Conversations After the Fires
You're invited to this special online series for the Caltech community and the public.
When the 2025 Los Angeles fires broke out, Caltech researchers on campus and at JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA, jumped into action, collecting and analyzing data as soon as flames erupted. In the webinar series Conversations After the Fires, you will hear about fire-related research as it is happening and have the chance to ask your own questions.
Past Webinars
Air Quality and Health
MAY 2, 2025, 11 a.m. PT
►EVENT RECAP
In this live, moderated discussion, learn more about how scientists at Caltech and other institutions are studying air quality in the aftermath of the LA fires, what they have learned so far, and the implications for our health. Join Caltech graduate student Haroula Baliaka, Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Sina Hasheminassab, and guests Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz (BS '06), associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, and Rima Habre, associate professor of population and public health sciences and spatial sciences at USC, in a discussion about their ongoing research to monitor and publicize data about air pollution post-fires. The conversation will be moderated by Caltech science writer Lori Dajose (BS '15).
Studying Lead in the Environment
APRIL 10, 2025, 11 a.m. PT
►EVENT RECAP
In the first conversation in this series, learn more about what ash, soil, and water samples tell us about the amount of lead released in the environment during the fires. Join Caltech geochemist Francois Tissot, graduate students Merritt McDowell and Isaac Aguilar, and guest speaker Christine O'Connell, assistant professor of Biological Sciences at Chapman University, in a discussion about their ongoing research to address the environmental impact of urban fires, moderated by Caltech science writer Lori Dajose.
View the recording of a related webinar, Environmental Impacts of Fires at the Wildland-Urban Interface, from January 31, 2025.
This series is presented by the Caltech Science Exchange, which brings expert insight to the scientific questions that define our time. The Caltech Science Exchange offers trustworthy answers, clear explanations, and fact-driven conversation on critical topics in science and technology.