Professor Matthias Boer from Western Sydney University’s Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment will head the NSW Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre, a new $8 million collaborative research centre involving researchers from six universities funded by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.
Using new technology to drive innovative practices for conducting operations as well as evaluating risks and environmental impacts, the new centre will revolutionise the approach to managing fire danger and other natural hazards.
The centre will bring together researchers from universities and government agencies, amongst other partners, to better understand and predict the likelihood of these hazards.
Professor Boer said the establishment of the NSW Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre will build on existing collaborative partnerships.
“We are excited to lead this new research centre. We look forward to working with our five consortium partners to drive the change that has been called for by the 2019/20 Bushfire Inquiry,” said Professor Boer.