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: Duncan Hall 439 / (408) 924-4843
Lab: Duncan Hall 343 / (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.
