Liam Buchart
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
As I worked through my undergraduate degree, I found myself becoming more and more interested in weather and climate. Specifically how we can use computers to predict and represent them. I had a great professor, Paul Myers, at the University of Alberta who helped encourage some of my interests, and I ended up doing my master's with him.
Why did you decide to study at UBC?
I picked UBC because the campus and city had so many things that interested me. First, the school has a fantastic reputation, and specifically the department had several researchers doing great work that I hoped to join.
What is it specifically, that your program offers, that attracted you?
I really liked the diversity of the Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science department. My supervisor, Roland Stull, had a large lab with many students contributing to many areas of research.
What was the best surprise about UBC or life in Vancouver?
I was born and raised on the prairies. Having the ocean so accessible on a daily basis was something I did not expect to bring me so much joy.
What aspect of your graduate program do you enjoy the most or are looking forward to with the greatest curiosity?
I really love the challenge of working with a new model configuration or analysis technique. For me, this is often a slow process, but I find that this is where I increase my knowledge base the most.
What do you see as your biggest challenge(s) in your future career?
I think that working with AI will be a huge challenge and will require careful consideration when combined with already established and robust techniques in weather prediction.
Our program has such a diverse outlook on atmospheric science as a whole. I get to learn from these minds and gain insight into those adjacent and working in the same field as myself. It helps to make my work more robust and meaningful.
What aspects of your life or career before now have best prepared you for your UBC graduate program?
A willingness to learn and a desire to continue growing helped me. Athletics has always been a big part of my life. My outlook on sport has translated well to growing as a researcher.
What do you like to do for fun or relaxation?
I run almost every day but also enjoy bouldering, ski touring and reading fantasy novels. I will also talk about gardening at length!
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
Get excited about learning everything! I have found that in many cases, we as graduate students have to focus on our depth of knowledge on our chosen topic. However, your breadth of knowledge is just as important and often is what leads to interesting new research areas.
Learn more about Liam's research
I am using the WRF-SFIRE model to construct an ensemble of fire prediction models. I then use a technique known as ensemble boosting to amplify the ensemble member that has the greatest fire growth. Results will look at weather/wind drivers, previous Indigenous cultural burning and forest management practices to discuss differences between modeled and real fire perimeters.