UCLA experts: Wildfires

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Stephanie Pincetl
Pincetl is a professor and founding director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA. She is an expert on land use, energy policy and environmental politics, and has studied how the state’s aging electrical infrastructure, poor forest management and other factors contribute to wildfires in California. 

Glen MacDonald
MacDonald is the John Muir Memorial Chair of Geography and an expert on the environmental consequences of climate change. His research has focused on water resources, drought and how climate change fuels California’s wildfires. 

Daniel Swain
Swain is a climate scientist with the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. He studies how global warming affects the character and causes of regional climate extremes, including the acceleration of hydroclimate whiplash that fueled the Southern California fires and the narrowing safe window for controlled burns.

Alex Hall
Hall is a professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. An atmospheric physicist, he has studied the frequency and intensity of Santa Ana winds and their effect on Southern California wildfires.

Idil Akin
Akin is an associate professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. She researches how soils behave under extreme events, and investigates soil physical, chemical and mechanical properties, and soil’s interactions with water. Her current research looks at how wildfires affect stability of slopes (i.e., post-wildfire erosion, landslides, and debris flows), soil water retention, and regional water quality. She also studies methods to stabilize wildfire-burnt slopes to reduce soil loss.

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Suzanne Paulson ​​​​
Paulson, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, is an expert on smog, ozone and air pollution, as well as an urban environment wildfire specialist. She directs the UCLA Center for Clean Air and can address concerns about air quality, smoke, ash and dust particles.

Dr. David P. Eisenman
Eisenman is a professor in residence at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and of community health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He directs the UCLA Center for Public Health and Disasters, which works to improve community resilience and public health preparedness and reduce the health impacts of disasters and global climate change. 

Michael Jerrett
Jerrett is department chair and professor of environmental health sciences at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He is an expert on how the built environment affects public health, including from exposure to air pollution.

Rachel Connolly
Connolly is project director for air quality and environmental equity research with the Luskin Center for Innovation. Her work focuses on the intersection of air quality and environmental justice, as well as the health impacts of exposure to climate hazards such as wildfires and how to protect against pollutants. 

Yifang Zhu
Zhu is a professor of environmental health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health whose research focuses on environmental exposures and air pollution. She can comment on the particulate matter in wildfire smoke.

Dr. May-Lin Wilgus
Wilgus is a pulmonologist and an assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Her work particularly focuses on conditions such as COPD/emphysema and asthma, and she can comment on how to stay safe from wildfire pollution.

Dr. Eric Kleerup
Kleerup, an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, is a pulmonologist who focuses on asthma, chronic cough and pulmonary diseases. He has addressed how wildfires affect air quality and what precautions people can take to limit exposure to smoke and other fire-generated toxins in the air.

Dr. Mark Morocco
Morocco, an associate clinical professor of emergency medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, is an expert on how breathing smoky air affects respiratory health.

Dr. John Belperio
Belperio, an associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, is an authority on lung disease and pulmonary health who can comment on the harmful effects of wildfire smoke on the respiratory system.

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​​​​​Melissa Brymer
Brymer is the director of terrorism and disaster programs at the UCLA–Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress and an expert on the ways in which children deal with stress following disasters and the psychological toll of dealing with disaster.

Vickie Mays
Mays is a professor of psychology and a clinical psychologist with expertise on the impact of human-made and natural disasters on health and well-being. She serves as director of the BRITE Center for Science, Research and Policy at UCLA, which is focused on eliminating health disparities for underserved communities.

Benjamin Karney
A professor of social psychology, Karney is an expert on interpersonal relationships. He can comment on the effects and costs of extreme stress on families and couples.

Lauren Ng
Ng is an assistant professor of psychology who explores the effects of high stress and trauma on diverse communities, including after disasters. She works to develop interventions that address barriers to care for these communities as director of the TRUST Lab.

Jaimie Krems
An associate professor of psychology, Krems is the director of the UCLA Center for Friendship Research and leads the UCLA Social Minds Lab. She can speak to how a key function of friendship is helping one another and that accepting help makes a difference in enduring stress during disasters and traumatic events.

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Brad Shaffer
Shaffer is a distinguished professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and faculty director for the UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science. He is an expert on biodiversity, ecology and conservation biology and has studied the long-term ecological effects of wildfires.

Morgan Tingley
Tingley, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and a member of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, is an expert on the impact of wildfires on biodiversity and the post-fire management of forests.

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Julia Stein
Stein is the deputy director for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law. An expert on environmental law and policy, she can comment on wildfire suppression and preventive measures, especially in relation to current regulations and requirements.

Liz Koslov
Koslov, assistant professor in urban planning at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, studies the social dimensions of climate change, questions of environmental and climate justice and how cities adapt to effects such as extreme weather and sea-level rise. She is also an expert on managed retreats in wildfire-prone areas.

