Search Results for 'ecology'
ERG Site
About ERG
ERG is a collaborative community of graduate students, core faculty, over 150 affiliated faculty and researchers across the campus, and over 500 alumni across the globe. Our students work across disciplines and departments to create potentially transformative knowledge for the planet. ERG is a world-renowned program with a 40-year history of outstanding research, education and […]
Affiliated Faculty
ERG has a small core faculty but a much larger group (100+) of affiliated faculty. Affiliated faculty are based in other departments on campus or at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and share ERG’s commitment to shared learning and interdisciplinary work. They are advisors, mentors, or employers to ERG students, and serve on master’s project, […]
Courses
Please note: This is a full list of ERG course offerings; not all courses are offered each term. For current course offerings, please refer to the online Schedule of Classes. ENERES 98/198 – Energy DeCal Daniel Kammen (Instructor of Record); class conducted by undergraduate students Introduction to energy topics and explore the social, environmental and […]
Inclusion Equity
Equity and inclusion banners in Sproul Plaza — a project initiated, designed, and temporarily installed by the ERG Diversity Student Committee. (C. Hyun, January 2017) Equity, inclusion, and diversity (EID) at ERG The mission of ERG is a sustainable environment and a just society. ERG actively promotes intellectual, racial, ethnic, and gender inclusion. To […]
Faculty by Primary Interest
Areas of Interest Climate Change Ecology Energy Governance Water International Climate Change ERG CORE David Anthoff David Anthoff is an environmental economist who studies climate change and environmental policy. He co-develops the integrated assessment model FUND that is used widely in academic research and in policy analysis John Harte John Harte’s research interests span ecological […]
Give to ERG
Give Big to ERG on Thursday, March 12 during UC Berkeley’s annual Big Give fundraiser! Big Give is UC Berkeley’s annual fundraising blitz—24 hours when we celebrate all of the moments that make Berkeley such a big deal by sharing the love on social media, supporting all of our favorite schools and programs, and competing […]
Harte Lab: Ecology & Global Change
Ecology and global change are the primary topics of research in the Harte Lab. Among the goals are: to characterize ecological feedbacks to climate change, to predict effects of global change on biodiversity, and to develop fundamental theory that predicts the structure of ecosystems across spatial scales.
Master’s Degree Curriculum Requirements (MA or MS)
The purpose of the ERG Master’s program is to educate the next generation of interdisciplinary leaders. Specifically, students are taught the range of methods and subjects they should be able to understand, advance, and critique to address critical issues stemming from the interaction of humans and the environment. To that end, the requirements for the […]
Minor/Certificate in Sustainability — Courses
Summer 2020 Curriculum ERG’s minor and certificate require a minimum of five courses and 15 total units of coursework, typically completed over two summers (or for a UC Berkeley student, a summer and a fall semester). All minor or certificate students must take EITHER Energy and Society (ENERES W100/ PUBPOL W184) or Climate Change Economics […]
Programs
ENERGY AND RESOURCES GROUP PROGRAMS Ph.D. – Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources Master’s Degree – Two-year program in Master of Science (M.S.) or Master of Arts (M.A.) in Energy and Resources Concurrent ERG/Public Policy Master’s Degree – Three-year program in Energy and Resources (M.S. or M.A.) and Master’s Degree of Public Policy (M.P.P.) […]
Summer Instructors
The Energy and Resources Group summer instructors understand the complex and interdisciplinary nature of sustainability. All have significant experience teaching and/or professional experience in the subject areas of their courses. For course descriptions and schedule, visit our Summer Curriculum and Schedule page. Unless otherwise stated, office hours take place at 310 Barrows Hall. Instructors listed […]
Support ERG
ERG students and faculty work across disciplines and departments to create transformative knowledge for the planet and its people. Forty years of ERG research has advanced the fields of global change ecology, renewable energy deployment, efficient energy systems, ecological economics, and equitable and affordable access to water and energy. Donate now to support ERG's unique culture of interdisciplinary research and teaching for a sustainable environment and a just society!
