"We are excited to welcome Amy Metz as our 2024-2025 GCI Applied Research Fellow, in partnership with Jensen Hughes. Her innovative project on predicting volatile organic compound contamination in water systems during wildland-urban interface fires addresses a critical and emerging challenge in fire safety.” Leslie Marshall, PhD, director, SFPE Foundation shared.  

“I am honored and grateful to have been chosen to receive the SFPE Foundation’s GCI Applied Research Fellowship in Climate Change with a focus on WUI fires which facilitates collaboration with Jensen Hughes. This opportunity provides resources and support to aid in the advancement of my research on enhancing water distribution system resilience to wildfire while also connecting me with the broader fire engineering community. I am excited to work with Jensen Hughes to develop actionable solutions communities can implement to better address the rising concern of VOC contamination in water systems following wildfire. This fellowship opportunity will push me to grow as a researcher and I am committed to leveraging this experience to meaningfully contribute to the field of community wildfire resilience.” 

In its inaugural year, the GCI Applied Research Fellowship program provides $30,000 USD in external fellowship support to an advanced doctoral student or post-doctoral fellow conducting research on an emerging topic in partnership with a host organization that provides industry mentorship and guidance throughout the eight-month fellowship period. Where possible and appropriate, the fellow and their industry host are provided opportunities to publish findings from their applied work in SFPE or SFPE Foundation-affiliated outlets, conferences, and events. Findings are also shared with the broader GCI Partners network to enable progress in research and education on the most pressing challenges facing fire engineers around the world. 

"This fellowship recognizes Amy's potential to significantly impact community resilience through her innovative research. Her work will play a crucial role in enhancing decision-making and planning for WUI fire management, ultimately strengthening our ability to protect communities.” said Derek White, chief technical officer, Jensen Hughes. “At Jensen Hughes, we are proud to support the GCI Applied Research Fellowship initiative, which fosters groundbreaking engineering solutions to address emerging risks. We eagerly anticipate the advancements Amy will bring to this vital field and look forward to her contributions in building safer, more resilient communities." 

The GCI Applied Research Fellowship is a new program within the SFPE Foundation’s Grand Challenges Initiative, a multi-disciplinary, cross-sectoral effort to collaborate on research, education, and outreach to advance fire engineering contributions to addressing pressing global challenges. Led by 35+ GCI Partner organizations serving across four working groups, these efforts are made possible with the financial support of SFPE, Fire Safety Research Institute/UL Research Institutes, Code Red Consultants, FM, HGI, Jensen Hughes, and other corporate, academic, and research partners.  

More broadly, financing for SFPE Foundation-funded research is provided through the generous support of donors, including SFPE, SFPE chapters, SFPE members, governmental agencies, leading companies and organizations, and others. Demand for SFPE Foundation research funding support far exceeds available funds. The SFPE Foundation periodically invites research proposals through open calls and specific proposal requests. 

For a full description of the GCI Applied Research Fellowship, click here. Additional information about the SFPE Foundation may be found at sfpe.org/foundation.