At San José State University
PEOPLE
KATE WILKIN
Assistant Professor of Fire Ecology
Department of Biological Sciences
Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center
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Office: Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) 760 (within WIRC office suite 750)
Lab: Duncan Hall 551 / (408) 924-4919
Please note, phones not checked during pandemic.
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For more on my interests and publications, see my CV and Google Scholar page.
DAVID BENTEROU
Environmental Studies M.S. Candidate
Student Research Assistant
Fire Ecology and Management Lab
San José State University
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Bio:
Fire now impacts all Californians. My interest in fire management sparked from numerous evacuations of children and staff from the redwoods camp where I taught elementary forest ecology. I currently study patterns in implementing residential fire prevention in the critical region surrounding structures--the 'Home Ignition Zone'--which will improve public wildfire safety management and inform biodiversity conservation of forest ecosystems.
JANNIKE
ALLEN
Biology: Evolution & Ecology M.S. Student
Research Assistant
Fire Ecology and Management Lab
San José State University
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Bio:
Jannike (pronounced YON-ick-a) grew up in California and has also lived in the Pacific Northwest where she obtained a BS in Environmental Science at Portland State University. She has worked on land stewardship and fire resilience issues from multiple angles, including researching the impacts of reburns on Alaska’s boreal vegetation composition, helping carry out prescribed burns in coastal Northern California, and implementing wildfire mitigation programs in the Sierra Nevada foothills. She is interested in conducting research that serves the needs of land managers and their restoration efforts, and currently focuses on coastal prairie and maritime chaparral ecosystems. For fun, she enjoys playing percussion, getting outside, and spending time with friends and family.
IAN
COOK
Biology: Evolution & Ecology M.S. Student
Research Assistant
Fire Ecology and Management Lab
San José State University
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Bio:
After graduating with a BS in Molecular Environmental Biology from UC Berkeley in 2017, Ian spent several years in parks maintenance throughout the Bay Area. A few deeply unsettling fire seasons, coupled with the wider shift toward more urgent prioritization of fire in land management decisions, led him to pursue prescribed fire research, and he aims to help return beneficial fire to California's landscapes in a way that is proactive, prosocial, and ecologically sound. Ian's current research involves restoring coyote brush-encroached Coastal Prairie grasslands by combining prescribed fires with mechanical pre-treatments. He’s been particularly excited to gain fluency with remote sensing tools to better understand these treatments’ efficacy. Ian is also a devoted cat dad, forager, sci-fi enthusiast, and okay guitarist.
HENRI
BRILLON
Master's Student in Geography
Research Assistant, Fire Ecology and Management Lab
San José State University
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Bio:
Henri is a GIS practitioner with a penchant for the outdoors and an instinct for communication. Using his skills in drone mapping and GIS, he enhances our environmental research projects by producing and analyzing high-resolution, georeferenced orthomosaic maps.
While he is actively involved in many of our lab's projects, Henri's focus is to add a drone mapping component to home ignition zone (HIZ) inspections in California's wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities. With this new phase of the HIZ project, we aim to improve inspections and more effectively identify trends in how California's WUI residents are preparing themselves for wildfires.
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In addition to his professional pursuits, Henri is an avid skier, musician, and hiker.
DIANA GARCIA-COLMENAREZ
Master's Student in Environmental Studies
Tech, Fire Ecology and Management Lab
San José State University
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Bio:
Diana is an environmental scientist with a passion for education and advocacy. She currently works at UCANR, and her thesis focuses on the UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. Bay Area born and raised, she is invested in building up the ecological resiliency of the communities in this area.
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Diana will be working with the home ignition zone (HIZ) inspections team in California's wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities. She hopes to help with improving home inspections to support WUI homeowners.
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Aside from her academic and professional pursuits, she loves dancing, textile handicrafts, cats, and tea!
RACHEL HURLEY
2nd Year PhD student
Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering
Affiliated with Fire Protection Engineering
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
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Bio:
With wildfires, there is smoke. I am concerned about the impacts of wildfire smoke on indoor air quality and its health impacts. My research focuses on how building types and human behaviors impact exposures to gaseous pollutants (e.g. VOCS). I also aim to understand the fate and transport of these pollutants indoors. I am currently involved with the home ignition zone project and hope to learn more about the barriers for residents to protect their homes from wildfires.
JACK STEVENS
Master's Student in Geography
Research Assistant, Fire Ecology and Management Lab
San José State University
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Bio:
Jack is a GIS Specialist with experience in using remote sensing to map fire. Jack is aiming to help bring insight working at different geographic scales to the projects taking place in the lab. Jack is also interested in ensuring access to open source data and appropriate data sovereignty within research.
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Jack is part of the NASA FirseSage program and will be working with the home ignition zone (HIZ) team in California's wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities as well as research into pre and post fire Carbon research in the San Vicente Redwoods. Jack hopes to use his experience in remote sensing to bring a new perspective on the projects.
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Aside from his academic pursuits, Jack loves rock climbing, playing and watching hockey, and being in nature.
CAITLIN LACKEY
Undergraduate Student, Public Health
NSF REU Fellow
Fire Ecology and Management Lab
San Jose State University
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Bio:
Caitlin is a fourth-year public health student who is interested in the health impacts of wildfire on communities. She seeks to understand how research, community health promotion, and policy can better prepare individuals for these events and prevent negative health outcomes.
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Caitlin is excited to gain experience working within communities with the home ignition zone (HIZ) project and is also studying photoload fuel mapping of coastal grasslands.