Team and skills

The Scion fire research group has strong capabilities in fire behaviour modelling that includes knowledge and experience across a range of vegetation types and landscapes. Team members comprises a diverse mix of skills, including:

Tara Strand (Research Group Leader): smoke dispersion modeller, smoke emissions, turbulence, fire-atmosphere links, extreme fire behaviour

Grant Pearce (Senior Fire Scientist): weather/climate, fire behaviour, extreme fire behaviour, fire danger rating

Veronica Clifford (Fire Scientist): fuels and fire behaviour, fire as a land management tool, technology development for transfer of knowledge

Richard Parker (Human Factors Scientist): firefighter health and productivity, suppression tools and technology development for use on the fire-ground

Lisa Langer (Social Scientist): community resilience and recovery, community engagement, communication and warnings

Ilze Pretorius (Atmospheric Dispersion Modeller): smoke plume modelling, real-time fire information tool development

Hugh Wallace (Fire Technician): fuels and fire behaviour, fire suppression

Emma Percy (Project Manager): project delivery, reporting, stakeholder liaison

Contact us

Dr Tara Strand, Rural Fire Research Leader Show email
Tel:  03 363 0934, Mobile: 027 706 4047

Grant Pearce, Extreme Fire Project Leader Show email
Tel: 03 363 0929, Mobile: 027 471 2840

Lisa Langer, Resilience to Wildfires Project Leader Show email
Tel: 03 363 0921, Mobile: 021 752 266

Scion Rural Fire Research Group
PO Box 29-237
Riccarton
Christchurch 8440