From Roots to Reach: One Scientist’s Quest to Understand Soils, Confront Climate Change, and Open Doors in STEM

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, professor of soil biogeochemistry and Falasco Chair in earth sciences and geology at the University of California, Merced, is UNC Asheville’s 26th S. Dexter Squibb Distinguished Lecturer. Her research interest lies at the intersection of soil science, geochemistry, global change science, and political ecology.

In her lecture, Berhe will explain how the soil system controls the Earth’s climate and discuss climate-smart land and soil management methods that play a role in reversing the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. 

Berhe will also discuss how she infused the perspective of an earth system scientist into the realm of science policy at one of the largest science funding agencies in the nation, the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Berhe has been recognized for her efforts to improve equity and inclusion in STEM. 

The S. Dexter Squibb Endowed Distinguished Lectureship brings well-known scientists to the UNC Asheville campus to give lectures and to meet with area students and educators. The lecture series honors S. Dexter Squibb, former UNC Asheville Department of Chemistry chair. Squibb was a member of the faculty from 1964-94 and was instrumental in developing UNC Asheville’s Department of Chemistry into a certified four-year program.