Forum on China and the Environment Provides Opportunities for Networking, Collaboration

Chinese Environmental Scholars Forum panel at UC Berkeley

A panel at the fourth annual Chinese Environmental Scholars Forum included EESA postdoctoral fellow Hang Deng (at podium), EESA Energy Geosciences Division director Jens Birkholzer (third from L), and EESA Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division Director Bill Collins (far R). (Photo credit: Katherine Tsen)

Over 100 scholars from more than 50 different universities and institutions recently gathered at UC Berkeley for the fourth annual Chinese Environmental Scholars Forum, an event supported by Berkeley Lab’s Environmental & Earth Sciences Area (EESA) and the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center for Water Energy Technologies (CERC-WET).

With a global perspective and a special focus on China, the Chinese Environmental Scholars Forum is dedicated to providing a space for scholars who work on sustainability-related research to share their work, exchange ideas, network, and explore potential collaborations. During the event held on May 20 and 21, early career researchers gave over 30 oral and poster presentations in four areas: 1) Hydroclimate, Water Resources, and Big Data; 2) Water-Energy/Carbon-Water Nexus; 3) Water Pollution and Remediation; and 4) Environmental and Energy Policy.

poster session at Chinese Environmental Scholars Forum

The poster session at the fourth annual Chinese Environmental Scholars Forum. (Photo credit: Katherine Tsen)

“This is my second Chinese Environmental Scholars Forum experience and I really enjoyed the friendship, fruitful conversations, and fun in Berkeley,” said Xindi Hu, a doctoral student studying environmental health at Harvard University.

EESA Associate Lab Director Susan Hubbard and CERC-WET Executive Director Carolyn Remick kicked off the event by speaking about EESA and CERC-WET’s research scope, as well as potential opportunities for research collaborations. Jens Birkholzer and Bill Collins (the directors for EESA’s Energy Geosciences and Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Divisions respectively) gave talks at the Forum and spoke on a panel about interdisciplinary research. And professors and scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, East China University of Science & Technology, Nanjing University, Peking University, and Sun Yat-Sen University shared their insights and thoughts regarding the prospects of doing sustainability-related research in China.

The event was organized by a group of young Chinese environmental scholars led by postdocs and students at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley.

“I hope this Forum will continue,” said Cenlin He, a UCLA doctoral student studying atmospheric science. “I’m looking forward to next year.”

News & Events

Three EESA scientists receive DOE Early Career Research Awards

August 10, 2017

Three Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) scientists receive the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science Early Career Research Award for 2017. Congratulations to Nick Bouskill, Charlie Koven, and Neslihan Tas Baas.

EESA Develops New Approach to Restock California’s Groundwater via Almond Orchards, Vineyards

August 3, 2017

Groundwater—the water stored underneath the Earth’s surface between the cracks and spaces in soil, sand, and bedrock—is essential for the California residents and farmers who rely on it for up to 46 percent of their annual water use. Yet during the 2012-2017 drought, the state’s surface water supply was not sufficient to meet demand, resulting in excess groundwater pumping that caused land subsidence of up to 13 inches in some parts of the San Joaquin Valley.

Now a team of scientists at Berkeley Lab’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Area are working with farmers and partners like the Almond Board of California and UC Davis to test on-farm banking, a new approach that has the potential to manage groundwater more sustainably. It’s an improvement on the age-old method of groundwater recharge, the process of replenishing aquifers by infiltrating water from the surface into shallow aquifers.

“On-farm banking has the promise of making the most productive use of the greatest amount of land possible while increasing the reliability and resiliency of California’s groundwater supply,” says EESA scientist Peter Nico, a soil and environmental biogeochemist.

EESA Scientist Builds Cross-Border Collaborations for Geothermal Research

August 1, 2017

Thirty-five years ago, Berkeley Lab’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) scientist Patrick Dobson began his career as a graduate student by conducting field mapping, collecting fluid samples, and learning the ropes from local scientists at the Los Azufres geothermal field in Michoacán, Mexico. During his summer doing field work in Mexico, he met Berkeley Lab’s Marcelo Lippmann, who was attending a symposium on the Cerro Prieto geothermal field, the subject of a collaborative research project between the Lab (funded by the U.S. Department of Energy) and the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico’s state-owned utility.

Now—after decades of leading geothermal exploration projects all over the world, including Indonesia, Central America, and South America— Dobson’s work has come full circle.

Earlier this year, he spent two weeks in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico as a Fulbright Specialist in geothermal research. Hosted by the Center for Scientific Investigation and Higher Education in Ensenada (CICESE), one of the main hubs for geothermal work in the country, Dobson met with Mexican researchers to share knowledge, identify areas of mutual interest, and explore potential areas of collaboration.

Berkeley Lab Scientists Brief California Science Advisory Panel for Food and Agriculture

July 28, 2017

As two-thirds of the fruits and nuts—and over a third of the vegetables—produced in the United States are grown in California, it’s crucial that the Golden State cultivate healthy soils that are resilient to stresses such as climate change, drought, and groundwater overuse. Now scientists at Berkeley Lab’s Earth & Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) and Biosciences Area are contributing to the effort by sharing their expertise with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA)’s Science Advisory Panel, a group comprised of farmers, agriculture professionals, and experts in areas such as water, conservation, and resource management. Last week, EESA scientist Peter Nico hosted the panel at the Lab to brief them on research related to developing healthy soils, sustainable groundwater management strategies, and climate-adaptive agriculture.