Gregory Pierce
Pierce, a professor of urban planning, directs UCLA’s Human Right to Water Solutions Lab and is a co-director at both the Luskin Center for Innovation and UCLA’s Water Resources Group. He is an expert on water insecurity, crosscutting green infrastructure, climate resilience and transport insecurities, who can comment on the gap between urban water systems and fighting wildfires.

Edith de Guzman
De Guzman is an expert on water management, equity and adaptation, heat mitigation, urban forestry and climate resilience at UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation. She can speak to issues related to why the fires have been so unprecedented, water systems and the role of landscaping and urban form in fire risk.

Adam Millard-Ball
Millard-Ball is a professor of urban planning and director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, whose research focuses on transportation and climate change, analyzing the environmental consequences of transportation and land-use decisions. He can discuss how the designs of neighborhood street networks play a critical role in exacerbating the effects of fires.

Juan Matute
Matute is the deputy director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies. He can speak to auto dependence (the reliance on personal vehicles), particularly in relation to evacuation planning, as well as multimodal evacuation planning and rebuilding from disasters in a more sustainable, resilient and equitable manner.

Sanjay Mohanty
Mohanty is an associate professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. He studies the impact of urban development and climate extremes — including wildfires, droughts, and flooding — on soil and water quality. His recent work has focused on understanding how wildfires degrade water quality. Through his research, he seeks to develop climate-resilient solutions for remediating contaminated land and treating stormwater to enable water reuse.

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Jerry Nickelsburg
Nickelsburg, a senior economist and faculty director of the UCLA Anderson Forecast, is an expert on the California economy who can comment on the economic impact of natural disasters like earthquakes and wildfires.

Megan Mullin
As a political scientist, Mullin, the Meyer and Renee Luskin Endowed Chair in Innovation and Sustainability and a public policy professor, examines what shapes political response to and public opinion around environmental change, including areas such as urban water systems and climate adaptation. She can discuss political accountability, government response and public participation related to disaster recovery.

Ertugrul Taciroglu
Taciroglu, a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, is an expert in earthquake engineering and structural mechanics. His research focuses on various areas, including structural health monitoring, soil-structure interaction and regional assessment of risks posed by natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires. In recent projects, Taciroglu and his UCLA colleagues have conducted research on evaluating post-disaster conditions using satellite and aerial imagery, mapping wildfire fuels and enhancing road networks in hilly regions to facilitate safe evacuations and interventions.

Stuart Gabriel
Gabriel directs the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate and can discuss the anticipated impact of the wildfires on housing costs and issues, including rent, affordable housing, the permit process and the barriers faced in rebuilding homes. He is an expert on real estate finance and economics as well as housing and mortgage markets as a distinguished professor of finance and the Arden Realty Chair.

Sriram Narasimhan
Narasimhan is a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. His research looks at the conditions and remaining useful life of civil and mechanical infrastructure, through the intelligent use of sensors, data and robotics. He has developed models to predict the lifespan of roadways, bridges and other transportation infrastructure as well as water systems and ocean-based infrastructure.

Michael Lens
A professor of urban planning and public policy, Lens can comment on post-disaster planning and post-wildfire housing affordability. His research explores the potential of public policy to address housing supply in California and housing market inequities that lead to negative outcomes for low-income families and communities of color.

Michael Manville
Manville, a professor and chair of urban planning at UCLA, can provide comment on the Southern California fires' likely impact on housing affordability as well as aspects of local revenue and taxation. His research areas are transportation, land use and housing, and the interrelationships between them.

Jose Loya
An assistant professor of urban planning, Loya can comment on the housing and rental situation as well as the ethno-racial and socio-demographics of the neighborhoods impacted by the Los Angeles-area fires. His research focuses on stratification in homeownership, including ethno-racial, gender and Latino disparities in mortgage access.

Silvia R. Gonzalez
Gonzalez directs climate, environmental justice and health research at the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Institute, and her research cautions the government and policymakers to move beyond reactive measures that leave diverse communities, especially ones already vulnerable to inequities, out of decision-making processes for recovery.

Zev Yaroslavsky
Yaroslavsky is the director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA and is a former longtime Los Angeles City Council member and L.A. supervisor. He can address city and county issues, including politics, budgets, disaster recovery, land use and the environment.

Stephen Commins
Commins serves as the associate director for Global Public Affairs at the Luskin School of Public Affairs and has designed workshops on urban water and displaced populations, as well as on municipalities. He can share insights related to disaster recovery, as well as regional and international development.

Minjee Kim
Kim is an assistant professor of urban planning focused on the intersection of real estate development and urban planning. She writes about land use regulation, large-scale real estate developments, exactions, negotiated developments, and urban public finance.

Paul M. Ong
Ong, a research professor at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and director of the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, is an economist and urban planner specializing in racial and economic inequality, including disparities related to the environment and climate change. In response to the devastating wildfires affecting Los Angeles, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge, in collaboration with its research partners, has launched a rapid research response to assess the impacts of these disasters on disadvantaged populations and communities.