Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Logo
Menu
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Organizational Charts
    • Virtual Tours
    • EESA Strategic Vision
  • Our People
    • A-Z People
    • Alumni Network
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • IDEA Working Group
    • Paul A. Witherspoon
    • Postdocs & Early Careers
    • Search by Expertise
  • Careers & Opportunities
    • Careers
    • Intern Pilot w/CSUEB
    • Mentorship Program
    • Recognition & Funding Opps
    • EESA Mini Grants
    • S&E Metrics for Performance and Promotion
    • Student Opportunities
    • Supervisor EnRichment (SupER) Program
    • Promotion Metrics (Scientific)
  • Research
    • Area-Wide Program Domain
      • Earth AI & Data
    • Our Divisions
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
      • Environmental & Biological Systems Science
        • Programs
        • Environmental Remediation & Water Resources
        • Ecosystems Biology Program
        • Bioenergy
      • Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
        • Terrestrial Ecosystem Science
      • Climate & Atmosphere Processes
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
        • Atmospheric System Research
      • Earth Systems & Society
        • Programs
        • Climate Modeling
    • Energy Geosciences Division
      • Discovery Geosciences
        • Programs
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geophysics
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Geochemistry
        • Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Isotope
      • Energy Resources and Carbon Management
        • Programs
        • Carbon Removal & Mineralization Program
        • Carbon Storage Program
        • Geothermal Systems
        • Hydrocarbon Science
        • Nuclear Energy & Waste
      • Resilient Energy, Water & Infrastructure
        • Programs
        • Water-Energy
        • Critical Infrastructure
        • Environmental Resilience
        • Grid-Scale Subsurface Energy Storage
        • National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI)
    • Projects
    • Research at a Glance
    • Publication Lists
    • Centers and Resources
    • Technologies & National User Programs
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
    • Operations
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
    • Earth & Environment Newsletter
  • Intranet
  • Safety
    • EESA Safety
  • FoW
  • Search

  • all
  • people
  • events
  • posts
  • pages
  • projects
  • publications

Secretary of California Department of Food and Agriculture Visits Berkeley Lab2 min read

by dakrotz on November 10, 2016

Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division Climate Sciences Department Ecology Department Energy Geosciences Division Geochemistry Department Geophysics Department Hydrogeology Department
Ross with LBNL Scientists Group Photo

From left to right: Margaret Torn, Bill Riley, Susan Hubbard, Gary Andersen, Secretary Ross, Yuxin Wu, Bob Wynn (senior advisor to the secretary), Romy Chakraborty, Peter Nico, Louise Glass, Javier Ceja Navarro, Blake Simmons, Eoin Brodie, and Will Stringfellow. (Photo credit: N. Kooyman)

The many potential benefits of pioneering science to agriculture was on display on Monday when Karen Ross, the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, visited Berkeley Lab and met with members of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area and the Biosciences Area. She also toured the Advanced Light Source.

During her visit, she learned how Berkeley Lab’s diverse efforts in both basic and applied science could help California address its agricultural and food challenges of the 21st Century, such as how to produce more food with fewer natural resources.

Deputy Lab Director Horst Simon welcomed Secretary Ross, and then Susan Hubbard, Associate Lab Director, provided a brief introduction of the National Lab system, Berkeley Lab, and the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area.

Next, several scientists provided overviews of research that could be tapped to help tackle California’s challenges in agriculture, soil health, water availability, climate change, and energy.

Photo of Ross wearing a headset to view the inside of a grapevine captured at the Advanced Light Source.

Secretary Ross wears a headset to view the inside of a grapevine captured at the Advanced Light Source. (Photo Credit: E. Essner)

Among the projects presented were new research on the impacts of climate change on California agriculture, advances in groundwater management practices and water reuse for agriculture. Harnessing the power of the planet’s microbial engines was a topic that led to good discussion, with particular emphasis on how soil microbes can help improve food production, how microbes that inhabit insect guts can be targeted to fight agricultural pests, and the role that microbes play in enhancing the terrestrial carbon sink and maintaining healthy soils. Innovations in urban agriculture, advanced composting, and remote sensing methods that enable scientists to image soil and agricultural systems were also discussed.

Secretary Ross then visited the Advanced Light Source, where she learned how a 3-D microscopy technique at beamline 8.3.2 enables scientists to see water as it’s transported throughout a plant. This work has enabled scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study how grapevines respond to drought stress.

Go here to read a blog post by Secretary Ross on her visit.

News & Events

Chun Chang Places Second in Annual Berkeley Lab Pitch Competition3 min read

January 18, 2023

Commercializing Berkeley Lab inventions is an important part of the Lab’s mission, and one that requires strong communication skills. For example, Lab inventors need to be able to pitch their ideas to external partners and potential funders.  The annual Berkeley Lab Pitch Competition occurred on October 27, 2022 and is a part of an entrepreneurship…

EESA Scientists Collaborate With Universities to bring Environmental Science Research Opportunities and Training to Students Underrepresented in STEM3 min read

January 13, 2023

  EESA researchers are collaborators in three of the 41 projects awarded in December by DOE through its Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative.  RENEW aims to build foundations for research at institutions that have been historically underrepresented in the Office of Science (SC) research portfolio. The initiative provides opportunities for undergraduate and…

New Report Explores Revolutionary Environmental Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure5 min read

January 10, 2023

In a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) and DOE’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program, as well as with community experts, the Artificial Intelligence for Earth System Predictability (AI4ESP) workshop was held from October through December 2021. BER developed the process as the Model-Experiment paradigm, or ModEx, and a report released this fall outlines the key takeaways of last year’s event.

A Q&A With Postdoc Kunxiaoja Yuan3 min read

January 4, 2023

  Kunxiaojia Yuan received her Bachelor’s of Engineering in remote sensing and Ph.D. in geographic information engineering from Wuhan University. She is a postdoctoral researcher in EESA, with a research focus on global carbon, energy, and water cycle analysis and model evaluation using machine learning and causal inference. What motivated you to pursue a postdoc…

  • Our People
    • Area Offices
    • Committees
    • Directors
    • Organizational Charts
    • Postdocs
    • Staff Only
    • Search by Expertise
  • Departments
    • Climate Sciences
    • Ecology
    • Geochemistry
    • Geophysics
    • Hydrogeology
  • Research
    • Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division
    • Energy Geosciences Division
    • Program Domains
      • Programs
    • Projects
  • Contact
    • 510 486 6455
    • eesawebmaster@lbl.gov
    • Our Identity

Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo DOE Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Logo UC

A U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory Managed by the University of California

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory · Earth and Environmental Sciences Area · Privacy & Security Notice