Dr Nick McCarthy is a recipient of Natural Hazards Research Australia’s (the Centre) Early Career Research Fellowship for 2024.
Centre Fellowships support Early Career Researchers by expanding their research networks, establishing local and international collaborations and gaining insights into natural hazards research opportunities and challenges across diverse settings.
Dr Nick McCarthy is a Senior Research and Development Officer at the Country Fire Authority Victora (CFA), working on the effectiveness of fire suppression and building an evidence base for safe work limits in fire.
Through his Fellowship, Nick will investigate ways to adapt interdisciplinary and international frameworks in bushfire suppression for Australian contexts. Nick will visit the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand and the U.S. Forest Service, to explore how to incorporate resilience engineering into firefighting and adapt U.S. fire suppression risk management to Australian contexts.
Nick believes the Fellowship is a great opportunity to connect research and practice in fire management.
“In industry, we don’t have the same opportunity as in academia to work externally with collaborators,” Nick said. “It’s great to come together to collaborate internationally and to progress fire science in Australia."
Nick will explore resilience engineering with Dr Tom Logan and the University of Canterbury. Resilience engineering focuses on designing systems that can withstand unexpected challenges and adapt to disruptions. Nick aims to explore the application of resilience engineering to bush and grass firefighting.
During his time in the U.S., Nick will work with the U.S. Forest Service to adapt the methods of using models and planning tools that show conditions where fires historically stopped or continued burning. These tools are incorporated into active management operations, help strategise containment efforts, and understand the landscape’s response to fire.
The Centre’s Early Career Research Fellowship in Industry promotes interdisciplinary development, enables research utilisation and grows the Centre’s network of collaborators.
Early Career Research Fellowships are available to PhD-qualified researchers employed in research positions in research institutions or universities, for up to five years after their graduation and up to $15,000. They are also open to full-time PhD students who have successfully completed the equivalent of two years of full-time study.
The Centre also offers funding up to $7,500 as part of the ECR Industry Fellowships, available to PhD-qualified researchers employed in industry for up to five years after their PhD graduation.
The next round of Fellowships will open for applications on 2 September and close on 31 October. Find out more about the Fellowship programs and how to apply here.