The ESPM PhD student was first elected to the Albany City Council in 2022 and most recently served as the city’s vice mayor.
The students in the Rausser College of Natural Resources are at the core of the College’s mission to “See the Bigger Picture. Make a Better World.” Here we highlight the stories of some of our outstanding undergraduate and graduate students who embody that motto in their research, community action, and daily lives. To nominate a student or group to be featured, use this submission form.
From engineer to interdisciplinary scholar
PhD candidate Cristina Crespo Montañés is building on her engineering background to help decarbonize the energy sector.
Connecting with communities and cultures through food
Undergraduates in the Food, Culture, and the Environment course partnered with local and international organizations over the summer on projects with real-world implications.
Activism as Academics
Bhavna Shamasunder, PhD '11 Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, is a leading expert in environmental justice and on cumulative burden.
Advancing climate equity around the world
We highlight some of the nearly three dozen graduate students supported by the Katherine S. and James K. Lau Graduate Fellowship in Climate Equity.
Aline Abayo named participant in Future Nobel Laureates Scholarship Program
The ERG graduate student will travel to Stockholm, Sweden, during the Nobel Week Dialogue in December.
Profile: A Bright Start
Alum Lee Chae utilizes AI to map and tap plant bioactive compounds that could potentially benefit human health.
Profile: The Fungal Detective
Former postdoctoral researcher Matthew Fisher traces the evolution of fungi across space and time to combat the diseases they drive.
Conociendo nuestra cultura
This past summer, fourth-year environmental economics and policy student Magaly Santos studied abroad in Mexico City and Oaxaca, exploring sustainable agriculture and water management strategies as communities continue to adapt to climate change.
Rausser College student, alums named to 2024 Grist 50
ESPM graduate student Ryan Reed and alums Elsie Joshi and Sage Lenier were honored by Grist for their work solving climate problems in innovative and exciting ways.
Olympians among us
Rausser College of Natural Resources cheers on five current or former students who are competing at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
Student Spotlight: Abi Shiva
The Environmental Sciences and Legal Studies graduate served as the undergraduate speaker for the 2024 Rausser College Commencement held on May 13.
Student Spotlight: Cheri Pearson
Pearson, a fourth-year Conservation and Resource Studies and English double major, speaks about attending UC Berkeley as a re-entry student and mother of Cal alumni.
Three seniors named winners of the 2024 Babcock Prize
Endowed as a tribute to longtime soil chemistry professor Kenneth Babcock, the prize recognizes high-achieving ESPM undergraduates.
Student Spotlight: Vitto Resnick
Resnick will achieve an extremely rare feat: graduating with four bachelor’s degrees in psychology, chemical biology, nutritional science–physiology and metabolism, and molecular and cell biology–neurobiology.
Student Spotlight: Trinity Reimer
Fourth-year microbial biology major Trinity Reimer speaks about her background, experience at UC Berkeley and as a Bakar Ignite Scholar, and plans for the future.
Student Spotlight: Mayuresh Visswanathan
The fourth-year forestry and business administration double major talks about woodworking, forestry camp, and his time at UC Berkeley.
Student Spotlight: Shreya Chaudhuri
The third-year environmental science and human geography student recently completed the Millennium Fellowship program through the United Nations Academic Impact initiative.
Influencing the next generation of climate leaders
UC Berkeley environmental leaders offer stories and insights from working at the intersection of climate and politics.
Student Spotlight: Mindy Jewell Price
We spoke to the PhD candidate about her research, life in the Arctic, and how climate change is reshaping Canada’s Northwest Territories.