Balch Fire Lab member Max Cook has officially defended his dissertation and earned his PhD! His research sheds new light on one of the West’s most iconic trees – quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides). Known for their brilliant autumn colors and vast clonal stands, aspens are more than just beautiful - they may also help reduce wildfire intensity.

Using cutting-edge remote sensing and computational methods, Dr. Cook mapped aspen stands at a much finer spatial scale than had been done previously. His findings revealed that aspen presence can lower fire intensity, especially in lodgepole pine forests where wildfires can be extreme. His research has direct implications for fire mitigation strategies, informing land managers on how aspen can play a role in reducing wildfire risks.

Dr. Cook is heading to the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute in Fort Collins, Colorado, as a Wildfire Spatial Analyst where he will work on collaborative decision support tools. We wish him the best and look forward to future collaborations!