Research Mentor Information
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Primary Research Mentor Name: Bryan Quaife
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Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): bquaife@fsu.edu
Position Title: Faculty
FSU College (if applicable): Arts and Sciences
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: Scientific Computing
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Additional Research Mentor(s)
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Overall Project Details
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Title of the Project: Simulating and Analyzing Wildland Fire Spread
Project Keywords: Fire spread, computing, statistical analysis
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: No
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Scientific Computing, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Statistics

Project Location:: On FSU Main Campus
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Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s):: In-person
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work?: 8
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work?: During business hours
Overall Research Project Description:
The propagation of wildland fires is a complex process that couples fuels, topography, and atmosphere conditions. One way to understand the spread is to employ computer simulations that model the different processes. However, all models include assumptions about the physics and parameter values, influencing the simulated data. It is critical to understand the relationships between these model choices and the simulations.

The project will start with learning to run a simplified Matlab fire spread code. Once the student is comfortable with executing the code, they will apply statistical methods to analyze individual simulations and ensembles of simulations. This will require running large numbers of simulations and developing code to perform the statistical analysis. Finally, the student will potentially incorporate additional physics into the fire spread model such as different fuel and plume models. There is also potential that small-scale measurements of fire spread will be made in the field.

Research Tasks:
Perform computational experiments
Develop code
Statistically analyze results

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
Computing in Matlab or Python (required)
Basic statistics (required)


Mentoring Philosophy:
I work closely with students and dedicate an hour each week in a one-on-one meeting. Additional meetings are possible with enough notice. There are also group meetings with other fire science students and faculty that will occur bi-weekly that a student should attend. At this meeting, they will be exposed to other students' research, and they will be able to share their work with the group.

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Roundtable times and Zoom links:
Wednesday, September 6, 2:00-2:30pm, https://fsu.zoom.us/j/8596550856
Thursday, September 7, 2:00-2:30pm, https://fsu.zoom.us/j/8596550856








UROP Program Elements
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Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes

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Year: 2023
update url: https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?token=yYTO4_PGBbs_kJBaLOUmJ8F_K8Qq6MRRlF0K-PKFrcw