Advances in Forest Fire Research: 2018

Authors

Domingos Xavier Viegas
University of Coimbra
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6690-035X
Keywords: Forest Fires, Portugal, Greece, 2018

Synopsis

In spite of all the efforts from the governments and the operational agencies, and the contribution from the scientific and technical communities, the impact of forest fires persists and, at least in some regions, even with an increasing trend. The tragic fires of Portugal in 2017 and of Greece in 2018, with unprecedented numbers of fatalities among the civil population in modern times, drive our attention to the fact that what is at stake in forest fires is not only the natural environment, the climate, the landscape, the economy or the ecology. In these and in other episodes from the recent years, all over the World, forest fires have threatened the safety and wellbeing of people and have shown how capable they are of destroying the greatest value that we have to protect, that of human life.

Author Biography

Domingos Xavier Viegas, University of Coimbra

Domingos Xavier Viegas has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico in 1972 and a PhD in Aerodynamics from the University of Coimbra in 1981. Since 1992 he has been a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra. In 1990 he founded the Association for the Development of Industrial Aerodynamics (ADAI), which is an integrated research unit in the Associated Laboratory for Energy, Transport and Aeronautics. Within the scope of the ADAI, he coordinates the Center for the Study of Forest Fires (CEIF), for research, advanced training and the provision of services in the management of forest fires. Coordinated the participation of the CEIF team in a large number of projects financed by national and European entities, in collaboration with several scientific and operational institutions. He is director of the Laboratory for Studies on Forest Fires. He belonged to the Board of the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra between 1994 and 1996. He was President of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and its Scientific Committee and coordinated its Fluid Mechanics Group for several years. He is part of the coordination team of the National Risks Consortium and leads the Thematic Area of ??Forest Fires of this Consortium. He has been a member of the National Education Council since 2003, having served on the Coordinating Committee from 2003 to 2009. His scientific areas of interest are the spread of forest fires, personal security and decision support in the management of forest fires. He is the author of a large number of works and studies published internationally and has supervised several postgraduate studies on the theme of forest fires.

Advances in Forest Fire Research 2018
Published
October 1, 2017

Details about this monograph

ISBN-13 (15)
978-989-26-1650-6