Greece: Establishment of the first Forest Fire Research Laboratory in Greece (IFFN No. 8 – January 1993)
Establishment of the first Forest FireResearch Laboratory in Greece
(IFFN No. 8 – January 1993, p. 8)
The first forest fire research laboratory in Greece has been established at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (M.A.I.Ch.), in August 1992. In addition to complete instrumentation for field measurements of fuel, weather, topography and fire behaviour parameters for monitoring wildland fires in the field, the laboratory is equipped with a series of high – precision apparatus widely used in fire research such as digital data loggers, thermocouples, radiometers, bomb calorimeters, drying kilns and combustion chambers. Also, there is a computer network where statistical analysis of forest fire data is conducted and simulation techniques and operations research methods are applied in order to study forest fires. The laboratory is partly funded by the European Economic Community (EEC). The scientist responsible for the Laboratory is Dr. A.P. Dimitrakopoulos, who studied forest fire science in the USA.
The Director of M.A.I.Ch., Mr. Alkinoos Nikolaidis, mentioned at the opening ceremonies that the first Forest Fire Research Laboratory in Greece opens wide horizons for research and analysis on the crucial problem of forest fires in the Mediterranean Region. Since M.A.I. Ch. is an educational institute for post-graduate studies, interested graduate students from all disciplines wishing to conduct graduate studies on forest fire science should apply to the following address:
Forest Fire Research Laboratory (Attn. Dr. A.P. Dimitrakopoulos)
Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania
P.O. Box 85
Alsyllion Agrokipiou
GR-73 100 Chania
Phone: +30-821-81153
Fax: +30-821-81154
