Year 1 Highlights 2024

July 31, 2024

Director’s Update

SMART FIRES’ first-year anniversary came and went in early August. The first year may have passed very quickly, but looking back on the project’s accomplishments speaks volumes about the team’s collective dedication, innovation, and sense of purpose. Many of these accomplishments are described in detail in this newsletter.

Project Highlights

• We welcomed two new computer science colleagues to Montana and to the team. Dr. Lucy Owen has joined the University of Montana Computer Science faculty and is already starting to establish her research program applying machine learning to cognitive neuroscience. MSU hired Dr. Mike Wojnowicz as the inaugural Hambly Chair in Computer Science. He will start this role in January 2025. Dr. Wojnowicz’s research focuses on developing interpretable, probabilistic models that blend the strengths of statistics and machine learning.
• A showpiece of the SMART FIRES project is a mobile sampling lab that will enable researchers to measure ground-level smoke properties at different locations relative to a prescribed burn. During the past year, Professor Lu Hu (UM) purchased a panel van and oversaw the retrofitting of the van’s interior so that it could accommodate a suite of analytical instrumentation and sampling equipment, including new sensors being developed at MSU. The mobile sampling lab will provide the SMART FIRES team unique opportunities to understand the impact of prescribed fires on air quality.
• Prof. Kristen Intemann (MSU) reviewed wildfire-specific datasets and developed GIS maps of Montana and the continental United States that identified communities most vulnerable to smoke exposure. These maps will be used to inform and guide how prescribed fire is used to manage ecosystems while being cognizant of prescribed fire’s impact on people.
• Suzi Taylor (MSU) has begun working with Montana educators across the state to highlight professional development opportunities related to prescribed fire. Nathalie Wolfram (UM), Alex Sobin (UM), and colleagues with the spectrUM Discovery Area are developing exhibits and hands-on activities highlighting SMART FIRES activities and the science underpinning prescribed fire.

I can’t acknowledge all the highlights here, but as you read through this newsletter, I hope you will feel pride and amazement at the breadth and scope of this project to which you are all contributing. Looking forward to what Year 2 brings!

Professor Rob Walker, SMART FIRES Project Director
rawalker@montana.edu

Image: Prescribed fire. Image courtesy of University of Montana.

---

SMART FIRES by the Numbers: Year 1

Outcomes of Montana’s NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Project

• 23 Faculty
• 23 Postdoctoral Researchers and Graduate Students
• 17 Undergraduate Students
• 22 Publications
• 32 Partners and Collaborators

About SMART FIRES

This special issue of the Montana NSF EPSCoR newsletter provides a summary of the Year 1 activities and progress for the RII Track-1 Sensors, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence in Real Time Fire Science (SMART FIRES) Project.

SMART FIRES, supported by the National Science Foundation under Award OIA-2242802, is a five-year, $20 million project developing and deploying new technologies and research to better understand the behavior of prescribed fire and its impacts on Montanans.

The project’s research is organized by four collaborative science areas that address prescribed fire and smoke:

1. Fire and Smoke Science
2. Smart Optical Sensors
3. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
4. Social Science, Economics, and Ethics

SMART FIRES Partners and Collaborators

• University of Montana Forest & Conservation Experiment Station
• Lubrecht Experimental Forest
• US Forest Service Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory
• Northern Rockies Fire Science Network
• Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC)
• Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
• Montana Idaho Airshed Management Group
• Blackfoot Challenge
• Montana Wildfire Smoke Program
• Climate Smart Missoula
• Missoula County Public Health Department
• NASA AERONET
• National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
• Resonon, Inc.
• Montana Photonics and Quantum Alliance (MPQA)
• SensorLogic
• Vision Aerial
• New Horizons Studio
• Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc.

---

SMART FIRES Researchers at UM Build Mobile Air Quality Laboratory

SMART FIRES researchers at the University of Montana converted a 2023 AWD Ford Transit van into a mobile laboratory capable of taking air quality measurements near prescribed burns, wildfires, and other remote pollution sources.

The van has enough space and power to house and deploy scientific instruments capable of taking comprehensive measurements of gas and aerosols in situ. It can use remote sensing to track and sample smoke from prescribed fires and wildfires.

