Spent summer 2024 at IIASA

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Bio

After my internship at IIASA, I moved to Lleida, Spain to pursue the second year of my Master’s Degree. I have been taking the courses that drew my interests such as Spatial statistics, Data management and visualization with R, Methods in Hazard Analysis and Risk Assessment, Mapping and Monitoring Forest Natural Resources and etc. These subjects have provided me with the valuable skills and inspiration for future research endeavors. Beyond academics, I have become actively involved in student welfare and thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to engage with vibrant Spanish culture and warm, welcoming environment.

Being immersed in such a culturally rich atmosphere has enhanced my personal and professional growth. Moreover, I have developed an interest in exploring local outdoor activities and connection with fellow students from diverse backgrounds, which had broadened my learning and community building. I have also begun working on my thesis, which delves deeper into the topic I explored during my internship at IIASA, blending rigorous research with my passion for sustainable solutions. My work focuses on using simple methods in spatial statistics and regression analysis. My supervisors form IIASA has been supporting me with efficient ideas and suggestions for improving my process. This project is a mix of hard study and creative thinking, which makes me even more determined to carry out a good research. I am excited about the journey ahead and the chance to make a real difference through my research.

In her own words about FLAM:

The working atmosphere at IIASA is fantastic as the colleagues are indeed friendly and helpful. There were a lot of students joining the Young Scientists Summer Programme and the working environment with them was positive, international and motivative. Therefore, I didn’t need to make much effort to adapt a new environment. My supervisor supported me with efficient ideas and suggestions for improving my process. Moreover, my co-supervisor has been consistently offering me with valuable support and guidance fostering a positive and productive work environment. Overall, I am so grateful to learn new precious things in this international atmosphere and IIASA is a really free and enjoyable working place that my skills were improved in spatial analysis tools using ArcGIS, coding and analysis in R studio software, working as a part of a team and international communications during my summer internship.

Specialization

Among the various programs implementing by IIASA, I was able to grab an opportunity to do my internship in the Agriculture, Forestry and Ecosystem Services (AFE) research group under the Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program. I was supervised by Dr Andrey Krasovskiy and Dr Florian Kraxner with co-supervision by Dr Hyun-Woo Jo. In the FLAM model, many critical parameters have been considered but the contribution of electrical powerlines to forest fire ignitions needed to be explored. My main task was to carry out the preliminary analysis on how the powerlines impact wildfire occurrences globally. I carried out literature reviewing, data collection, mapping with ArcGIS and statistical analysis using R studio.

I did the regression analysis exploring how the burned area on forest vegetations can be explained by the low voltage infrastructure, major transmission lines, powerplants and population. In general, it was found that the burned area was not significantly explainable in a broad range by these few variables. A strong inverse relationship between low voltage infrastructure and spatial fire suppression efficiency was observed, particularly at a localized moving window length of 26, indicating high fire risk in localized areas. Increased population density was found to correlate positively with both the total burned area and low voltage infrastructure. However, the negative correlation between spatial suppression efficiency and population density suggests that fire risk in densely populated areas may be underestimated. Overall, these findings underscore the importance of incorporating both low voltage infrastructure and population density into fire risk assessments and future modeling efforts.

Hobbies

Outside of office hours, I usually spend time alone listening to music, watching movies, and taking pictures of nature.

Book recommendation

Since I have been focused on my studies, I primarily read the research papers and articles with respect to my courses rather than books. However, one of my hobbies is watching series and I have recently been completely captivated by the world of Game of Thrones through its TV series. While many people are already familiar with it, I believe there are still some people who have not discovered it yet. I would like to suggest diving into George R.R. Martin’s “A Game of Thrones.” The novel not only lays the foundation for the series but also offers a richer, more detailed exploration of Westeros that enhances the overall experience. Even as a casual reader, I found that exploring the book deepened my appreciation for the complexities of the story and the vivid world Martin has created.