Sustainability & environment

Cars and houses in the community of Pajaro partially submerged in river water following a flood.

Can ‘digital twins’ help California manage its growing flood risk?

08/13/26 — UC Berkeley researchers are creating virtual simulations of the Lower Pajaro River Valley to better integrate ecology, climate change and social equity into flood management

Researchers shed new light on ancient concrete’s extraordinary durability

07/08/26 — New findings reveal how carbonation could help explain Roman concrete’s longevity over thousands of years

3D printer printing blue bowl prototype.

Polymer manufacturers gain AI-powered tool to spot defects early

07/01/26 — ‘Smart eyes’ provide real-time, built-in quality assurance for 3D printing

Barbed wire fence at Dade County Men’s Correctional Facility, Florida.

Inside the ‘concrete battery’

06/23/26 — College of Environmental Design: UC Berkeley researcher Stefano Schiavon exposes lethal heat in Florida prisons

Aerial view of an accessory dwelling unit burning in a controlled test

From forest to front door

05/28/26 — Understanding how wildfire spreads through communities

New rules

05/11/26 — A groundbreaking way of designing polymers could lead to eco-friendly plastics

Man holding up a petri dish, looking at it

Back to the elements

05/11/26 — Researchers have engineered a virus that can extract rare earth elements in a greener, low-cost and recyclable way

Omar Yaghi in a suit, sitting at a desk in front of molecular structures

The making of a Nobel Prize

05/11/26 — Professor Omar Yaghi was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in creating metal-organic frameworks

From forest to front door

05/10/26 — Understanding how wildfire spreads through communities

Professor Ting Xu shown working in her lab wearing safety goggles and a blue lab coat. She is working at a table full of lab equipment.

UC Berkeley-led biodegradable fabric research awarded $10M from Bezos Earth Fund

04/24/26 — Protein-based spider silk inspires new fibers sourced from compost

Paige Balcom at “Plastic Mountain,” an area at the current Takataka Plastics facility where collected bottles are dumped, then sorted before being processed in the facility’s production lines.

Giving plastic a second life

03/30/26 — UC Berkeley Engineering alum Paige Balcom is turning plastic waste into economic opportunity through her recycling company in Uganda

Record-breaking ‘molecular sponge’ pulls carbon from air faster than ever before

02/09/26 — BIDMaP: Professor Omar Yaghi’s lab achieves a breakthrough in direct air capture technology

An M.D. and Ph.D. candidate at UC San Francisco, Alice Tang speaking at a dais.

Berkeley engineers among innovators featured on Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ list

02/02/26 — UC Newsroom: Many are leading the way across AI, entrepreneurship, science and more

Illustration of proteins as colorful, ribbon-like structures.

Researchers uncover new rules for designing protein-like polymers

01/01/26 — Findings could lead to eco-friendly plastics and other materials

Seung-Wuk Lee, professor of bioengineering, in his lab.

Researchers pioneer greener way to extract rare earth elements

11/12/25 — Sustainable biomining approach uses genetically engineered viruses

Omar Yaghi, UC Berkeley professor of chemistry, in his lab.

UC Berkeley’s Omar Yaghi shares 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

10/08/25 — Created metal-organic frameworks that can harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases, catalyze chemical reactions

William Tarpeh (M.S.’13, Ph.D.’17 Environmental Eng), 2025 MacArthur Fellow standing in his laboratory.

William Tarpeh awarded MacArthur ‘genius’ fellowship

10/08/25 — Berkeley Engineering alum is pioneering methods to recover resources from wastewater

Suburban houses in Florida surrounded by floodwaters.

Researchers awarded $15 million NSF grant to transform the science of natural hazards

09/05/25 — UC Berkeley civil engineering professor to co-lead the multi-institutional effort

A group of students sits in a large yellow disposal bin that is filled with small twigs and branches. The bin is on a hilly street next to a white house.

UC Berkeley scholars help Bay Area communities prepare for wildfire season

07/09/25 — Professor Michael Gollner and his students are applying advanced wildfire simulation tools to help neighborhoods understand their specific wildfire risks

Graduate students in UC Berkeley’s Indigenous Research Methods seminar.

Native FEWS Alliance trains students to strengthen tribal food, energy, water systems

05/22/25 — This multi-university consortium now faces an uncertain future due to NSF funding cuts