Posts by Kara Manke

Smoke emerges from forested hills. In the foreground, two fire trucks aim streams of water at a vulnerable home. Overhead, an aircraft releases a plume of red flame retardant chemicals.

Research

Is the Bay Area prepared for major wildfires?

A UC Berkeley-led team is using computer simulations to stress-test the region’s disaster preparedness and creating virtual games to educate the public about wildfire safety.

A helicopter in the center frame drops water on a fire as yellowish smoke clouds the sky.

Science & environment

Health, housing and the path ahead: UC Berkeley researchers on the Los Angeles fires

Three dried grapevine specimens, mounted on paper, are spread across a table. Behind the table stand two individuals who are smiling at the camera. Storage cabinets that are filled with file folders can be seen in the background.

Research

What a century-old grapevine reveals about a disease that plagues wine country

Awards

UC Berkeley engineer Homayoon Kazerooni elected to the National Academy of Inventors

Two people stand next to one another in a forested area. One person is reading off of their phone while the other is writing something on a small piece of paper.

Citizen scientists discover new, more virulent form of sudden oak death in Bay Area

Michelle Yeoh stands with a hand to her mouth as Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan congratulate her.

With the help of AI, UC Berkeley researchers confirm Hollywood is getting more diverse

Five firefighters walk across an ashy and barren landscape

Project 2025 could be disastrous for the climate. Legal scholars are preparing to fight back.

An electric vehicle at a charging station.

Electric vehicle tax credits cut pollution but may not be cost-effective, study finds

A woman with long hair stands at a podium and smiles at people seated nearby.

How UC Berkeley researchers are making online spaces safer for all

Coches manejan a través de esmog en un autopista de California

California ha mejorado la calidad del aire, pero persisten las desigualdades raciales/étnicas

Cars drive through smoggy air on a California highway

California has dramatically improved its air quality, but racial disparities persist

A black and white illustration depicts an artist’s imagining of an aquifer, showing a large underground mass sprouting a collection of small arms that reach for the roots of plants growing above.

Can an aquifer be injured? Scholar brings a disability lens to ecological repair

A white squirrel with red eyes faces the camera with a nut in it’s paws.

How color shapes which animals we fear — and which we protect

A person is leaning back and closing their eyes while driving a car.

Dozing at the wheel? Not with these fatigue-detecting earbuds

Michael Yartsev stands in a darkened room with his hands on his hips. Yellow and teal lights swirl around him.

UC Berkeley Professor Michael Yartsev named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

A firefighter points a hose at a burning structure, while orange flames blaze in the background.

Researchers reveal a hidden factor in California’s insurance crisis: The ‘winner’s curse’

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