Sustainability Summer 2020 is on!
Summer 2020 registration is open! We are preparing to offer all of our courses through remote instruction for summer 2020 due to concerns about COVID-19. Interested students are encouraged to continue to register. The 8-week Sustainability Minor/Certificate program runs from June 22-August 14. Registration is open for all students, domestic and international, and the public. […]
Sustainability Summer Minor and Certificate
***Summer 2020 registration is open! We will offer all of our courses through remote instruction for summer 2020 due to concerns about COVID-19. Interested students are encouraged to continue to register. Please note that two courses, Energy and Society (W100/W184) and Water and Sanitation Justice (W174) are already well-designed exclusively for online instruction. We […]
Who We Are
A Brief History of ERG For thirty years, the Energy and Resources Group (ERG) at the University of California, Berkeley has provided its outstanding graduate students and exceptional faculty the scholarly conditions in which to: study the environmental sciences, analyze the social causes of our energy and environmental problems, undertake field research in a variety […]
Faculty
John Harte
Professor
John Harte is a physicist turned ecologist. His research interests span ecological field research, the theory of complex systems, and policy analysis. Current interests include applying insights from information theory to the analysis of complex ecosystems and empirical investigation of climate-ecosystem feedback dynamics.
Students
Richard Barnes
PhD
Richard applies computational and mathematical techniques to better understand the complex interface of society and the environment. His work includes developing (a) in silico models to exlore ecoevolutionary interactions over long time scales and (b) high-speed algorithms for understanding landscape use and evolution. A recipient of both the DOE CSGF and the NSF GRFP fellowships, […]
Adam Hanbury-Brown
MS, PhD
Adam is interested in how climate change and biodiversity loss can be mitigated through agriculture, forestry, and conservation strategy. Prior to joining ERG, Adam worked with an early stage agriculture technology company called TerViva where he conducted research and business development to expand the adoption of novel, sustainable crops on marginal land. This work exposed […]
Sangcheol Moon
MA
Sangcheol is interested in feedstock resources and materials loop modeling under the scenario of institutional regulation to support circular economy, Industrial ecology, green chemistry, and the design and implementation mechanisms of public policy and diffusion of technological innovation. She is also interested in firms’ sustainability decision making mechanisms to incorporate and influence environmental regulatory framework. […]
Marshall Worsham
MA, PhD
Marshall’s interests lie in environmental governance and ecology, in particular, the relationships among regulatory structure, conflict, and ecosystem outcomes. Before ERG, Marshall was the content manager for a Taipei-based startup working on the demand side of the energy efficiency and renewable transition equation. At ERG, he hopes to build on his background as a writer […]
Hilary Yu
MS
Hilary received her B.A. in Government and Biological Sciences, with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the latter, from Cornell University, where she graduated in 2015. At ERG, Hilary is interested in exploring the science-law nexus and the factors – political, economic, and social – that inform the translation of science into legislation. […]
Alumni
Rebecca Coates-Maldoon
MA, MPP
Assessing Instream Flow Standards Under Climate Change Implications for State-Level Policy in the U.S. (MS/MPP ’17) Rebecca completed a Master’s degree in both the Energy and Resources Group and the Goldman School of Public Policy (MA/MPP). Her research interests focus on the sustainable use of water resources, integrating work in ecology, equity, and climate change […]
Reuben Deumling
MA, PhD
The Industrial Ecology of Household Refrigerators: Product Life and the Demand for Materials and Energy (’99 MA) Public Policies, Private Choices: Consumer Desire and the Practice of Energy Efficiency (’08 PhD)
Nathan Johnson
MS
A Hierarchical Concept of Industrial Ecology: Scale, Values and the Paper Industry (’98 M.S.)
Christopher Jones
MS, PhD
Chris Jones is lead developer at the CoolClimate Network, an applied research consortium at UC Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory that supports the development of comprehensive, socially integrated carbon footprint management tools and programs for individuals, schools, businesses and communities. His primary research interests intersect the fields of industrial ecology, environmental psychology, and climate […]
Anna Kantenbacher
MS, PhD
Environmental policy making; balancing short-term pressures with long-term needs; climate changes policies; economics; decision analysis; ecology.
