Established in Memory of Steven Manley (1958 - 1979). While working for his second summer as a firefighter with the California Division of Forestry, Steve Manley and three other firefighters lost their lives on August 15, 1979, battling a brush wildfire near Santa Maria. He was a 21-year old Environmental Studies Major in his third year at UCSB at the time. Steve Manley was an active proponent of the protection, conservation and planned use of the environmental landscape. It was his field of study and way of life. His summer firefighting job was directly related to his desire to learn by doing in the protection of the land. He had a lifelong interest in the outdoors, the sea and physical activity. This lecture series is a celebration of his life.
41st Annual Steven Manley Memorial Lecture
Talk Title: Digging Deeper: Unearthing Solutions for Climate Change, Advancing Science, and Nurturing Inclusive STEM
Date: Friday, May 23, 2025 at 4:00 pm
Location: TBA
View the flier here.
Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
Professor, Soil Biogeochemistry
Ted & Jan Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences
University of California, Merced
Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology at the University of California, Merced. She previously served as the Director of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science (Senate confirmed, Presidential Nomination). Her research interest lies at the intersection of soil science, geochemistry, global change science, and political ecology. Prof. Berhe’s work seeks to improve our understanding of how the soil system regulates the earth’s climate and the dynamic two-way relationship between soil and human communities. Numerous awards and honors have recognized her scholarly contributions and efforts to improve equity and inclusion in STEM. She is an Elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America, and a member of the inaugural class of the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's New Voices in Science, Engineering, and Medicine.
Talk Description: The soil system stores twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and all the world's vegetation combined. This presentation will discuss the fundamental mechanisms by which the soil system controls the earth's climate and practices that have shown promise to bend the curve of increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Dr. Berhe will share insights from her career journey from professor to leader of one of the nation's largest science funding agencies. Drawing on her earth system science expertise, she will discuss how the Office of Science works to advance scientific frontiers across disciplines, address grand challenges like climate change, and strengthen American leadership in science and technology by engaging talent from across the country. The presentation will explore how evidence-based approaches in both research and policy can accelerate scientific discovery and impact.
Past Steven Manley Memorial Lecturers
| 2024 |
Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Lecturer of American Indian Studies at California State University San Marcos; Independent educator/advisor on Indigenous environmental issues; Freelance journalist |
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| 2023 |
Ricardo J. Salvador, Director and Senior Scientist of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, D.C.; Board of Agriculture and National Resources of the National Academy of Sciences; International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food |
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| 2022 | No Steven Manley Memorial Lecture this year | |
| 2021 | No Steven Manley Memorial Lecture this year | |
| 2020 | No Steven Manley Memorial Lecture this year | |
| 2019 |
Alexis Bunten Ph.D., (Unangan/Yup'ik), Co-Director, Bioneers' Indigeneity Program |
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| 2018 | Brenda Ekwurzel, Director of Climate Science for the Union of Concerned Scientists | |
| 2017 | Charles Lester, Speaker, Lecturer, and former Director of the California Coastal Commission | |
| 2016 | Charles Fishman, Author & Speaker, NY Times Bestsellers: The Walmart Effect and A Curious Mind" | |
| 2015 | Julia Marton-Lefèvre, former Director General IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), Author, Lecturer | |
| 2014 | Olivier De Schutter, Professor, UCLouvain, Brussels and UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food | |
| 2013 | Paul Greenberg, Author & Speaker, NY Times Bestseller: Four Fish: the Future of the Last Wild Food | |
| 2012 | Jay Gulledge, Sr. Scientist & Director for Science & Impacts, Center for Climate & Energy Solutions | |
| 2011 | Daniel P. Schrag, Director, Harvard University Center for the Environment | |
| 2010 | Deb Callahan, President, The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics & the Environment | |
| 2009 | Richard Harris, Science Correspondent, National Public Radio (NPR) | |
| 2008 | James P. Kennett, Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Earth Science, UC Santa Barbara | |
| 2007 | John W. Day, Jr., Distinguished Prof. Emeritus, Dept. of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State Univ. | |
| 2006 | Robert Glennon, Morris K. Udall Prof. of Law & Public Policy, Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona | |
| 2005 | Christopher Flaviin, President, Worldwatch Institute | |
| 2004 | Norman C. Ellstrand, Professor, Dept. of Botany & Plant Sciences, UC Riverside | |
| 2003 | Harriet Ritvo, Arthur J. Conner Professor of History, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | |
| 2002 | Tundi Agardy, Director, Sound Seas, Washington, D.C. | |
| 2001 | Cynthia Moss, Director, Amboseli Elephant Research Project, Nairobi, Kenya | |
| 2000 | No Steven Manley Memorial Lecture this year | |
| 1999 | Catherine Koshland, Professor, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley | |
| 1998 | Mike Davis, Lecturer & Author, Los Angeles, California | |
| 1997 | The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, Past Canadian Prime Minister | |
| 1996 | Thomas Dunne, Professor, Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UC Santa Barbara | |
| 1995 | William D. Ruckelshaus, Chairman & CEO, Browning--Ferris Industries, Houston, TX | |
| 1994 | Herbert Bormann, Professor Emeritus, Yale School of Forestry, Yale University | |
| 1993 | Bonnie J. McCay, Professor, Human Ecology / Anthropolgy, Rutgers University | |
| 1992 | H. Patricia Hynes, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | |
| 1991 | Dr. Arthur Rosenfeld, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, UC Berkeley | |
| 1990 | Dr. Sherwood Rowland, Dept. of Chemistry, UC Irvine | |
| 1989 | Ramachandra Guha, Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi, India | |
| 1988 | Russell Peterson, President Emeritus, National Audubon Society | |
| 1987 | Garrett Hardin, Human Ecology, UC Santa Barbara | |
| 1986 | Edith Brown Weiss, Professor Emeritus, Professor Law Center, Georgetown University | |
| 1985 | Dr. David Morris, Executive Dir., Center for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, D.C. James Pissot, President, Utah Audubon Society & Co-Founder, Utah Wilderness Association |
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| 1984 | Thayer Scudder, Dept. of Anthropology, CA Institute of Technology James Anderson, Dept. of Anthropology, UC Berkeley Steven R. Gliessman, Dept. of Ecology, UC Santa Cruz |
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| 1983 | Thomas C. Jorling, Director, Center for Environmental Studies, Williams College Stanley Dundon, Dept. of Philosophy, CSU Sacramento |
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| 1982 | Sally Ann Ranney, Founder & President, American Wilderness Alliance | |
| 1981 | Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, Vice President, World Wildlife Fund |