Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a soil
biogeochemist and
political ecologist who is the current Director of the
Office of Science
The Office of Science is a component of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy and the Nation’s largest supporter of basic research in t ...
at the
US Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States. ...
. She was previously the Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and the Ted and Jan Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology in the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences;
University of California, Merced. Her research group worked to understand how soil helps regulate the earth's climate.
Education and early career
Berhe was born and raised in
Asmara, Eritrea. She received her Bachelors of Science in Soil and Water Conservation at the
University of Asmara
The University of Asmara (UoA) was a public university in Asmara, Eritrea. The nation's first university, it was founded in 1958 by the "Piae Madres Nigritiae" ( Comboni Sisters). The school was meant to provide for the local population, though ...
in Eritrea, where she was one of three women in a 55-person class in the soil science department. She later attended
Michigan State University for her Masters in
Political Ecology with an emphasis on the effects of
land degradation
Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land.
It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious o ...
, working to understand how landmines cause land degradation.
She then performed her doctoral work at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, where she received her PhD in
Biogeochemistry
Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the cryosphere, ...
in ecologist
John Harte's laboratory, where she was also co-advised by
Margaret Torn (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) and
Jennifer Harden (US Geological Survey, Menlo Park). Berhe's graduate work sought to understand how erosion affected the exchange of carbon between the land and the air. She found that erosion can actually cause soil to store more carbon. She continued her postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley with the support of the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program under the mentorship of
Johan Six and
Jillian Banfield, and then moved to
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...
to continue her postdoctoral work.
Research
Berhe's research interests center on the effect of changing environmental conditions—specifically fire, erosion, and climate change—on important soil processes. Her group is working to understand how perturbations in the environment affect how essential elements like carbon and nitrogen cycle through the
soil system. One of her group's projects is to understand how drought and wildfire affect soil's ability to store carbon, taking her out to
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...
and the
Sierra Nevada for fieldwork. Given the prevalence of drought in California, this work is of particular public importance, and as a result, has been highlighted by public figures like California Congressman
Jerry McNerney
Gerald Mark McNerney (born June 18, 1951) is an American businessman, politician, and the U.S. representative for , from 2007 until 2023. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district, numbered as the 11th district until 2013, was bas ...
(D-CA 9th District).
Her research extends to political ecology, working to understand the contribution of armed conflict to land degradation and how people interact with their environment. Berhe has co-authored a review taking stock of the relationship between global change, soil, and human security (including
food security
Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...
and water quality) in the 21st century, citing possible interventions and solutions for sustainable
soil management
Soil management is the application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance (such as soil fertility or soil mechanics). It includes soil conservation, soil amendment, and optimal soil health. In agricu ...
.
Berhe's work has garnered support from a number of funding sources, including the
National Science Foundation CAREER Award
The National Science Foundation CAREER awards, presented by the National Science Foundation (NSF), are in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through research and education, and the integration of these endeavors i ...
, the University of California President's Research Catalyst Awards, the
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...
, and more.
Advocacy and global impact work
Berhe's work at the intersection of soil, climate change, and political ecology lends itself well to a number of global issues. During her graduate career, she was a member of the working group that produced the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) is a major assessment of the human impact on the environment, called for by the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2000, launched in 2001 and published in 2005 with more than $14 million of g ...
, which was called for by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
Secretary
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...
to assess the impact of humans on the environment. She was one of the lead authors on the 2005 report's chapter on "Drivers of Change in Ecosystem Condition and Services." The Assessment received the
Zayed International Prize for the Environment in 2005.
In 2018, Berhe was selected as part of the inaugural
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine cohort, as an early career leader working to advance the conversation around key emerging global issues and communicate the evidence base around those challenges.
An advocate for women in science, Berhe is currently a co-Principal Investigator of ADVANCEGeo, which is working to transform the workplace climate of the geosciences to increase retention of women in the field and develop a sustainable model that can be transferred to other scientific domains. Currently, the
Earth Science Women's Network, the
Association for Women Geoscientists, and the
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...
have partnered to address the issue of sexual harassment in the earth, space and environmental sciences. The program led by
Erika Marín-Spiotta and is run with support from a four-year $1.1 million grant from the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...
.
She currently serves as an advisory board member of
500 Women Scientists, a grassroots organization working to make science open, inclusive, and accessible, and is on the leadership board of the Earth Science Women's Network.
In 2019 she delivered a
TED talk
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...
on the role of
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debri ...
in maintenance of the earth's
climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...
, in particular relating soil use, degradation, and management with fluxes of
greenhouse gases
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane ...
from the terrestrial ecosystem to the atmosphere.
Awards and honors
*
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
's President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Awardee, 2006
*Hellman Family Foundation Fellow, 2011
*NSF CAREER Award, 2014
*Young Investigator Award,
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
, 2014
*New Voices in Science, Engineering, and Medicine,
National Academy of Sciences, 2018
*Randolph W. “Bill” and Cecile T. Bromery Award,
Geological Society of America
The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences.
History
The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...
, 2019
*Great Immigrants Award,
Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2020
References
External links
*
*TED Talk
A climate change solution that's just under our feet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berhe, Asmeret Asefaw
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Eritrean expatriates in the United States
Eritrean women scientists
University of California, Merced faculty
Soil scientists
Political ecologists
UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni
Michigan State University alumni
African-American scientists
21st-century African-American people
United States Department of Energy officials
Biden administration personnel
American people of Eritrean descent