strawberry plants, finding that it had only a temporary effect and the plants fully recovered.

Rene van der Sant focused on using landscape dryness to assess the potential risk of extreme post-fire erosion events. Her study investigated landscape properties and processes that could be linked to hydro-geomorphic sensitivity, and how sensitive areas could be identified. 

Anjali Haikerwal investigated cardiovascular and respiratory health effects of smoke from the 2006/2007 bushfires in Victoria for her PhD. Her research has added to the knowledge base and awareness of the health impacts of bushfire smoke in rural and urban communities. 

The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC congratulates all successful students on their achievements. Like the Bushfire CRC before it, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC's PhD program will provide a long-term research base that directly supports emergency services as they work to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.