The mobile lab can be used to sample smoke while parked off-grid or driving, and can power over 5 kW of science equipment and two air conditioning units to manage the heat from the instrumentation, fires, sun, and more.

Dubbed the “Supervan,” this mobile laboratory is a valuable piece of research equipment that will help the SMART FIRES Fire and Smoke Science (FSS) team better understand the production of remotely detectable fire radiative energy, prescribed fire emissions, and air quality impacts at local to regional scales.

Outfitting the mobile lab requires critical training in analytical chemistry and engineering for environmental monitoring. To this end, the FSS team, specifically the Lu Hu/Bob Yokelson lab, has been responsible for all designs, implementation, and deployment of scientific equipment-related tasks.

The mobile lab represents a significant research infrastructure development for Montana.

Image: The SMART FIRES mobile lab can be used to sample smoke off-grid, while parked or driving, and can power over 5 kW of science equipment. Image courtesy of Wade Permar.

---

Team Maps Communities Vulnerable to Smoke Exposure

The Social Psychology, Economics, and Ethics (SPEE) research thrust directed by Libby Metcalf has spent much of Year 1 developing GIS maps of Montana and the continental United States to identify and analyze the communities most vulnerable to smoke exposure.

This research, led by Kristen Intemann, will help decision-makers identify where resources are needed and ensure that prescribed burning can be done in ways that do not make smoke pollution worse for vulnerable communities.

Smoke from fires creates particle pollution (PM2.5) that, at certain levels, can lead to a variety of health problems, including cardiac arrest, strokes, and premature death.

The research identifies communities across Montana and the United States that, on average, have the highest number of smoke days that exceed EPA limits and communities that also have a significant number of days of moderate smoke pollution, which may still have health impacts, particularly for sensitive groups.

The team found that unhealthy levels of smoke are far more likely to be caused by wildfires than prescribed burns and that certain communities that are highly vulnerable to the health impacts of smoke are also those with the greatest wildfire smoke exposure.

Image: Maps displaying the average number of days at EPA levels for unhealthy (greater than 35 µg/m³) and moderate (between 12-35 µg/m³) smoke exposure for counties and census tracts across the United States. Image courtesy of Kristen Intemann.

---

High Spectral Resolution Lidar

Researchers at Montana State University have spent the last two decades developing laser-based remote sensing instruments for probing the lower atmosphere and are now using this knowledge for the Smart Optical Sensor research thrust.

This year, part of the SOS team’s research, directed by Joseph Shaw, focused on developing a high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL).

The HSRL utilizes the spectral properties of light scattered in the atmosphere to provide information regarding the concentration of atmospheric aerosols, including smoke.

The high spectral resolution lidar will provide information on the height and thickness of a smoke plume and help characterize the smoke. The instrument is currently undergoing testing on MSU’s campus.

Image: Dylan Maxwell, a graduate student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, works on the initial alignment and testing of the High Spectral Resolution Lidar for aerosol profiling. Image courtesy of Kevin Repasky.

---

Data Lake

The cyberinfrastructure team has implemented a data lake as part of its goal to ensure effective data management for SMART FIRES.

The data lake is an internal data storage solution for big data and connects SMART FIRES researchers to MSU’s Blackmore data storage facility.

The data lake enables:

• Centralized and scalable project data storage
• Data sharing
• Ease of access across the Montana University System
• Automated nightly backups

The data lake is accessed through services that enable high-speed transfer of large datasets.

For multidisciplinary research teams sharing big data, typical storage solutions can perform poorly or fail. Increasingly large datasets can create technical bottlenecks. The data lake is intended to mitigate bottlenecks and accelerate research.

The data lake provides researchers with a high-performance storage solution that can be easily accessed from anywhere with a network connection, regardless of institutional affiliation.

The SMART FIRES data lake aligns with data management best practices and keeps research data secure, enabling researchers to focus on the research.

---

New Hires: Dr. Lucy Owen and Dr. Michael Wojnowicz

Dr. Lucy Owen and Dr. Michael Wojnowicz have been hired at UM and MSU, respectively, as computer science professors focusing on machine learning.

Dr. Lucy Owen

Specialty: Computational cognitive neuroscience, with a focus on brain network dynamics.

Background: Owen began as a studio art major and chemistry minor before pursuing neuroscience and education at Columbia University and later earning her PhD at Dartmouth College.

