Northwest Nazarene University secures $150k NSF grant for wildfire research

A Nampa-based university is the recipient of a grant that gives it much more fire power in research.

Northwest Nazarene University recently received a National Science Foundation grant worth more than $150,000 directly to the school for the next three years. That brings its wildfire research funding to over $500,000 and exceeds funding for the research to more than $1 million during the past 10 years.

The award helps fund a multi-institutional research piece from NNU, Boise State University, the University of New Mexico and the University of Oklahoma titled “Good Fire: Enhance Spatial and Temporal Efficacy of Prescribed Fire and Managed Wildfire Use.”

According to NNU, the research will look at improving the effectiveness of prescribed burns and “managed wildfire use by enhancing the spatial and temporal precision of fire management practices ― critical work in the face of increasing wildfire frequency and intensity across the western United States.”

The Nampa school is also currently funded through the U.S. Forest Service through collaboration with the agency’s USFS Fuels Academy. The USFS has also stated it would like to expand funding and collaboration efforts with NNU.

“Wildland fire management is one of the most complex and urgent difficulties facing our region,” said Dr. Dale Hamilton, professor of Computer Science at Northwest Nazarene University. “Through our work in pyroecoinformatics, we’re helping bring together data science, modeling and field application to support better decision-making in prescribed fire and managed wildfire use. What makes this especially meaningful is that our students are actively engaged in this research. They’re not just learning theory, they’re contributing to real solutions that support the U.S. Forest Service and communities across the West.”

The school’s president, Dr. Mark DeMichael, stated that the research reflects who NNU is.

“We are committed to scholarship that prepares students to lead with both excellence and character,” he said. “Our collaboration with the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service demonstrates what can happen when faith, intellectual rigor and community partnership come together. It is research that matters deeply; to our students, to our region and to the future stewardship of our world.”