Julian Nicholls graduated from Algoma University in 2017. Right out of school, he did a brief contract with the Great Lakes Forestry Center where he developed the Consolidated Fire Detection and Monitoring System (CFDMS). After that, he enrolled at the University of Toronto under Dave Martell and Mike Wotton to pursue his Master’s of Science in Forestry. His thesis explored the use of high altitude, high endurance drones in forest fire observation. He graduated early in 2020, and later that year would resume work with Natural Resources Canada updating, documenting, and deploying the Spatial Fire Management System (SFMS) for international partners. Since the start of 2023, Julian has become a Wildfire Analytics and Modelling Specialist for Ontario’s fire response program.