Ann Kinzig
PhD
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Ann Kinzig Ph.D. ’94 Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University Perhaps more than most alumni, Ann Kinzig’s intellectual path has traversed ERG’s interdisciplinary bounds, grappling with the physical, life and social science aspects of the world’s ecological and social problems during, and especially after, her time at ERG. […]
Sharad Lele
PhD
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: SHARAD LÉLÉ Ph.D. 1993 Senior Fellow, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (Bangalore) Sharad Lele never intended to become an academic. And even though his resume is chock-full of scholarly publications, he still believes that applying the interdisciplinary academic knowledge gained at ERG defines ERG’s crucial role. After all, he says, […]
Erica Newman
MS, PhD
Erica’s niche is fire, particularly in the ecologically sensitive region of French Polynesia. She has already been trained as a physicist, but her curiosity draws her to ecology. ERG has become a unique place for Erica to explore her aspirations in the biological sciences alongside those who have successfully trekked through similar transitions. Read in her own words how Erica has fine-tuned her fascinations while at ERG.
Tracey Osborne
PhD
Carbon Capital: The Political Ecology of Carbon Forestry and Development in Chiapas, Mexico (’10 PhD)
Malini Ranganathan
MS, PhD
Can Co-ops become Energy Producers too? Challenges and Prospects for Efficient Co-Generation in India’s Co-Operative Sugar Sector (’05 MS) Fluid Hegemony: A Political Ecology of Water, Market Rule, and Insurgence at Bangalore’s Frontier (’10 PhD)
Jessica Reilly
MS, PhD
Jess studies the impact of and adaptation to climate change on Latin America’s coasts. Currently, she travels on her 39-foot sailboat, Oleada, down the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America, through the Panama Canal, and into the Caribbean to document local climate knowledge through GIS mapping and personal narratives. You can follow her journey […]
Alana Siegner
MA, PhD
Alana Siegner graduated from Tufts University in 2012 with a double major in Environmental Studies and International Relations. She was the Local Outreach Chair of the Tufts-Engineers Without Borders chapter, and spent 3 summers traveling to Uganda to work on an EWB clean water storage project. Before coming to ERG, Alana served for 2 years […]
Adam Smith
PhD
Facets of Biological Conservation: Appropriate Ecology, Policy, and Ethics for Ensuring the Perpetuity of Biodiversity (’09 PhD)
Ida Sognnaes
MA
Ida Sognnaes is a PhD student in the Energy and Resources Group. She is originally from Norway and came to Berkeley for the first time as part of her five year MSc in Applied Mathematics and Physics where she focused on Renewable Energy and Climate Science. She wrote her Master thesis with John Harte in […]
Matthew Turner
PhD
Life on the Margin: Fulsse Herding Practices and the Relationship Between Economy and Ecology in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali (’92 Ph.D.)
Justin West
MS
Justin’s background in botany and agroecology informs his research in perennial crop farming systems and woody biomass coppice. Most recently he has been researching tropical fodder bank systems in South America. Justin previously studied at The Colorado College (BA), and The University of Plymouth (MSc). He worked as a vegetation ecologist in various parts of […]
Cleo Woelfle-Erskine
MS, PhD
In the tradition of Barad and Haraway, I practice Science and Technology Studies (STS) “from the inside”, drawing on my own natural science training to inform the theoretical frameworks I develop. My interdisciplinary outlook is grounded in training, publication, and research in hydrology, aquatic ecology, and fluvial geomorphology, as well as in social science and […]
News
Distinguished Scientist and ERG Emeritus Remembering Jack Hollander
ERG emeritus professor Jack M. Hollander passed away on November 10, 2019 at age 92.
