Dr. Heather D. Alexander is a professor of forest and fire ecology in the College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment at Auburn University. Her research focuses on understanding forest ecosystem vulnerability in the face of changing fire disturbance regimes using observations across natural gradients and field–based experimental manipulations. She has studied the implications of fire suppression and ‘mesophication’ on composition, structure, and flammability of oak, mixed, and pine forests of the eastern U.S. for 20 years and has spent over a decade investigating wildfire implications for forest growth and regeneration dynamics in Siberian forests underlain by permafrost soils.

Dr. Milton is currently a postdoctoral researcher, working with Dr. Alexander to understand the interacting effects of disturbance and management on carbon sequestration across southern forests. She completed her PhD at the University of Michigan, where she investigated contributions of niche and neutral processes to tree species dominance and rarity in the Brazilian Amazon, with a focus on the Brazil nut family (Lecythidaceae).

Kathleen is a Ph.D. student with the Forest and Fire Ecology Lab. She is a landscape ecologist, concerned with how variability in plant traits can affect flammability and landscape scale processes. She has spent 2 decades researching the forests and landscape management of the eastern United States. Her research with the lab focuses on upland oak and pine forests and their vulnerability and response to wild- and prescribed fire.

Pedro Andres Velez-Moscoso is an environmental engineer from Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Pedro earned his BS degree in Environmental Science and Socioeconomic Development from Zamorano University in Honduras. He had the experience working with indigenous people in eastern region of Bolivia since 2021. He participated and oversaw the heat points monitoring system, direct combat of wildfires, and the development and implementation of forest restoration plans post-wildfires. He also worked with indigenous communities to implement agroforestry systems on individuals plots. His research interests are in fire ecology, prescribed burning and sustainable management of natural resources. Pedro enjoys playing soccer with his friends, cooking, playing the guitar and singing.

Fernando Jose Mendoza Martinez is an environmental engineer from San Salvador, El Salvador. He recently earned his BS degree in Environmental Sciences and Development from the Pan-American Agricultural School Zamorano University in Honduras. During his undergraduate studies, he completed an internship in the Horticulture and Natural Resources Department at Kansas State University, where his research activities focused on the management of non-native forest species through prescribed burning and its influence on the local deer population. His research interests include forest ecology, watershed management, and the sustainable use of natural resources.

Wyatt Murphy is from Phenix City, Alabama, and majoring in Natural Resource Management with a minor in Natural Resource Recreation. He is  currently in his first full year as a research assistant with the Forest and Fire Ecology Lab. In Spring 2023, Wyatt became interested in fire ecology from Dr. Heather Alexander’s Forest Fire Management class and was given the opportunity to work with the lab over the summer, and he has “loved every minute of it!” His career with the lab involves assisting in fieldwork, data processing, and lab maintenance.