Crystal A. Kolden

Cyrstal A. Kolden is an Associate Professor in the Management of Complex Systems Department at the University of California, Merced’s School of Engineering. She leads the UC Merced Fire Resilience Center (2024–present) and previously held roles at the University of Idaho (2011–2020) and the US Geological Survey. Her research focuses on wildfire-human-environment interactions, employing geospatial, temporal, and mixed-methods approaches. Key areas include fire behavior, climate change impacts, socio-ecological systems, and fire policy.

Education: Ph.D. in Geography (Clark University, 2010), M.S. in Geography (University of Nevada, Reno, 2005), A.B. in History (Cornell University, 1999). Professional roles also include landscape ecology, fire science, and federal agency research roles.

Research emphasizes wildfire severity metrics, prescribed fire efficacy, disaster recovery gentrification, and fire-climate feedbacks. Her work bridges natural science and policy, addressing fire resilience in the wildland-urban interface. Current projects include county-level wildfire plan effectiveness and global wildfire trends analysis.

Labs/Teams: Director of the UC Merced Fire Resilience Center and founder of the PyroLab (wildfire research group). Collaborates with institutions globally on fire science and policy.