Geosciences Seminar: Kara Yedinak

Please join us October 26 at 3PM for Kara Yedinak's seminar. The seminar topic is " Listening to Wildland Fire: From Combustion Theory to Research Frontiers " The seminar will be held in BGYM 219 at 3PM. There will be coffee and cookies in the Lobby of ERB prior to the talk at 2:40 PM. We will be holding a Pizza Lunch at 12pm in ERB 1161! Kara Yedinak Seminar Title:
Listening to Wildland Fire: From Combustion Theory to Research Frontiers

Abstract:
Sound is an intrinsic part of the wildland fire experience. It identifies the position and energetic nature of moving fire, providing monitoring or warning opportunities of shifting regions of energy-spanning fire behavior that is wanted and preferable to unstoppable or inescapable. It communicates characteristics about the vegetation undergoing combustion whether it be plant species or drought stress. And it indicates movement, whether through energetic growth or decay, of a flaming front, or vertical fluctuations toward or into a canopy. This talk will visit the latest findings in the field of wildland fire acoustics to explore combustion theory as it relates to wildland fires and the physical processes that drive sound generation.

Bio:
Kara Yedinak is a fire scientist with the USDA Forest Service. Her research focuses on wildland fire physics as it pertains to the non-linear and fluctuating nature of the fire environment. She leads a wide range of research exploring the nature of acoustic emissions from wildland fires. Dr. Yedinak is interested in micro-scale fire-atmosphere processes and collaborates on research related to wildland fire soil heating and microbial response, the fire dynamics and resultant emissions from burning structures, and the dynamics vegetation-atmosphere connection as it relates to wildland fire behavior. Additionally, she collaborates in work investigating the role of chaos theory in addressing wildland fire propagation. Dr. Yedinak holds a physics B.S. degree from Pacific University and a PhD in Engineering Science from the Laboratory of Atmospheric Research at Washington State University with an emphasis in wildland fire-atmosphere mesoscale modeling. Beyond her work, Dr. Yedinak enjoys spending time hiking and mt. biking with her family, as well as playing her guitar and board games with family and friends.