Florida State University researchers have secured a $2.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create artificial intelligence tools aimed at improving wildfire management in areas affected by hurricanes, specifically in the Florida Panhandle.
The project will be led by Yushun Dong, an assistant professor of computer science at FSU. It is the largest research award received by FSU’s Department of Computer Science. The interdisciplinary team will study wildfires that occur where forests like the Apalachicola National Forest border homes and infrastructure.
Dong’s initiative, titled “FIRE: An Integrated AI System Tackling the Full Lifecycle of Wildfires in Hurricane-Prone Regions,” brings together experts from computer science, fire research, engineering, and education. Their goal is to analyze how hurricanes influence wildfire behavior and develop AI systems capable of forecasting ignition events, predicting disruptions to roadways, and assessing potential damage.
“The modern practice of prescribed burns began over 60 years ago, which was a huge leap in working with nature to help manage an ecosystem,” Dong said. “Now, we’re positioned to make another leap: we’re able to use powerful AI technology to transform wildfire risk management with tools such as ignition forecasting, roadway disruption prediction, condition estimations, damage assessments and more.”
The funding comes from NSF’s Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE) program. This initiative supports research and educational efforts designed for large-scale interdisciplinary progress on issues related to wildland fires.
Of the four projects funded so far under this competitive program, two are led by FSU researchers. Neda Yaghoobian, associate professor at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, also received support for work analyzing canopy dynamics that contribute to wildfires.
“This grant represents the department’s biggest research award to date and cements our leadership in applying cutting-edge AI to urgent, real-world problems in our region,” said Weikuan Yu, chair of FSU’s Department of Computer Science. “The funding enables the development of a holistic AI platform addressing Florida’s hurricane and wildfire challenges while advancing cutting-edge AI research. Additionally, the grant includes educational and workforce development initiatives in AI and disaster resilience, positioning the department as a leader in training the next generation of scientists working at the intersection of AI and wildfire research.”
Fires play a key role in managing certain forests and grasslands by reducing hazardous fuel loads like fallen leaves or accumulated trees after hurricanes. This process helps lower forest density and recycle nutrients but can become complex when storms leave behind significant debris that fuels dangerous wildfires threatening both natural areas and built environments.
“I became passionate about applying my research, which achieves responsible AI that directly contributes to critical AI infrastructures, to hurricane-related phenomena after experiencing my first hurricane living in Tallahassee,” Dong said. “I want to use AI techniques to help Florida Panhandle residents better understand and prepare for extreme events in this ecosystem with its unique hurricane-fire coupling dynamics.”
Eren Ozguven from FAMU-FSU College of Engineering serves as co-principal investigator on this project alongside contributors James Reynolds from FSU’s Learning Systems Institute and Jie Sun from FSU’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science.
“Yushun’s project stands out for its ambition, insight, and integrative approach,” Yu said. “It zeros in on the unique challenges of Florida’s landscape where hurricanes and wildfires intersect in the wildland-urban interface of the Panhandle. By focusing on hurricane-fire coupling dynamics and working closely with local stakeholders, his project ensures that scientific innovation translates into practical, community-centered solutions. His integrated approach brings the benefit of cutting-edge AI advances directly to major real-world applications, creating a wonderful research lifecycle that’s exceptionally rare in our field.”
More information about ongoing research can be found at https://www.cs.fsu.edu/.
