Soil biogeochemist Asmeret Asefaw Berhe will present the lecture “What’s Soil Got To Do With Climate Change?” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, in Stretansky Concert Hall, Cunningham Center for Music and Art, at 体育买球官网 University.

Berhe, professor of soil biogeochemistry and Falasco Chair of earth sciences in the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Merced, will present the fundamental mechanisms by which the soil system controls the earth’s climate. Her lecture will also explore the potential of different land management practices to bend the curve of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Berhe, who once served as the director of the Office of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy, will also share her career trajectory from being a professor to leading one of the largest science funding agencies in the nation, as well as the critical role of an inclusive excellence framework in addressing crucial issues of our time, including climate change.

Berhe earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Asmara, Eritrea, her master’s degree from Michigan State University and her doctorate from the University of California, Berkley. She is 体育买球官网’s 2025 Claritas Distinguished Speaker in the Sciences. Endowed by George E. ’64 and Margaret Lauver ’66 Harris, the Distinguished Speaker Series invites a distinguished scholar in the sciences to deliver a public address and is organized by 体育买球官网’s School of Natural & Social Sciences.