Connection to SMART FIRES: Her expertise includes machine learning, Gaussian processes, time-series modeling, and prediction using sparse or incomplete data. She sees applications for these approaches in fire mapping, wildfire prediction, sensor placement, and understanding long-term forest change.

Most excited about: Teaching and helping students learn.

Outside work: Hiking, reading, gardening, and painting.

Dr. Michael Wojnowicz

Specialty: Research at the intersection of statistics and machine learning.

Background: Following training in statistics and mathematics, he spent six years in industry building malware classifiers and intruder detection models before returning to academia for research positions at Tufts and Harvard.

Connection to SMART FIRES: His work addresses selection problems, spatiotemporal modeling, irregular sensor data, interpretability, and probabilistic machine learning. These tools have direct applications to prescribed fire planning and wildfire research.

Most excited about: Working on SMART FIRES, teaching probabilistic modeling, and collaborating with colleagues and students.

Outside work: Spending time with family, hiking, racquetball, and learning to skate ski.

---

Headwaters Tech Hub

A key element of the SMART FIRES project is bringing together world-class expertise at UM in fire science with world-class expertise at MSU in optical remote sensing systems.

A new statewide initiative called the Headwaters Tech Hub was selected for $41 million in funding from the Economic Development Administration in July 2024.

The Tech Hub aims to expand and strengthen Montana’s technological ecosystem to achieve greater commercialization of photonic remote sensor technology.

Examples include:

• Lidar systems for three-dimensional measurements of gases and aerosols
• Hyperspectral imagers for drone-based characterization of fire fuels
• Automated sorting systems for food processing plants

While the Headwaters Tech Hub is focused on commercialization, its funding will benefit optical and photonic research in Montana and the SMART FIRES project.

One planned testbed will be located at Lubrecht Experimental Forest, where prescribed fire experiments for SMART FIRES are already being planned.

Image: The Montana Headwaters Tech Hub will continue development of the state’s optical sensing technology. Image courtesy of Headwaters Tech Hub.

---

spectrUM Discovery Area Fire Science Exhibits

In the first year of SMART FIRES, spectrUM engaged more than 20,000 Montanans of all ages with exhibits and hands-on activities related to fire and smoke science and the technologies and data involved in researching, managing, and making everyday decisions related to fire and smoke.

The University of Montana’s spectrUM Discovery Area is developing a hands-on exhibition to engage K-12 students and the public with key SMART FIRES research and workforce development themes, including:

• Fire and smoke science
• Sensor technologies
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Community and human dimensions of living with prescribed fire and wildfire

spectrUM also hosted an art and poetry exhibition, Brushstrokes of Change, curated by teachers at Missoula’s Big Sky High School. The exhibition featured paintings and haikus by 250 sophomores exploring themes of climate and resilience, including wildfire.

Image: spectrUM associate directors Nick Wethington and Caitlin Ervin engage faculty members Libby Metcalf, Katrina Mullan, Bob Yokelson, and Lu Hu with a climate resilience exhibit. Image courtesy of University of Montana.

---

SMART FIRES Shares Research with Teachers at STEM Summer Institute

Each year, the Science Math Resource Center at MSU co-hosts the STEM Summer Institute, an annual conference for more than 170 K-12 educators from around Montana.

This summer, SMRC led a workshop introducing educators to the SMART FIRES project. The workshop included presentations from:

• Dr. Kevin Repasky (Smart Optical Sensors)
• Will Jardee (Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning)

Educators discussed ways to integrate SMART FIRES citizen science initiatives, such as placing air-quality sensors in schools around Montana, into classroom instruction.

Many participants expressed interest in the project and contributed ideas for aligning SMART FIRES activities with the Next Generation Science Standards.

Conference attendees also visited SMART FIRES exhibit booths run by SMRC and spectrUM to learn about citizen science and educational opportunities.

One popular demonstration was the Smoke Box, which shows how smoke affects air quality and how quickly a homemade box-fan filter can clear smoke from a cubic meter of air.

Because each participating teacher may reach dozens of students every year, outreach at the STEM Summer Institute has the potential to impact thousands of Montana students.

Image: Suzi Taylor and Jack Pearson welcome educators to the SMART FIRES booth at the STEM Summer Institute. Image courtesy of Montana State University.