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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

@aaberhe.com

9.4K followers 410 following 190 posts

Scientist, educator, advocate for inclusive excellence in STEM. Former Director of DOE Office of Science. Soil biogeochemistry | Climate Change |Political Ecology. aaberhe.com

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · May 9

New pub in @aguadvances.bsky.social: "A Soil Scientist Goes to Washington: Navigating the Path to National #ScienceLeadership" #STEM
Sharing my journey as DOE Office of Science Director, the challenges faced, and why inclusive excellence in STEM matters now more than ever.
Read: tinyurl.com/ms2nhr4f

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · 13d

This is neat.
Where would Soil Physicists fit in this?
@teamrat.bsky.social

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · 17d

Energized and hopeful after attending the annual meeting of the @uc-ppfp.bsky.social with a new fellow in our department & my wonderful @ucmerced.bsky.social colleagues.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · 26d

The application is now open for the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. If you are interested in applying for this fellowship to work with me, do reach out and visit the How to Apply section for key dates and application requirements. see lnkd.in/gKafRtku

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 27

First day of teaching!
Excited to be teaching a graduate-level soil organic matter dynamics class—the largest grad class I've taught to date! Students are eager to learn all about soil, carbon, and more. I'm always so excited to teach this class.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 26

It was a pleasure to visit @woodwellclimate.bsky.social and engage in many wonderful conversations.
Many thanks to Taniya RoyChowdhury for the invitation.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 26

It was a pleasure to meet you, David. I hope we’ll get a chance to continue the chat some day soon.

Reposted by Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

David McGlinchey @davemcg.bsky.social · Aug 25

It was a pleasure to meet Dr. Asmeret Berhe @aaberhe.com (former Director of the Office of Science at the Department of Energy) during her visit to @woodwellclimate.bsky.social today.

Excellent talk on soil carbon/precipitation shifts, and smart perspective on the future of federal climate science

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Reposted by Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

Kate Petersen @k8petersen.bsky.social · Aug 26

Thank you @aaberhe.com for visiting @woodwellclimate.bsky.social and the Climate Justice seminar today and sharing your science and insights! Such a gift to be in conversation with you again, and thanks for modeling scholarship and leadership rooted in community, inclusion, diversity, and curiosity.

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 26

It was wonderful to connect with you again, Kate. Thank you for your kind words.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 22

This is an irresponsible take on a v. complex issue.
Landmines are responsible for deaths of countless animals, they cause serious land degradation, chem pollution, physical disruption, and impede sustainable development.
Keeping people away is not the only thing that matters 4 nature conservation.

‘Landmines have become the greatest protectors’: how wildlife is thriving in the Korean DMZ

The demilitarised zone between North and South Korea has become an ecological oasis with nearly 6,000 species documented, including rare cranes, deer and bears

www.theguardian.com

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 15

Key messages:
1) Timing/Seasonality of change matters for C storage in Mediterranean grasslands under climate change.
2) Deep soil response matters as 1/3rd of SOC is below 1m.
3) Plant and soil systems' response to changes in precipitation is tightly coupled
2/2
bg.copernicus.org/articles/22/...

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 15

New pub from Leila Wahab's dissertation🌟
Results from a 20-year precipitation manipulation experiment show deep SOC responds to climate change!
3m deep sampling revealed C translocation to depth, highlighting the need to dig deeper to understand grassland carbon cycling 1/2 doi.org/10.5194/bg-2...

Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in subsoils after 20 years of added precipitation in a Mediterranean grassland

Abstract. Precipitation is a major driver of ecosystem change and the physiochemical characteristics of soil. Under different climate change scenarios, increased drought frequency and changing precipi...

doi.org

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Reposted by Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

SACNAS @sacnas.bsky.social · Aug 13

At #NDiSTEM2025, our daily plenaries spark connection, reflection, and vision. 🌟 Hear from the voices shaping #STEM: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, PhD, Donna Maria Blancero, PhD, & Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio. Don’t miss it. Learn more: s6.goeshow.com/sacnas/ndsc/... @aaberhe.com

Meet our 2025 NDiSTEM Keynote Speakers. Photo includes three speakers: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, PhD; Donna Maria Blancero, PhD; and Lt. Governor Joshua F. Tenorio. There are 2025 NDiSTEM artwork elements present, including a green bush over the top of rolling hills, a colorful teal and red bison, and buckeye branches, to represent Columbus, OH created by artist Chris Chipak.

