When the 2025 Los Angeles fires broke out, Caltech researchers on campus and at JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA, jumped into action, collecting and analyzing data as soon as flames erupted. In the webinar series Conversations After the Fires, you will hear about fire-related research as it is happening and have the chance to ask your own questions. In the first conversation in this series, learn more about what ash, soil, and water samples tell us about the amount of lead released in the environment during the fires. Join Caltech geochemist Francois Tissot, graduate students Merritt McDowell and Isaac Aguilar, and guest speaker Christine O’Connell, assistant professor of Biological Sciences at Chapman University, in a discussion about their ongoing research to address the environmental impact of urban fires, moderated by Caltech science writer Lori Dajose. Learn more about the speakers: https://scienceexchange.caltech.edu/connect/conversations/conversations-fires

Presented by the Caltech Science Exchange