![]() There are social studies issues, medical issues, laws and ethics, and policy issues that need to be considered,” said Fong. “The projects don’t involve just looking at satellite images and crunching math and doing coding. ![]() So, Fong, along with collaborator Margot Gerritsen, professor of energy resources engineering at Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Stanford Earth), created a companion class to provide hackathon students with more time to work on their projects, as well as a structured environment to learn from visiting industry experts, including members of CAL FIRE. We really needed to expose students to the vast array of problems related to wildland fires, from prediction to prevention, educating homeowners, equity issues or even political ramifications.” Wildfires are not something you can learn by looking at a one-page blurb on a proposed project. “We recognized that people know a lot less about wildfires than they do about water and other environmental issues. “The Big Earth Hackathons aim to come up with innovative solutions for problems that are affecting our planet,” said Derek Fong, senior research engineer and lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Stanford student projects could help first responders track and predict fire spread, assess vulnerable communities nearby and plan effective evacuation procedures. ![]() Firefighters arrive at the scene of the Dixie Fire, still burning today, which has surpassed over 844,000 acres burned.
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