By Date

Four seniors named 2025 Babcock Prize recipients

College of Natural Resources - 2 hours 6 min ago
Composite of 2025 Babcock award winners Charlie, Nikita, Neel, and Alex May 16, 2025

Endowed as a tribute to longtime soil chemistry professor Kenneth Babcock, the prize recognizes high-achieving ESPM undergraduates.

Monica Kapil named SJSU Mechanical Engineering Alumna of the Year

Department of Bioengineering - Thu, 05/15/2025 - 22:46
Congratulations to BioE PhD alumna Monica Kapil, the first woman ever named Alumna of the Year by the SJSU Mechanical Engineering Department!
Categories: Science News

Outstanding faculty awards

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology - Thu, 05/15/2025 - 13:55

 Outstanding Teaching Awards

Congratulations to our faculty who received the departmental 2025 MCB Outstanding Faculty Awards!

Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology Gloria Brar Outstanding Contribution to Teaching

Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology Meng-meng Fu – Outstanding Contribution to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging

Professor of Molecular Therapeutics Michael RapéOutstanding Contribution to Service

Student Spotlight: Nikita Bahadur

College of Natural Resources - Thu, 05/15/2025 - 13:32
Thumbnail graduation image of Nikita Bahadur May 15, 2025

The graduating molecular environmental biology major spoke to Rausser College about her time at UC Berkeley and plans for the future.

How to Decipher a Forest

College of Natural Resources - Wed, 05/14/2025 - 14:50
Portrait of Nancy Peluso May 14, 2025

ESPM professor emerit Nancy Peluso has spent her career analyzing entanglements between human and natural worlds.

Flamingo Biomechanics Behind Prey-Catching Tornadoes

Department of Integrative Biology - Tue, 05/13/2025 - 10:59
Flamingos feed by dragging their flattened beaks forward along the bottom of shallow lakes. To increase the efficiency of feeding, they stomp dance to churn the bottom, create an upwelling vortex with their heads and clap their beaks constantly to draw food, like brine shrimp, into their mouths. Aztli Ortega

IB Assistant Professor Victor Ortega Jiménez and a team of researchers have documented how flamingos use their feet, heads and beaks to create a storm of swirling tornados in the water to efficiently trap and then eat their prey. Read more in the Berkeley News article here
 

Categories: Science News

Trump is laying the groundwork to privatize America’s national parks, write Jon Jarvis and Gary Machlis

College of Natural Resources - Tue, 05/13/2025 - 10:33
The sunset in Yosemite National Park, California May 13, 2025

Former Director of the UC Berkeley Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity Jon Jarvis co-authored an Op-Ed published in The Guardian May 12th.

Empowering Global Scholars

College of Natural Resources - Mon, 05/12/2025 - 15:14
Image of Sheherazade. May 12, 2025

Donor-funded fellowships are supporting global scholars and solutions.

ERG alum Malini Ranganathan wins Anthony Leeds Book Prize

College of Natural Resources - Fri, 05/09/2025 - 16:54
A photo composite that shows a woman's headshot and cover of a book. May 09, 2025

Ranganathan, PhD '15 Energy and Resources, was recognized by the Critical Urban Anthropology Association for the innovative methodological and theoretical contributions to urban anthropology of her latest book, Corruption Plots.

LA’s communities of color bear a disproportionate burden of air pollution

College of Natural Resources - Thu, 05/08/2025 - 14:48
A photo that shows an aerial view of the buildings in downtown Los Angeles along with a partial view of a plane wing. May 08, 2025

A recent study led by ESPM researchers found that disadvantaged communities in Los Angeles experience significantly higher concentrations and emissions of hazardous air pollutants than non-disadvantaged communities.

A World of Climate Data

College of Natural Resources - Wed, 05/07/2025 - 14:40
 Fluxnet researchers Kyle Delwiche, Margaret Torn, Robert Shortt and Irene Alorda-Montiel, Dennis Baldocchi and former undergraduate student Jose Sanchez. Illustration by Valerie Chiang May 07, 2025

Rausser College researchers are helping lead a collaborative network of scientists measuring the breathing of the biosphere around the globe.

Lareau named MTI Innovator

Department of Bioengineering - Tue, 05/06/2025 - 15:55
Professor Liana Lareau is recognized for her revolutionary approach to treat retinitis pigmentosa and other dominant genetic diseases by combining CRISPR prime editing with machine learning.
Categories: Science News

Gustinvil named Outstanding GSI

Department of Bioengineering - Tue, 05/06/2025 - 15:44
Bioengineering PhD student Lordean Gustinvil will receive a 2024-25 Outstanding GSI Award from the UC Berkeley campus. Awards are given to the best GSIs of the year, nominated by the course instructor.
Categories: Science News

Dan Kammen elected to National Academy of Sciences

College of Natural Resources - Tue, 05/06/2025 - 15:42
A portrait of Dan Kammen May 06, 2025

The energy and resources group professor is one of eight UC Berkeley faculty elected this year. 

Indigenous knowledge helps biotech find new drugs. This grad student wants those companies to give back.

Department of Bioengineering - Tue, 05/06/2025 - 15:24
Bioengineering doctoral student Maria Astolfi and her colleagues argue for a new type of partnership with indigenous peoples to create a more ethical bioeconomy.
Categories: Science News

Sabeeha Merchant on life, photosynthesis, and genomics

College of Natural Resources - Tue, 05/06/2025 - 13:24
Image of Sabeeha Merchant and student in a laboratory May 06, 2025

Merchant, a professor in PMB and Molecular and Cell Biology, recently wrote about the history of her research in the Journal of Molecular Biology.

Narimane Chatar awarded MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship

Department of Integrative Biology - Sat, 05/03/2025 - 09:20
Narimane Chatar holding casts of mandibles from Smilodon and Barbourufelis.

Narimane Chatar, a current NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in Jack Tseng’s lab, was awarded the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship. Read more...

Categories: Science News

How ecosystems contribute to Colombia’s energy and water sectors

College of Natural Resources - Fri, 05/02/2025 - 12:36
Image of the Upper Sinú Basin in Colombia May 02, 2025

A new study demonstrates how natural capital accounting approaches can be used to value the economic benefits of ecosystems in Colombia’s Upper Sinú Basin.

Student Spotlight: Steven Zeng

College of Natural Resources - Thu, 05/01/2025 - 12:04
Thumbnail image of Steven holding up camera equipment May 01, 2025

The third-year environmental economics and policy student spoke to Rausser College about his journey to UC Berkeley and love of film production.

Rausser College recognized by the Annual Giving Network

College of Natural Resources - Wed, 04/30/2025 - 08:57
A photo showing copies of the Spring 2025 issue of Breakthroughs April 30, 2025

Efforts by College Relations staff to update the communications preferences for the College’s constituents were given an honorable mention in the Best in Annual Giving Awards.