Eric Appel is a Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at Stanford University. His lab has designed an improved delivery system for fire retardant to keep fires from starting across hotspots and known ignition areas.

Here are a few additional resources related to this episode:

Wildfire prevention through prophylactic treatment of high-risk landscapes using viscoelastic retardant fluids, PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America)

Stanford researchers have developed a gel-like fluid to prevent wildfires, Stanford News

Phos-Chek fire retardant

Developing Community Wildfire Protection Plans, US Forest Service

Mitigate Wildfire Risk, US Forest Service

Solvable is produced by Camille Baptista, Jocelyn Frank, Catherine Girardeau and Mia Lobel. Special thanks to Heather Fain, Eric Sandler, Carly Migliori and Khadijah Holland.