Igniting Your Curiosity in Wildfires

Thursday, October 22, 3:00 – 4:00 pm

Have you ever experienced a thunderstorm? Do you know how fires burn?

Spark an interest in fire safety and electricity with us! Science at Cal and The Lawrence Hall of Science have teamed up to create this virtual event featuring both UC Berkeley scientists and The Lawrence Hall of Science educators. UC Berkeley scientists will take a deep look into the science of wildfires. Then, learn about how charges can impact the world around us through several bright and explosive demonstrations. There are two ways to watch:

• Join the zoom event at the Bay Area Science Festival site. A “Join this Event!” button will appear on the event detail page the evening before the event is scheduled to air live.
• Or follow live on our Facebook page.

Stacey Sargent Frederick

Program Coordinator, California Fire Science Consortium, UC Berkeley

Stacey Sargent Frederick has spent 6 years as the Program Coordinator for the JFSP California Fire Science Consortium at UC Berkeley. As part of the Joint Fire Science Program’s Fire Science Exchange Network she strives to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice throughout the fire world. Her expertise and passion lie in creating frameworks and tools that lead to stronger communication and networking between various audiences. Before coming to UC Berkeley, Stacey graduated Magna Cum Laude from Oregon State University, College of Forestry with a B.S. in Natural Resources and a minor in Forest Management. After a year-long adventure of teaching English in South Korea, Stacey returned to Oregon State to receive her M.S. in the Forest Ecosystems and Society Department at the College of Forestry. She graduated with a focus on the human perceptions of fire with a special emphasis on the public perceptions of smoke from wildland and prescribed fire.

Reyna Hamilton

Manager, School Programs, Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley

Reyna Hamilton has spent the last 9 years of her 25 year career in informal education at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. She is currently the Manager of School Programs, overseeing a team of educators that provide hands-on science instruction to thousands of students yearly. Before her work with The Lawrence, Reyna spent 15 years working in the out-of-school time field directing middle school afterschool programs and state-funded child development centers in diverse communities throughout Solano and Yolo County. During this time, she has also worked with several out-of-school time agencies to support informal educators as they worked to develop and grow in their practice. It is at this intersection of her passions – child/youth development, working with diverse communities, supporting educators, and science-learning that has driven the direction of her career. Reyna graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a B.A in Liberal Arts with a science concentration.

Katya Rakhmatulina

PhD Candidate, Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley

Katya Rakhmatulina is a PhD Candidate in Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. She is interested in complex interactions between wildfires, hydrology, ecology, and climate change. The results of her research will aid watershed management decisions with the goal of minimizing catastrophic fires, promoting landscape diversity, and increasing water yield. Katya uses art as a medium for science engagement and is an illustrator for Berkeley Science Review.

Christopher Ziska

Museum Educator, Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley

Chris has spent the last year working at The Lawrence Hall of Science as one of their Museum Educators. Whether it is teaching dry ice investigations in the hall or instructing online summer camps, he loves to help students connect with science much like he did as a child. Prior to working at LHS, Chris had 7 years of experience teaching environmental education to students around the country in different National Parks; most notably, he spent the last few years with Naturebridge in Olympic National Park and Yosemite National Park. Chris believes that the best way to get students to appreciate and practice environmental stewardship is through repeated positive experiences in nature, and he has spent his entire career trying to achieve that. His undergraduate degree is from Ohio Wesleyan University with a B.A in Zoology and his graduate degree is an M.A. in Biology from Miami University.