Dr. Jane Cawson

Senior Research Fellow | Landscape Flammability

Jane is a fire behaviour scientist based within the School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences at the Burnley campus. Her research focuses on bushfire behaviour, particularly the role of vegetation as fuel in a bushfire and how it contributes to landscape-level flammability. She works closely with fire managers to design and implement field and laboratory research that contributes to improved fire management.

Jane’s career commenced outside of academia where she was employed in various fire management roles within the Victorian government. She completed her PhD in 2012, examining the hydrologic impacts of prescribed burning. Since then, her research has investigated fuel and flammability dynamics in eucalypt forests from the leaf scale to whole forests, as well as research to help underpin the fuel management methods used by fire managers.

Jane is currently a subject co-coordinator of Patterns and Processes of Landscape Fire (FRST90025) and co-lecturing for Spatial Tools in Ecosystem Management (ENST90045). She currently supervises two PhD students and has previously supervised three Honours research projects and five Masters coursework research projects.

Outside of work, Jane is a keen bushwalker and enjoys camping with family and friends.