ERDC-CERL: Wildland Fire Science - Master's or Doctoral

ERDC-CERL:
Wildland Fire Science - Master's or Doctoral

Join to apply for the ERDC-CERL:
Wildland Fire Science - Master's or Doctoral role at Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
.

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) develops and infuses innovative technologies to provide excellent facilities and realistic training lands for the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army and many other customers while also supporting ERDC’s research and development mission in geospatial research and engineering, military engineering, and civil works.

ERDC-CERL directs its research efforts toward increasing the Army’s ability to more efficiently design, construct, operate and maintain its installations and contingency bases and to ensure environmental quality and safety at a reduced life‑cycle cost. Excellent facilities support the Army’s training, readiness, mobilization and sustainability missions. Adequate infrastructure and realistic training lands are critical assets to installations in carrying out their military missions.

Efficient contingency bases, which minimize the use of external resources and the generation of waste and enhance relations with local communities, are critical for successful deployments in all situations from disaster response and humanitarian assistance to stability operations and conflicts.

U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)

ERDC-CERL-

You will learn from senior researchers to develop a global scale, medium resolution wildland fire hazard algorithm, as well as developing a fire severity database. You will be involved with estimating wildland fire hazard for DOD regional areas of focus. You will gain experience building on research components from our existing team. Additional projects will include research in the development of fire fuels models and wildfire forecasting.

You will pursue new theoretical approaches for advances in technologies associated with military training lands and natural lands and apply knowledge in GIS and Remote Sensing to develop guidance and procedures for identification of trends, develop best practices, and model effectiveness to assist in wildland fire management. The team conducts fundamental and applied research that couples remote sensing, LiDAR, etc.

to optimize training land and wildland management. You will develop proficiency in Python and/or R coding to facilitate remotely sensed data sets and developed algorithms for identification of wildland fire occurrence, severity, and other trends. You will also have the opportunity to develop strong skills in the development of peer‑reviewed and technical reports.

This fellowship provides the opportunity to independently utilize and improve your research skills while engaging with subject matter experts on innovative ideas to move the proposed research forward. There are multiple opportunities available to engage in your applied research and evaluation interests.

Champaign, Illinois

February 2026

This appointment is a full‑time twelve‑month research appointment. Appointments may be extended depending on funding availability, project assignment, program rules, and availability of the participant.

• Stipend to be determined by ERDC-CERL, typically based on the participant’s academic standing, discipline, experience, and research facility location.
• Health Insurance Supplement. Participants are eligible to purchase health insurance through ORISE.
• Relocation Allowance.
• Training and Travel Allowance.

This program, administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and DoD. Participants do not enter into an employee/employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, DoD or any other office or agency. Instead, you will…