Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

Educator/Teacher, Environmentalist, Explorer, Idea generator, Scientist, World traveler

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology at the University of California, Merced. She previously served as the Director of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science (Senate confirmed, Presidential Nomination). Prof. Berhe’s work seeks to improve our understanding of how the soil system regulates the earth’s climate and the dynamic two-way relationship between soil and human communities. Among her many awards and honors, she is an Elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America.

The science of soils, the role of soils in human security; global change science, esp. how changing climate (warming and precipitation patters) affect soil and ecosystem processes; and inclusive excellence in STEM/the academy.

We are all made of the same star stuff. We are all just temporarily not soil.

biogeochemistry, carbon sequestration, Climate change, ecosystem ecology, Global change, political ecology, soil carbon, Soil Science

Speaker at TED 2019 Speaker at TED countdown 2023