Biden nominates UC Merced professor to key leadership post in Department of Energy
UC Merced can now add another “first” to its list of accomplishments in its just over 15 years of existence.
President Joe Biden this month nominated UC Merced Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe to be the new director of the Office of Science in the federal Department of Energy.
Biden’s action marks the first time a UC Merced professor has ever been nominated by a U.S. president to lead a federal department, university officials confirmed.
Berhe will have to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate and would serve for as long as Biden is president. “I am honored to be considered to serve as the Director of the Office of Science at DOE” Berhe tweeted.
Behe is a professor of soil biochemistry at UC Merced’s School of Natural Sciences and Department of Life Sciences, according to a university news release.
She also serves as interim associate dean for graduate education. A few years ago she was named UC Merced’s Ted and Jan Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology.
Her research focuses on “soil science, global change science and political ecology with an emphasis on how the soil system regulates the Earth’s climate and the dynamic two-way relationship between the natural environment and human communities,” the announcement reads.
UC Merced officials wrote in an email to the Sun-Star that Berhe may have been recognized due to her research.
“We assume that Professor Berhe’s stellar work in soil science and climate change and her contributions to equity has played a role in the administration’s consideration of her,” UC Merced officials wrote.
“Finally, the nomination by President Biden is just the first step in a long process that only becomes official with Senate confirmation. There has been no timeline for the hearings because they depend on the Senate’s schedule, but it typically takes weeks to months. We are all anxiously awaiting word on the next steps, hopefully within the next few weeks.”
She has been recognized for her research, appearing on TED Talk where she discussed a solution to climate change.
Some of Berhe’s accomplishments include serving as the chair of the U.S. National Committee on Soil Science at the National Academies; was a leadership board member for the Earth Science Women’s Network, and being recognized as a American Geophysical Union fellow. Berhe is also a member of U.S. National Academies of New Voices in Science, Engineering, and Medicine.
In addition, she is a co-principal investigator in the ADVANCEGeo Partnership, an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation in an effort to empower (geo)scientists to respond to and prevent harassment, discrimination, bullying and other exclusionary behaviors in research environments.
Born and raised in Asmara, Eritrea, she earned a bachelor’s degree in soil and water conservation from the University of Asmara, then a master’s degree in political ecology from Michigan State University, and a doctorate in biogeochemistry from UC Berkeley.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Biden nominates UC Merced professor to key leadership post in Department of Energy."