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MIST faculty welcome Professor Crystal Kolden

July 2, 2020
Reproduced from "Biomimicry can help humans to coexist sustainably with fire" (Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2018)

A big welcome to Dr. Crystal A. Kolden, Assistant Professor in the Department of Management of Complex Systems at the University of California, Merced. 

A renowned pyrogeographer and former wildland firefighter and landscape ecologist for the Forest Service and USGS, Dr. Kolden’s research and other outreach efforts address fire, biomimicry, conservation, land management and life in the American West. In an effort to address recent record-breaking fire seasons worldwide, she and other leading experts have been Rethinking resilience to wildfire (Nature Sustainability, 2019). 

Her pyrogeography research has reached broad audiences, including a self-penned Opinions What the Dutch Can Teach Us About Wildfires (New York Times) and This is how we know climate change is making wildfires worse (Washington Post), along with interviews by NOVA, PBS and Playboy, among others.