Marta Yebra

Marta is a Professor at the Fenner School of Environment & Society and the School of Engineering, a Mission Specialist with the ANU Institute for Space and the Director of the Bushfire Research Centre of Excellence, which aims to protect Australia from catastrophic bushfires. She has served on a number of advisory government bodies including the Australian Space Agency’s Bushfire Earth Observation Taskforce (Feb-May 2020), Australian Space Agency’s Earth Observation Technical Advisory Group (Since 2019), the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning’s Scientific Reference Panel (Since 2019) and the Australian Capital Territory Multi Hazards Advisory Council.

Marta's research specialised in spatial bushfire risk and fire severity assessment using remote sensing data. Dr Yebra led the development of the Australian Flammability Monitoring System, and it is now working with a multidisciplinary team to design Australia’s first satellite mission (Ozfuel) to help forecast vulnerable areas where bushfires are at the highest risk of starting or burning out of control. Her research has been recognised through numerous awards, including the 2025 “Top Leaders Driving Real-World Impact”, the 2023 Academic of the Year by the Australian Space Awards, the CSIRO OCE Pyne-Scott Career Award, the inaugural Max Day Environmental Science Award by the Australian Academy of Science, and the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC’s Outstanding Achievement in Research Utilisation Award. She has authored more than 80 publications.