The core mission of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC) at San Jose State University (SJSU) is to conduct high-impact wildfire research so that improved tools and policies can be provided to community and industry stakeholders around the world. The WIRC mission is to develop new prediction and observational tools to better understand extreme fire behavior in a changing climate. These new tools will help industry, particularly the energy sector, manage assets during high fire danger periods. To facilitate cutting-edge and interdisciplinary research, a cluster-hire of five core faculty has been completed to help this mission and establish SJSU as a leading institution providing new state-of-knowledge on wildfire science and management.  The outcomes of the Center will be new knowledge, improved prediction tools, and community resilience policies. The center will also develop an integrated approach to solving the nation’s wildfire problem by providing interdisciplinary solutions that span the physical, social, and economical scientific fields. For example, a new set of courses will be established that will train the national workforce to become fire managers, city planners, fire analysts, and fire meteorologists. 

Core goals of the WIRC:  
●    To pursue fundamental engineering and scientific research in wildfire with relevance for industry.
●    To produce diverse graduates who have a broad, industry-oriented perspective in their research.  
●    To accelerate and promote the transfer of knowledge and technology between university and industry.