UCSB, Community Environmental Council to hold Living with Fire Summit

UC Santa Barbara’s California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), in collaboration with the Community Environmental Council (CEC), will be hosting the Living with Fire Summit, an opportunity for cross-sector collaboration on new technology and innovations, potential policy, actions and projects related to wildfire resilience in Santa Barbara County.

Taking place on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at the CEC’s Environmental Hub at 1219 State Street in downtown Santa Barbara, the day-long conference will bring together subject matter experts on the various aspects of wildfire with “boots on the ground” practitioners to discover critical gaps in the community’s resilience and discuss research, technology and innovations that can enhance our ability to live with wildfire.

The event, which begins at 1 p.m., is free and open to the public. Reservations are encouraged.

“The summit will bring our community, government officials and academia together with the goal of spurring new research projects and collaborations — from engineering to the social sciences — to inspire researchers from across UCSB to lend their expertise and establish connections with future users of innovations in the field,” said Sherylle Mills-Englander, executive director of strategic initiatives and operations at CNSI.

Sessions will discuss a wide array of topics, from policies that can help communities adapt to fire, to technological innovations that can improve firefighting capacity, to materials and designs in the built environment that can help the community manage the threat of wildfire. A brief networking reception will give participants to make connections and build relationships before wrapping up the summit at 6:30 p.m.

More details about the summit are available here.

The Living with Fire Summit is part of a larger program of California climate action innovation and entrepreneurship, funded through a partnership between the UC system and the state, to develop strategies for tackling the climate crisis. UCSB received $1 million in seed funding to develop its climate action capacity, with the goal of translating its climate and technology expertise into real-world solutions that benefit society.