Student Thesis in Computer Science (f/m/x) - Exploring Visual Analytics in Wildfire Decision Support

The DLR Institute of Software Technology sees software as a catalyst for research and innovation. The institute's staff, currently numbering around 200, make a significant contribution to advancements in the fields of aviation, space, energy, transportation, and security through the development of state-of-the-art software solutions and innovative research.

Our areas of competence include reliable and safety-critical software systems, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and quantum computing, human-system interaction and visualisation, software and systems engineering as well as digital platforms and digital twins.

The Research Project

This thesis will explore current approaches to wildfire decision support systems (DSSs) with a focus on how analytical results are presented and used in decision-making contexts. While advances in wildfire modeling and geospatial analysis have significantly improved data availability, challenges remain in effectively communicating this information to end users. The project surveys existing wildfire DSS tools and related literature to identify common design patterns, limitations, and open challenges. Particular attention is given to the role of visualization and visual analytics in supporting interpretation, collaboration, and trust in DSS outputs. Based on these findings, the research investigates opportunities where concepts from the visualization research community may enhance current practices. The outcomes of this work may include a structured analysis of existing tools, design considerations, or exploratory visualization concepts to inform future wildfire decision support systems.

The Research Questions

• Literature review of existing wildfire decision support systems and their use in practice
• Analysis of current visualization and interaction approaches used in wildfire decision support
• Identification of common challenges and limitations related to interpretation, usability, and collaborative decision making
• Examination of how uncertainty, temporal dynamics, and multiple scenarios are communicated in existing systems
• Exploration of opportunities informed by research in visualization and visual analytics
• Conceptual design or exploratory implementation of selected visualization approaches for wildfire decision support
• Reflection on findings to derive design implications and preliminary guidelines

Your Qualification

• You are studying in Computer Science, Mathematics, Data Science, Disaster Management or similar courses.
• You own good knowledge in programming and particularly in visualization packages.
• Knowledge of GIS-Tools is desirable.
• And you are a team player with creativity, independence and personal responsibility.