[Enviro-lunch] This Thursday 9/13: Rebecca Ryals

[Nate Bogie]

[image: Inline image 1]

Hello Everyone,

Please join us for a talk *this Thursday Sept. 13 * by Prof. Rebecca Ryals,
12-1pm in Room SE2-302.

*Talk Title: *
Closing the Poop Loop: Transforming human waste to mitigate climate change
and promote sustainable agriculture

*Abstract: *
Broken nutrient and carbon cycles in food systems waste vast quantities of
organic resources and contribute to climate change, food insecurity, and
soil degradation. Closing these cycles may contribute to climate change
mitigation goals and foster resilient agroecosystems. The capture and
transformation of human organic waste is an enormous and largely untapped
resource stream. Emerging ecological-based sanitation (EcoSan) systems
deploy container-based toilets to collect and compost human feces using an
aerobic, thermophilic composting technology.  In this presentation, I will
share the results of our current research aimed at quantifying the climate
impacts of the EcoSan treatment process and agroecological impacts
of applying EcoSan compost to agricultural soils.

*Bio:*
Rebecca Ryals is an Assistant Professor of Agroecology in the Department of
Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of California,
Merced. She studies how nutrients and carbon move into, within, and out
of agroecosystems, and how the management of these cycles contributes to
the resiliency of food systems. In her work, she applies principles of
ecosystem science to investigate solutions that balance an increasing
global food demand with environmental and human health objectives. Her
research projects have explored the capacity of managed lands to store
carbon, the mechanisms of nitrogen transformation and loss, and the climate
impacts of ecological-based sanitation. Prior to joining faculty at UC
Merced, she was faculty at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and an
interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellow at Brown University. She completed a
Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of
California, Berkeley, a M.E.M. in Ecosystem Science and Management at Duke
University, and a B.S. in Environmental Science at Marywood University.

When: Sept. 13, Thursday, 12pm – 1pm



Where: SE2-302



Coffee will be provided, please bring your own mugs.



We look forward to seeing you,



Nate & Jing



Organizers for Fall 2018: Nate Bogie and Jing Yan

Faculty coordinator: Asmeret Asefaw Berhe
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