Building the Next Generation of Scientists: EESA at STEM Career Awareness Day

EESA exhibit at CSU East Bay STEM Career Awareness Day

Christina Patricola and Daniel Feldman at California State University East Bay’s STEM Career Awareness Day on April 27, 2017.

As a middle school student in eastern Massachusetts, Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (EESA) research scientist Christina Patricola became fascinated with the snowstorms that frequently blanketed her hometown—and quickly recognized her passion for atmospheric science.

But despite her early interest, Patricola says she doesn’t know if she would have continued on a scientific career path without having a mentor for inspiration.

That’s why she chose to spend time talking with East Bay students at California State University’s STEM Career Awareness Day (held on April 27 at the Aquatic Park Center in Berkeley) to let them know it’s possible to transform scientific curiosity into a career.

“It’s really important for students to see someone doing what they’re interested in and be able to talk to them about how you got there, what you needed to do, and about some of the challenges you experienced,” said Patricola, who has a doctorate in atmospheric science. She studies how hurricanes are affected by climate variability and global climate change using computational models for the CASCADE (a Berkeley Lab, University of California-Berkeley, and UC Davis) project.

Arctic surface and subsurface model created by EESA Research Associate Robin Lopez.

EESA research scientist Daniel Feldman and Patricola set up an EESA informational table at STEM Career Awareness Day. They gave insight to many of the 300 participants (who came from Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, and Emeryville) into what it’s like to be a scientist, talked about the research conducted at EESA and Berkeley Lab, and encouraged them to apply for the Lab’s student internship opportunities. Students also got a chance to learn more about the Arctic surface and subsurface by exploring a model built by EESA Research Associate Robin Lopez.

“The most common questions we got were about where we went to college, what classes we took, and what we do at work,” Patricola said. “The students were also curious about what climate models are and what sort of observations scientists collect in their research.”

Berkeley Lab’s Biosciences Area also participated in the daylong event, with the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in Emeryville welcoming students for a tour of its research facilities. Jennifer Tang, Berkeley Lab’s Federal and Community Relations Director, served as an on-site tour chaperone. And the Lab’s Workforce Development & Education department contributed educational materials.

“There are a lot of students who might not have people at home who they can talk to about what it’s like to go to graduate school and become a scientist,” Patricola said. “It’s important for EESA to encourage the next generation of students to be interested in tackling problems related to earth and the environment, as issues like water security will continue to be important in the future.”

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.