by President Ann Cudd
January 14, 2025
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I know many in our Portland State community have direct ties to the fire-related devastation in L.A., whether family, friends or even fond memories of past visits. The news over the last week has been devastating and foreboding. The reality that climate change-fueled weather changes are playing out with such violence on our coast is a tough one to sit with. For everyone who is feeling those anxieties or navigating losses, you have my deepest sympathies.
The dangers of wildfire are not something abstract and far away. Oregon’s 2024 wildfire season was a record-breaker with more than 1.9 million acres burned. Favorable winds kept the effects of those fires away from Portland for the most part, but many will recall the impact of the late season wildfires of 2022, which gave Portland the worst air quality in the United States. The prospect of future wildfires isn’t something we can wish away. These fires cause more than just property damage; they affect our health and well-being, interrupt the economy and education, and worsen our state’s housing emergency.
Portland State has a role to play as Oregon’s urban research university by focusing on ways we can better manage the effects of climate-fueled wildfires on cities. I’m proud of the work our faculty and students have done on this topic to date and I know it will continue to be a critical area of our research focus.
For example, Dr. Elliott Gall is working with students in his Healthy Buildings Research Lab and with other faculty across campus on ways to keep indoor air healthy when wildfire smoke becomes an issue. Dr. Joshua Méndez is developing ways to use sensors to collect real-time data about the conditions inside a fire, improving weather models and firefighting strategies.
Dr. Heejun Chang is leading a grant-funded project to train graduate students in a transdisciplinary approach to disaster management and community resilience. Dr. Jon Fink is working on wildfire issues with regional leaders through the interdisciplinary Cascadia Wildfire and Urban Smoke Working Group. Dr. Briane Suldovsky, is studying public perception of wildfire issues, and Dr. Max Nielsen-Pincus is working with others in Environmental Science and Management and across disciplines and agencies to develop ways to help communities better adapt to wildfire.
We also have a whole group of scientists — including Dr. Paul Loikith who directs the Portland State Climate Science Lab, along with many others — who are working on modeling and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
These are just a few of the PSU research projects addressing this regional and global issue at a crucial time. They share multidisciplinary approaches and on-the-ground research strategies that I know will make a difference in our collective future. I’m truly grateful for their contributions.