Dr Balch’s research aims to understand the patterns and processes that underlie disturbance and ecosystem recovery, particularly how shifting fire regimes are reconfiguring tropical forests, encouraging non-native grass invasion, and affecting the global climate. Prior to coming to the University of Colorado, she was on the faculty at the Pennsylvania State University. She was a Postdoctoral Associate at the U.S.-based National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, and received her PhD from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She has conducted research in the field of fire ecology for over a decade, and has lit a few experimental burns to understand the consequences of altered fire regimes. 16:15-16:45