The International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) awards two graduate-level scholarships typically valued at $3,000 USD to Master of Science (M.Sc.) or Ph.D. students studying wildland fire or wildland fire-related topics. Student submitted essays are evaluated by an international panel of fire science experts and one award recipient is chosen for the Masters level and one for the Doctoral level. The IAWF has been presenting this award annually to members of the fire science community since 2007.
Joanne Kingsbury, PhD Environmental Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Lauren Folk, Masters of Applied Science in Civil Engineering, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 
Paulina Llamas-Casillas is a Ph.D. student from Mexico in the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington. Her research focuses on using different proxies to reconstruct multiple fire regime parameters, with the aim of understanding how humans and climatic anomalies influence fire regime at different spatio-temporal scales in the tropics and temperate forests. Paulina worked as research assistant and instructor of fire ecology and management at the University of Guadalajara before starting her doctoral studies in Seattle. Paulina enjoys being a teaching assistant and mentoring students at the University of Washington. In the future, Paulina wants to use her professional and academic experience to create international networks for fire ecology studies.
Marshall received his Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from St. Cloud State University with minors in GIS and Computing in 2016. He is now pursuing a Masters of Science degree in Geography at Michigan State University. He is working with collaborators at the USDA Forest Service, St. Cloud State University, and Michigan State University to investigate the complex flows that occur in the vicinity of a wildland fire, flows that are primarily driven by heat and moisture released from the fire. Since extreme conditions in the fire environment make collecting meteorological observations difficult, we employ a high-resolution numerical model to simulate the atmospheric responses to a fire. The numerical simulations will determine the sensitivity of fire-induced flows to the magnitude of the heat and moisture fluxes from the fire, and to atmospheric stability, moisture, and wind profiles. The results from this project will help us to better understand the sensitivity of the fire inflow/outflow patterns and the atmospheric perturbations to the characteristics of the fires. The simulations, when combined with available observations, will enable us to diagnose fire-atmosphere interactions on scales that will help inform operational decision-making when managing both prescribed fires and wildfires.
Noémie received her first master’s degree in environmental science in 2005 from the Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine (France). After several years working in environmental education, she returned to university to earn a master’s degree in ecological anthropology from the Museum d’Histoire naturelle de Paris (France) which led her to her present PhD research in anthropology at Université Laval (Québec, Canada). For this project she will be working with the Atikamekw community of Wemotaci in the Nitaskinan territory within the province of Québec, and with the SOPFEU, the provincial forest fire protection agency. The primary objective of her study is to understand and to describe the relationship between these two groups, with a particular emphasis on their respective ways of interacting with wildfires and the territory. In particular, she will be examining the coexistence of SOPFEU’s technical knowledge and know-how and indigenous knowledge and know-how.
Monique received a dual major in Ecology and Conservation Biology and Fishery Sciences and a minor in American Indian Studies at University of Idaho in 2010. She is now employed as a USFS Fire Ecologist for the Colville National Forest and is pursuing a Masters of Science in the Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences at the University of Idaho. She is Mountain Maidu and her husband and children are Spokane Tribal members. Her research project is inspired by her family and the cultural importance of their ancestral homelands. It is her goal that her children and all of the future generations of local tribes feel that their best interests are addressed in the management of natural resources, on and off the reservation. As a Fire Ecologist, and part of the monitoring committee, she developed her thesis as a collaborative socio-economic and fire effects monitoring project for the Colville National Forest Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP). The project emphasizes cross-cultural collaboration and fire ecology of understory vegetation of the western half of the Colville National Forest. She uses modified monitoring techniques to look at the impacts of wildfire and U.S. Forest Service fuels reduction treatments on understory vegetation while also using a participatory GIS program developed by the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) to look at the perspectives of the Confederated Colville Tribal community regarding how their cultural practices and livelihoods are being impacted by such treatments. Her research has required constant collaboration and trust-building between all parties involved, and she plans on continuing this monitoring project as part of her Forest Service position to further collaboration and knowledge-sharing between local tribal and non-tribal governments and scientific communities for years to come.
Billy Haworth is a PhD candidate and tutor in the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney. Billy holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Applied Science, specialising in GIS and spatial information science. Before commencing his PhD Billy worked in GIS industry and in research, with notable previous work examiningpatterns of graffiti removal in urban environments. His PhD research is focussed on the role of volunteered geographic information (VGI) in natural disaster management.
Will Olsen is currently a Masters student in Applied Ecology at Michigan Technological University’s School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. Will’s interest in hydrological processes in forested landscapes lead him to an opportunity for research in 
Miltiadis studied Environmental Science at the University of the Aegean, Lesvos, Greece and has received a M.Sc. Degree in Prevention and Management of Natural Disasters from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. Degree in the same field at the same University. The emphasis in his post-graduate studies is on forest fire management. The title of his Ph.D. dissertation will be “Development of an optimal methodology for forecasting forest fire behavior in Greece”. His work includes data collection on “live” wildfires and relevant analysis. So far, he has produced a number of interim publications documenting wildfires and analyzing fire behavior (fire spread, spotting) in Greece.
Trisha is currently a Masters student in Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and an Air Force veteran. She is researching biomass burning emissions in the Northern Sub-Saharan African region. The project utilizes a first ever, gridded smoke-aerosol emissions coefficient (Ce) product developed by NASA’s Fire Energetics and Emissions Research (FEER) team. The goal is to process satellite measured fire radiative power and use FEER’s Ce product to generate smoke aerosol emissions to be ingested into NASA Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) model for representation of smoke dynamics and impacts in the African Sahel and surrounding areas. Trisha was first introduced to smoke emissions research during a summer internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center during her undergraduate studies. She is very excited to continue learning about the interactions of fire emissions on our climate, weather, and air quality.
