Crystal A. Kolden
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Education
Ph.D., geography, Clark University; M.S., geography, University of Nevada, Reno
Summary of Experience
Professor Kolden is a pyrogeographer and fire scientist with over two decades of experience in wildfire science and education. Her areas of expertise include wildfire science topics such as risk, planning, behavior, impacts, and resilience; fire meteorology and climatology; prescribed burning and fuels management; and remote sensing and geospatial information. Professor Kolden’s work focuses on characterizing and understanding the intersections of wildfire with human-environment systems through geospatial, temporal, and mixed-method approaches. She has published articles on fire science in journals such as the International Journal of Wildland Fire, Forest Ecology and Management, Nature Ecology and Evolution, Nature Sustainability, Remote Sensing of Environment, and Global Change Biology. She holds the Association of Fire Ecology’s Certified Fire Ecologist credential and consults on Community Wildfire Protection Plans and post-fire impact reviews. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as PBS NewsHour, the Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times. Prior to joining the University of California, Merced, Professor Kolden was on the faculty of the University of Idaho.