Fighting Wildfires from the Sky: Toward Safer, Around-the-Clock Aerial Operations
Presented by Dr. Gilbert Wu, NASA Ames Research Center
Aircraft have been supporting wildfire response for decades—dropping water and retardant, tracking fire movement, and helping protect communities. Yet most aerial firefighting today is still limited to daytime operations using crewed aircraft, with only limited capability in challenging conditions like heavy smoke or low visibility. This leaves critical hours—especially at night—when fires can continue to grow with reduced aerial support.
In this talk, we explore how new technologies being developed at NASA are helping change that picture. By advancing smarter airspace management and coordination tools, these innovations aim to enable safe, continuous (24/7) aerial operations and better integration of both crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The goal is to make firefighting from the sky safer, more flexible, and more effective—even in complex and low-visibility environments.
Join us for a look at how these emerging capabilities could transform wildfire response in the years ahead, expanding what’s possible, improving safety for those on the front lines, and helping communities better face the growing challenge of wildfires.
Gilbert Wu’s research focuses on the application of AI and machine learning to improve aviation operations, including aircraft conflict detection and resolution, arrival flow management, and trajectory optimization. He is passionate about bringing innovative concepts and algorithms to complex air traffic management challenges.
Before joining NASA, he worked as a professional software developer, and he continues to advocate for robust tools and effective processes in software development and deployment. He holds one patent and has authored or coauthored more than thirty journal articles, conference papers, and technical reports.
Dr. Wu currently leads the Airspace Management Research team within the ACERO team of NASA’s AAMP project. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UCLA.
Schedule
6:00 Doors open, networking
6:15 Food arrives
6:30 Presentation begins
7:15 Q&A
7:30 Event ends
(All times approximate)
Advance registration required! Refreshments (pizza, sandwiches, drinks) will be served at the presentation for paid attendees only. Food tickets must be purchased before noon on the event day.