After the Flames

About

As higher average temperatures dry out plants and trees and make them more combustible, wildfires are becoming bigger and more frequent in many countries. That means that their consequences—such as floods and mudslides—also promise to become a more frequent threat. Amir AghaKouchak, a professor of engineering at UC Irvine, is determined to find ways for scientists to anticipate these kinds of events so that people will know what’s about to happen and be able to avoid as much damage as possible.

Resources

Our partners, The Climate Initiative and the National Science Teaching Association, have created outstanding resources to accompany each of our films. Click on the buttons below to access the lesson plan and community outreach guide for After the Flames. The classroom-ready lesson plan developed by the National Science Teaching Association highlights the science and engineering practices scientists use to explain the phenomenon of climate change. The Climate Initiative’s community outreach guide offers talking points and prompts to help foster viewer conversations about the film.

NSTA Lesson Plan

TCI Discussion Guide

Meet the Scientist

Amir AghaKouchak, Ph.D.

Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth System Science

Amir AghaKouchak is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on natural hazards and climate extremes and crosses the boundaries between hydrology, climatology, and remote sensing. One of his main research areas is studying and understanding the interactions between different types of climatic and non-climatic hazards including compound and cascading events. He has received several honors and awards including the American Geophysical Union’s James B. Macelwane Medal, Fellow of AGU, and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Huber Research Prize. Amir is currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief of Earth’s Future – a transdisciplinary scientific journal examining the state of the planet and the science of the Anthropocene. Amir has published 200 peer-reviewed research articles in scientific journals. He has served as the principal investigator of many interdisciplinary research grants funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Click here to read more about Dr. AghaKouchak’s work.

Additional Footage Provided By

California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services

Mike Eliason / Santa Barbara County Fire Department

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