Biography - Claire is an Earth scientist specialising in the study of natural fires and the role that they play in regulating the Earth system. She graduated from Royal Holloway University of London with a degree in Geology in 2000. She then undertook an MSc in Micropalaeontology at University College London, graduating in 2001 before returning to Royal Holloway to undertake her PhD. She completed her PhD in 2005 entitled "Assessing the evidence for extensive wildfires at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary" and has continued to build on this fiery start ever since. She then moved to University College Dublin to work at the Programme for Experimental Atmospheres and Climate (PEAC) facility where she focused on the relationship between ancient wildfires and variations in palaeoatmospheric composition. She was then successful in gaining a Marie Curie Research Fellowship to hold a unique position joint between BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering and the School of Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh. In January 2012 she took up the position of Senior Lecturer in Earth System Science at the University of Exeter. Claire is the team leader of a 1.52 million euro European Research Council Starter Grant that seeks to understand the impact of plant evolution on fire behaviour in ancient ecosystems. Her research is internationally recognised for integrating
state-of-the-art modern experimental methods into studies of Earth’s
ancient past, an approach which is well highlighted by her recently published edited book "Fire Phenomena and the Earth System an Interdisciplinary Guide to Fire Science". Post Doctoral Research Fellows and Research Technicians: Dr Victoria Hudspith ERC Research Fellow - ECOFLAM Biography - Victoria joined the PalaeoFire Lab Team at the University of Exeter in 2013 as an Associate Research Fellow. She graduated from Royal Holloway University of London with an MSci. in Geoscience in 2008, and continued at Royal Holloway to complete her Ph.D in 2012. Her thesis, entitled “The Palaeoecological and Industrial Significance of Inertinite (Charcoal) in Late Permian Coals from the Kuznetsk Basin, Russia” sparked an interest in using coal petrography microscopy techniques to interpret ancient fire occurrence, type and return intervals. She then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to complete a year long postdoc, applying the techniques acquired during her Ph.D in order to gain a better understanding of fire regimes and fire-vegetation feedbacks in more modern boreal forest and tundra ecosystems in Alaska. In particular, her research to date has focussed on detailed palaeoecological observations of charcoal assemblages in a variety of ecosystems, with an emphasis on interpreting charring temperatures, an aspect of wildfire behaviour. Her current research (as part of the ECOFLAM project) focuses on developing tools for ecosystem managers and tools for better understanding the fossil record of wildfire using state-of-the-art flammability techniques. Dr Mark Grosvenor ERC Research Technician - ECOFLAM Biography - Mark graduated from the University of Exeter with a first class BSc Geography degree in 2009. He then undertook a PhD within the Geography Department investigating ‘Human-environment interactions during the mid-Holocene in Cumbria’. Mark has also been involved in a number of research projects relating to palaeoenvironmental change, in particular dealing with lake sediments, pollen analysis, and human impact. Mark
is the wildFIRE Lab Research Technician for the ECOFLAM project and
will carry out a range of experimental research using state-of-the-art
facilities as well as continuing his own palynological research. Dr Rebecca Dewhirst ERC Research Fellow - ECOFLAM Biography - I graduated from the University of York in 2011 with a first class degree in biology. I then joined the Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences at the University of Edinburgh to undertake a PhD in plant biochemistry. I completed my PhD, entitled ‘Formation and subsequent metabolism of ascorbate oxidation products in vitro and in plant cells’ in 2015. After my PhD I joined the wildFIRE lab here in Exeter to continue researching plant biochemistry but this time in relation to plant flammability, specifically in pine species. Dr Chris Boulton Post Doctoral Research Associate - PyroMap Biography - coming soon! Biography - Sarah graduated from the University of Plymouth in 2013 with an MGeol in Geology. Sarah is particularly interested in the reconstruction of palaeoclimates and environments. Her current research aims to assess variations in atmospheric oxygen concentration across past oceanic anoxic events, which are thought to have severely disrupted the Earth’s carbon cycle. She will be using both palaeontological observations and biogeochemical models in order to consider the fluxes of oxygen and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as part of these events. Supervisors: Claire M. Belcher - http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Claire_Belcher Tim Lenton - http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/?web_id=Timothy_Lenton Stephen Hesselbo - http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/geology/staff/sph216 Biography - Nick graduated from the University of Exeter with a first class BSc Geography (Hons) degree in 2014. His final year dissertation aimed to identify future fire threats associated with future shifts in vegetation distributions in North America. Nick has continued to explore these themes by exploring Mid-Pliocene fire risk and by looking at the economic impact of large wildfire events in order to aid future fire management. Supervisors: Claire M. Belcher - http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Claire_Belcher Scott McGarvie - Bank of England, London and Senior Research Fellow, U. Exeter Hywel Williams - Biosciences U. Exeter Stacey New (PhD) Thesis title - "Effect of fire on Amazon carbon cycling and forest structure" Biography - Stacey graduated from the University of Exeter with a first class BSc Geography (Hons) degree in 2013 and continued on at Exeter to graduate with a MRes in Climate Change Impacts and Feedbacks. Her master’s thesis investigated fire activity through two peatland palaeo-archives looking for a novel way to identify smouldering wildfires. Working in the WildFIRE lab, using state-of-the-art equipment, she developed an interest in the interaction between fire and the environment. She has continued her research at Exeter by undertaking a PhD investigating the effect of fire in tropical and temperate ecosystems using reflected light microscopy. Supervisors: Claire M. Belcher: http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Claire_Belcher Ted Feldspauch - https://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Ted_Feldpausch Robyn Pointer (MPhil/PhD) Palaeoenvironmental Changes throughout the Lower Jurassic Biography - see http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/csm/staff/rp388 Supervisors Stephen Hesselbo: http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/geology/staff/sph216 Claire Belcher: http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=Claire_Belcher Kate Littler: http://emps.exeter.ac.uk/csm/staff/kl334 Biography - Charlotte is a Scottish born painter who studied at The Edinburgh College of Art. Her work focuses on environment and landscape. Her previous work has explored the magical, private and ominous elements of a family owned forest in Scotland. Where her careful work has documented our constantly changing natural environment and the persistence of nature. Her work makes intimate observations of landscapes drawing the viewer back to an almost child like perception of nature. Charlotte is currently working on a long term project with us called Burnt Area to create works in response to our scientific exploration of wildfires. Take a look at Charlottes own website that show's the work we are developing for Burnt Area. http://www.charlotte-mcdonald.com/photography/ wildFIRE Lab Post-Graduate Alumni Dr. Alastair Crawford (PhD 2016) Thesis title - "Understanding the Nature of the Fossil Record of Wildfire" Stacey New - The record of fire in peatlands (M.Sc. 2014) Associate Designer Olivia Whittle - "Libby's Lab" iPad App Biography - Olivia Graduated with a BSc in Geography from the University of Exeter in 2014. Since then she has been utilising her passion for design and science communication working with Claire on creating an Ap for the university. The Ap is designed to engage children of all sexes and backgrounds in science based around the principle that "Science is for all" and aims to be released to the public at Easter 2015. Olivia is also passionate about the environment and is currently designing and starting her own company that takes sustainable design into the ski industry ! Undergraduate wildFIRE Lab B.Sc. Dissertation Students 2013-2014: |