Professor John Harte and Alumnus Scott Saleska Elected as Ecological Society of America Fellows
ERG Professor of the Graduate School John Harte and alumnus Scott Saleska (PhD ’98), now a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, have been announced as Ecological Society of America (ESA) 2019 Fellows for their outstanding contributions to the ecological sciences. The ESA Fellows program was established in 2012 and […]
Transportation Emissions in Mexico City – How Big Data is Driving Change
Mexico City is one of the most congested cities in the world, and it’s taking a toll on the health of its citizens and the environment. Sergio Castellanos, a postdoctoral scholar with Energy and Resources Group, along with Dan Kammen and other researchers from UC Berkeley and the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change […]
ERG Summer Courses Available
ERG is offering four of its most popular courses this summer! Enroll Today!
BOOK: Applying Anthropology and Physics to Sustainability
New book by Dove and Kammen released this week.
UC Berkeley Ranks 1st in the World for Environment
Subject-specific rankings from US New & World Report are based on academic research performance in those subjects.
Will Dr. Harte’s MaxEnt lead to a unified theory of ecology?
"MaxEnt breaks everything that we ever thought about communities and species and ecology."
Professor Harte Featured in DOE’s Symmetry
He transitioned from physics to ecology. And at ERG, he's not the only one.
Events
Topic Links
Oliver James
Oliver is a concurrent ERG/MPP student at UC Berkeley. His research and policy interests lie at the intersection of climate change, conservation, and natural resource management in California and the American West. Prior to joining ERG, he was a graduate fellow at the Strategic Growth Council in the Governor’s Office of California. A lifelong student […]
Dipti Bhatnagar
Dipti got her Masters at ERG in 2008. Since then, she went back to India working with communities displaced by dams. She also fought for water justice in California, working with Native American tribes on access to water for traditional ceremonies and with Latino farmworkers across the California Central Coast on access to clean drinking […]
Thomas Powell
Tom Powell is a forest ecologist that uses empirical and theoretical approaches to understand how terrestrial ecosystems and the services they provide respond to and recover from anthropogenic and natural disturbances. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow working on the NGEE-Tropics project at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Tom has researched and published on ecosystems […]
Hikari Murayama
After earning her B.A. in Chemical Physics from Wellesley College, Hikari began her professional career doing economic consulting for Bates White in Washington D.C. While her interest in data and analytics never subsided, Hikari’s passion for socially-focused, impact-driven work led her to join NASA DEVELOP. She worked on land cover and water remote sensing to […]
Edem Yevoo
Edem received his B.S in Environmental Science and Technology, with a concentration in Ecological Technology Design and minor in Geographic Information Science (GIS) from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2019. Edem is interested in sustainable energy development and natural resource management, in particular, exploring solutions to renewable energy integration and energy access in […]
Polly Buotte
Polly Buotte currently works on modeling the effects of climate on vegetation productivity, mortality, and distribution. She has a BS in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State, an MS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, and a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Idaho. Research Group: Kueppers Lab Contact: polly.buotte@berkeley.edu
Jessica Katz
At ERG, Jessica is focusing on learning advanced methods to comprehensively evaluate the ecological, economic, and societal impacts of development pathways in and beyond the energy sector. She joins ERG from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where she has led analysis projects to provide technical assistance to emerging economies as they transition to cleaner, advanced […]
Rachel Ward
Rachel is interested in the social, ecological, and geophysical dynamics of agro-forestry coffee and cacao systems in the tropics. Her aim is to couple participatory research of agro-forestry management choices with mathematical modeling and statistical analysis to understand how changes in management influence ecosystem function and regional climate. Prior to joining ERG, Rachel lived and […]
Nancy Freitas
Nancy Freitas grew up in Tucson, Arizona and received her B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Arizona (UA). She worked in environmental conservation with Peace Corps Paraguay and then helped run the Bio/Diversity Project, a STEM outreach and education program, at the UA. At ERG Nancy’s research focuses on how carbon cycling in […]
Micah Elias
Micah Elias earned his B.S. in International Agricultural Development from UC Davis in 2012. After graduating he worked with international development organizations and non-profits working to connect small farmers to markets and technical resources. Later, he served in Peace Corps Panama and worked as the National Coffee Coordinator where he trained volunteers and their community […]