UC Berkeley Water Research and Opportunities Portal

This course introduces the arts of Asia, premodern to modern-contemporary, in relation to the ecocritical humanities. It surveys specific visual and material objects, structures and sites, and performances in Asia in interrelationship with planetary geo/biological systems, culture, and the politics of Humanity and Nature. Its topics include the fundamental materiality of artworks and responses to water, geology, and biology as much as ideas and beliefs; hand and machine-working of earthly material; nonhuman species in human cultures, in terms of ecology as well as representation; responses to the accelerating climate cataclysm; and the meeting of the sciences and the arts in recognition of our multispecies planetary inter-reliance.

Michael Manga focuses on a variety of topics across the Earth and Planetary Department including hydrogeology and human-induced earthquakes, groundwater, rivers, geysers, woody-debris flow in water systems, and extra-planetary sources of water.

His projects include:
1) An extra-planetary project that studies planets made of ice that have oceans under them and the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, as well as past water-systems and current water on Mars.
2) A project on studying the effects of wood on water systems, looking into the effect woody debris has on the flow of systems and how it alters river channels. The Pacific North-West is a main study area for the research, while it is in the early stages of research in California.
3) An ongoing project to study the effects of earthquakes on water systems. His study on human-induced earthquakes and fracking includes looking at the amount of water used to achieve the desired products, as well as how the wastewater is disposed of. Additionally, he has been monitoring earthquake activity within the East Bay where he measures the fluctuations and increases on the flow of water at the Alum Rock springs.

Isha Ray focuses on water, sanitation and development; water and gender; technology and development; and common property resources. Her research projects focus on access to water and sanitation for the rural and urban poor, and on the role of technology in improving livelihoods.

Her projects include:
1) Governance of Wastewater Reuse systems in India with an emphasis on the institutional aspects of water reuse in rural regions.
2) Central Valley of California projects focuses around assessing the affordability of drinking water in rural communities and best methods for supplying drinking water. Additionally, a separate project is conducting field-trial arsenic mitigation methods and systems implementation in historically marginalized, rural communities.
3) A Joint ongoing project in collaboration with China CDC and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University conducting microbial bacteriology studies on rural drinking water along with behavioral interventions of safe drinking water methods. Emphasis is on evaluating key vulnerabilities of water systems and expanding safe drinking water methods from rural to institution (hospitals, schools) settings.

Peggy Lemaux focuses on both basic and applied research focused primarily on cereal crops, like sorghum, wheat, rice and barley. The objectives of these studies are to better understand crop plants and to use that knowledge to improve their performance and quality. More recently efforts with colleagues have focused on bioenergy – especially in the versatile feedstock, sorghum.

One of her projects includes:
1) “Epigenetic Control of Drought Response in Sorghum” (EPICON)
A $12.3 million Department of Energy Biological and Environmental Research-funded project to examine how the drought-tolerant cereal crop, sorghum, survives water loss.
Researchers expect to develop better predictions about how sorghum and other cereal crops are affected by future climate scenarios, leading to approaches to improve crop growth and production under water-limiting conditions.

Jack Colford focuses on waterborne infectious diseases in domestic, developing country and recreational water settings. He specializes in large-field randomized control trials at the individual and community level.

His projects include:
1) WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hand Washing) Intervention analysis. Interventions have been carried out in rural Kenya and Bangladesh which include the implementation of chlorine based water treatments, hand washing stations with community training, double pit latrines, and Enov’Nutributter supplements.
2) Recreational water studies on gastrointestinal disease transmission and infection among users including swimmers, surfers, and beach use.

Opportunity for programmatic use of the reserve. Available for research use with faculty sponsorship. Central idea to facilitate research.
Considering areas where they can encourage grants program to fund student research availability.
Stewardship opportunities available-SAs live and work on the reserve to maintain