Céline Pallud investigates the transport and biogeochemical processes that determine how nutrients and contaminants cycle through soils, sediments, and aquatic systems. Her research integrates laboratory experiments, field studies, and reactive transport modeling to understand how microbial activity, soil characteristics, mineral composition, and environmental and redox conditions control the fate and mobility of elements such as arsenic, carbon, iron, nitrogen, sulfur and selenium. She is best known for her mechanistic studies of microbe-mineral interactions that influence contaminant cycling and soil health. Pallud’s interdisciplinary approach connects fundamental environmental microbiology and geochemistry with applied modeling to predict how natural systems respond to disturbances and to develop strategies to manage soils in a sustainable way.

Email: cpallud@berkeley.edu

Coming soon!

Sara is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on the fate and transport of emerging contaminants, including PFAS and battery-associated metals, in groundwater and coastal environments following wildfires and lithium-ion battery fires. By integrating field investigations, hydrogeochemistry, and contaminant transport, her work aims to better understand how environmental disturbances affect groundwater quality and to generate science that supports water resource management and community resilience. Before beginning her Ph.D., Sara worked on groundwater sustainability planning, water reuse, and agricultural water management, experiences that continue to shape her interdisciplinary approach to environmental research.

Sara's passion for water science began in her hometown of Urmia, Iran, where she grew up surrounded by orchards and witnessed the dramatic decline of Lake Urmia, once one of the largest salt lakes in the world. As the daughter of an agricultural professor and a farmer at heart, she developed an early appreciation for the importance of water to both ecosystems and communities. She earned her B.S. in Water Engineering from Urmia University and her M.S. in water conservation from San José State University, where her research focused on greywater reuse and its effects on soil quality in California.

Outside of research, Sara enjoys spending time with family and friends, exploring the outdoors, discovering great coffee shops, and finding new hiking trails.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7385-1629

Kelly is a 4th year PhD candidate in Environmental Science, Policy & Management, co-advised by Céline Pallud (UC Berkeley) and Peter Nico (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory). Her dissertation examines enhanced rock weathering (ERW) in flooded rice paddy systems, using metabasalt amendments to evaluate both carbon dioxide removal potential and effects on greenhouse gas emissions. She combines field and greenhouse flux measurements, porewater geochemistry, synchrotron-based STXM imaging of organo-mineral associations, metagenomics, and reactive transport modeling to link mineral dissolution to microbial and biogeochemical response in saturated soils. Before Berkeley, Kelly worked at Eion, an enhanced weathering startup. Her research has been supported by the GRRF Global Rice Leadership Award, the IRRI Rice Research-to-Production Training Award, and the UC Bonnie Reiss Leading on Climate Fellowship.

Email: kellyatucker@berkeley.edu

River is a 2nd year PhD student in Environmental Science, Policy & Management. Her research examines the scalable application of phytoremediation for inorganic (i.e., lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and organic (i.e., organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs)) contamination in urban areas. She graduated from the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she focused on the ways colonialism and chattel slavery changed and, very often, contaminated the natural environment. Her academic interests are at the intersection of biogeochemistry, Black studies, Disability studies, and geography. Before Berkeley, River worked as a soil laboratory technician at Applied Geotechnical Engineering Consultants (AGEC) in Sandy, UT and as a fellow at the Institute on Science for Global Policy (ISGP). Her research is supported by the Department of Toxic Substances Control - Equitable Community Revitalization Grant.

Email: riverbellamy@berkeley.edu

Natalie is a Research Associate in the Pallud Lab, where she studies the impacts of photovoltaic systems on overall soil health. She earned her B.A. in Environmental Earth Science from UC Berkeley with an emphasis in Soil Biogeochemistry. During her undergraduate career, she studied wetland ecosystems and soil processes, developing an interest in how environmental conditions influence soil function and ecosystem health. She later worked as a laboratory assistant investigating the effects of agricultural amendments on rice systems, exploring relationships between soil management practices and crop productivity. Her current research focuses on understanding how renewable energy technologies, such as solar photovoltaics, influence soil properties and ecosystem processes through collaboration with industry professionals to advance sustainable land management practices. 

Email: natalie_grijalva00@berkeley.edu