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Reposted by Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

Avni Malhotra @avnimalh0tra.bsky.social · Aug 13

It’s hard to post about papers these days but I’ll try. Better slow than never. Here’s a blog post about our recently published paper. communities.springernature.com/posts/gettin...

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 9

👇🏽!

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · Aug 9

"PhD-level experts in your back pocket" is a completely nonsensical description of AI but a pretty good description of social media if you follow the right people

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Aug 8

🎓 Congratulations to our newly minted PhD, Dr. Melinda Gonzales!
Special thanks to @beccaryals.bsky.social for stepping in to advise Melinda during my extended leave and continuing as a wonderful mentor and co-advisor.
Grateful also to our awesome committee members for their guidance and support.

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Jul 30

There were almost 600 people ahead of me a couple of hours ago.

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Jul 30

This is new @agu.org
Has this ever been a thing before this year? Did I just miss this?

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Jul 25

Congratulations to Doctora Jennifer Alvarez-Sagrero!!

Reposted by Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

Ghezzehei Soil Physics Lab @ghezzehei.bsky.social · Apr 12

A colleague suggested a circular authorship list without any order, and I thought it would be fun to ask Claude.ai (@anthropic.com) to create one with a wordplay using soil orders. I had a quick chat with it for 2 minutes, and it came up with this result without me writing a single line of code #AI

An image of an ingenious academic abstract, featuring authors arranged in a circular formation. The abstract is replete with wordplay, employing soil orders as a clever literary device.

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Reposted by Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

Alexander Kopatz @go70north.bsky.social · Jul 25

In a letter in @science.org , 9 scientists in 7 countries Poland, Ukraine, Norway, Spain, US, Finland + Croatia, warn against deployment of explosive weapons as countries that border Russia withdraw from conventions that restrict them
w/ @katzyna.bsky.social, @aaberhe.com

Check 🧵by @aaberhe.com 👇

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Jul 24

🚨Published today in @science.org.
I join 8 scientists from 7 countries to warn that the world is sliding backwards from the promise of a mine-free future.
5 countries bordering Russia are withdrawing from the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty—& we/nature will pay the price. 1/n www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Weaponizing Europe’s borders imperils wildlife

www.science.org

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Reposted by Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe

dr Katarzyna Nowak @katzyna.bsky.social · Jul 24

In a letter @science.org we—9 scientists in 7 countries—warn against deployment of explosive indiscriminate weapons as countries that border Russia withdraw from conventions that restrict them, imperiling civilians as well as wildlife & ecosystems #landmines #UXO #ERW www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Weaponizing Europe’s borders imperils wildlife

www.science.org

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Jul 24

20 years ago, I wrote about why thinking about the environmental impacts of landmines is critical, if we are to effectively address the many, horrifying, long-lasting, and interconnected impacts of these cheap and indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Politicizing Indiscriminate Terror: Imagining an Inclusive Framework for the Anti-Landmines Movement - Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, 2005

Landmines are indiscriminate weapons of mass terror that detrimentally affect human beings, the ecological system they live in, the regional economy, and politi...

journals.sagepub.com

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Jul 24

In the 1990s, this issue finally received the global attention it deserved, and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 2025, the promise of a mine-free future for the world is slipping away. www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace...

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Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe @aaberhe.com · Jul 24

For more on the current issue, read the @ucmerced.bsky.social press release
Bottom line, we need defense strategies that don't weaponize our shared environment and cause misery for generations.
Alternative approaches exist—let's choose them. news.ucmerced.edu/news/2025/uc...

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