Yushun Dong Awarded Major NSF Grant for Wildfire Management
FSU Department of Computer Science faculty Yushun Dong has been awarded a significant new NSF grant totaling more than $2.3 million for the project “An Integrated AI System Tackling the Full Life Cycle of Wildfires in Hurricane Prone Regions.” This four-year initiative positions FSU as a leading institution in developing cutting-edge AI solutions to address the complex challenges of wildfire management in areas vulnerable to hurricanes. Specifically, the project aims to create an integrated artificial intelligence system that addresses pre-fire fuel modeling with ignition forecasting, real-time roadway disruption prediction with condition estimation, post-fire infrastructure damage assessment, and fuel-ecosystem recovery modeling across the complete disaster lifecycle, with particular focus on the unique hurricane-fire coupling dynamics in the Florida Panhandle’s Wildland-Urban Interface. Given Florida’s unique position as both hurricane and wildfire-prone, this research has particular relevance for protecting communities and ecosystems throughout the Southeast. The research involves strong collaboration with local stakeholders to ensure reliable and practical project implementations. The project also includes educational components and workforce development initiatives in AI and disaster management.