Hector studied Agricultural Engineering and then got a Master’s Degree in Botany, where he started his work in Ethnobotany. Later he worked as Technician in several research projects in the Ecosystems Research Center (CIEco) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The last two projects in which he got involved in this capacity were related to fire, and he had the opportunity to interact with collaborators from the Mexican Government and Mexican and US Universities. This experience sparked his curiosity to investigate how people in rural areas of Mexico manage fire as part of their subsistence activities, which clearly could be considered as Ethnoecology.
Elizabeth Schneider is a Masters student in the Department of Geography at the University of Tennessee. Her concentrations are in biogeography, paleoclimatology, and dendrochronology. Elizabeth’s research focuses on low-frequency climate oscillations and their influence on the occurrence of wildfires in the Southwest. Her goal is to increase the knowledge of fire-climate interactions and provide fire managers with in depth information on the changing patterns of wildfire. Elizabeth’s interest in fire and dendrochronology began as a lab assistant at the University of Oregon. She is now a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Tennessee and is working in the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Science.
Alexis Lewis is a PhD candidate in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science with an emphasis in Sports Psychology at Oregon State University. Alexis’ research revolves around ways to improve human performance through leadership and decision-making in wildland fire through mindfulness and self-compassion interventions. Alexis’ goal is to make her research as practical as possible for fire personnel, while upholding scientific rigor. As such, she has been working closely with fire managers and personnel in developing appropriate and effective strategies for implementation. Alexis has also been a seasonal wildland firefighter for eight seasons throughout different parts of the Western U.S., and will begin her ninth season in June of 2011.
Victoria Pantoja Campa is a first year masters student in the Division de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Autonoma Chapingo. She has concentrated on planning and implementation of the Integrated Fire Management in Mexico, Central and South America. She has been trained in prescribed burning based on community fire management and fire ecology. In 2006 she was awarded a scholarship by the Fundación Carolina and studied at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain, Master in Management of Protected Areas.
Carissa Brown is a Ph.D. candidate in the Northern Plant Ecology Lab in the Department of Biology at the University of Saskatchewan. Carissa investigates how the successional trajectory of black spruce stands may change if they are burned too frequently to produce seed and self-replace, as well as how changes to the fire regime affect carbon dynamics. She conducts her research at the northern range of the boreal forest in the Yukon, a region where summer temperatures have increased over the past several decades, and where fires are predicted to occur more frequently with warming.
Brooke Cassell is a second year masters student in the School of Forest Resources, University of Washington. Her research focuses on using dendrochronology to understand the historical range of variability of fire in high elevation pine-oak forests in Mexico. She aims to increase knowledge about fire management in patchy landscapes consisting of fire adapted and fire sensitive ecosystem types. Brooke is also a Teaching Assistant at the University of Washington and is active in the Student Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, National Forestry Honor’s Society, and is an avid bicyclist. 
The Doctorial Scholarship recipient for 2009 is Victoria Balfour of the University of Montana. Victoria’s research concentrates on the role of wildfire ash in understanding the varied hydrologic response following wildfires. Through unique and innovative methodologies she has aided in defining the term wildfire ash, more specifically with respects to hydrologic characteristics. Victoria has been invited to continue her research internationally by collaborating with leading scientists in Europe (Wales and Spain). During her planned stay in Europe she will be comparing the results from her North America samples with data from Wildfires in Australia and Spain to assess ecosystem differences. 
The Masters Scholarship recipient for 2009 is Kelsy Gibos of the University of Toronto. Working with an industrial partner, Kelsey is investigating the influence of solar radiation on the moisture content and ignitability of fine forest fuels. Because her previous experience involves work with fire agencies across Canada and overseas in Australia and New Zealand, her study provides an important link between academic endeavors and their applications at the fire-ground level. 
The IAWF Scholarship recipient for 2008 is Kara Yedinak of Washington State University in Pullman. Kara Marie is working toward a Ph.D. in engineering science with the Laboratory of Atmospheric Research (LAR) at Washington State University. LAR is an interdisciplinary graduate program focusing on air quality with an emphasis on interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere. At LAR, Kara is pursuing her interests in understanding the links between fire behavior and the atmosphere to better understand the role and scale of wildland fire in air quality. 
The IAWF Scholarship recipient for 2008 is Cathelijne Stoof of Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Cathelijne has been working on soils and hydrology combining field, lab and modeling approaches in the Netherlands and abroad. In her Ph.D. research she uses a multiscale approach to explain post-fire erosion and flooding events by studying the effects of fire on soil water movement.
The IAWF Scholarship recipient for 2007 is Sean T. Michaletz, a Ph.D. student at the University of Calgary in Canada. Sean has developed models for deciduous and coniferous mortality following low intensity fires, and has also worked with crown scorch models. His PhD. research will concentrate on combining some of his individual tree models into stand and landscape level models. 
The IAWF Scholarship recipient for 2007 is Andrew Sullivan, a Ph.D. student at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Andrew has been working on the development of fire spread simulation software, was co-author of a book on grass fire behavior and management, and conducted field experiments in Australian forests. His PhD. research focuses on the role of the competitive thermokinetics of cellulose thermal decomposition and combustion in patterns of bushfire spread.