With a focus on physical science and engineering projects, the second Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Research Advisory Forum for 2015 took place at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane last week, with around 100 researchers and emergency managers attending, including CFA.
This RAF showcased projects from the following CRC research clusters:
- Coastal management
- Monitoring and prediction
- Next generation fire modelling
- Prescribed burning and catchment management
- Hardening buildings and infrastructure
All presentations from the two-day event are now available on the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC website.
Each project gave a 30 minute presentation, which included an overview on the state of the project and findings so far. End-user representatives also discussed how they thought each project was going and where it was headed in terms of research utilisation.
The format of the forum included scheduled breakout sessions which allowed each project to undertake workshop activities with end-users. With utilisation of the research a focus of the CRC moving forward, these sessions were heavily focused on utilisation, as well as offering valuable networking opportunities for all who attended.
Building on the success from the RAF earlier this year in Sydney, Three Minute Thesis presentations were again included on the agenda. These short presentations by both CRC-funded and Associate Students at the PhD and Masters level gave a snapshot of their research in just three minutes. Students featured were Melanie Baker-Jones (QUT), Chris Thomas (University of New South Wales) and Darryl Dixon (Charles Sturt University).
Day two of the RAF coincided with Wear Orange Wednesday and saw many attendees dress in orange in support of the SES.
The RAF is an activity that supports both the research and the utilisation aims of the CRC. The next RAF will be held in Hobart in May 2016, with projects in the Economics and Strategic Decisions and Resilience themes presenting.
The host partner for this event, QUT, provided an excellent venue for a productive and informative two days. The Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Commercialisation Prof Arun Sharma, spoke at the evening function at the end of the first day, commenting on the value QUT place on being involved with the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, as well as the broader CRC program.
Author: Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC