Dr. Tibisay Pérez is a Visiting Scholar from the Center for Atmospheric Sciences and Biogeochemistry (CCAB) at the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC). She is an isotope biogeochemist with interest in atmosphere-Biosphere interactions. She has evaluated the effect of land use change (agriculture and urbanization) in the biogeochemical Nitrogen cycle of tropical ecosystems.  During her visit at UC Berkeley she is working in the Marin Carbon project determining greenhouse gases (GHG) emission factors derived from food waste composting. This information along with Life Cycle Assessments, will contribute to propose an alternative and more sustainable food waste management for the State of California.

She has a Ph.D in Earth Sciences from the University of California in Irvine (UCI). Her research projects have allowed the quantification of loss of applied nitrogen as GHG emissions from Venezuelan agricultural fields; the evaluation of biochar application in agricultural soils as a climate change mitigation strategy and for prevention of fertilizer loss, and the effect of urbanization in the water quality of tropical rivers. She is also the coordinator of the Venezuelan component of the Latin American Nitrogen Network (Nnet) (http://www.iai.int/?p=2680).