The Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy

Fireside Chat with Clean Energy Leaders Who: CEOs from major renewable energy companies including Sol Systems, Nextpower, SOLV Energy, and DESRI, and others. What: Fireside Chat and Reception with Clean Energy CEOs Where: Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy When: April 13, 2026, 3:00 to 5:00 PM Parking options available upon request The Wilkes […]

Jennifer Marlon Senior Research Scientist, Yale School of the Environment Executive Director, Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 Time: 2:00 to 3:30 pm Location: S.J. Quinney College of Law Moot Courtroom Abstract: Public concern about climate change has grown substantially over the past two decades, yet a persistent gap remains between […]

Interview Summary Founder and CEO Margaret Lumley describes how Roca Water is developing electrochemical technology to recover ammonium from wastewater and convert it into fertilizer, addressing both water pollution and climate change. Drawing on her background in electrochemistry and firsthand experience with harmful algal blooms, Lumley explains how excess nutrients and current ammonia producti…

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026 Time: 12:00 to 4:00 pm Location: Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy (L. S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, Suite W1204) This half-day symposium assembled water policy experts for in-depth discussions on comparable water management strategies in Europe's Maritime Alps and the American Southwest to address water scarcity.  By addressing […]

Interview Summary This episode of Talking Climate examines how humor can be used to communicate climate change more effectively. Through clips from well-known comedians and an in-depth discussion with University of Utah Professor of Communication Sara Yeo and student Julia St. Andre, the conversation explores whether comedy can make a serious issue more engaging without […]

Episode Intro A couple years ago, a Utah statewide ballot initiative called Clean the Darn Air was proposed to tackle the persistent air pollution which Wasatch Front residents deal with every year.  The proposal was to tax the things that cause the pollution -- the carbon emissions – by levying a 10 cents per gallon […]

Co-designing Green Nudges: an Experiment on Citizen-Expert Collaboration  Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2026 Time: 2:00 to 3:30 pm Location: Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy (L. S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, Suite W1204) Guilhem Lecouteux, Associate Professor of Economics, Université Côte d'Azur (Nice, France) Abstract: Both nudges and co-design are often considered innovative approa…

Episode Intro One of the two runners up for the Wilkes Center Climate Launch Prize this past year is De Novo Foodlabs, a startup with operations in North Carolina and Cape Town, South Africa, which is focused on using precision fermentation to synthesize a new kind of lactoferrin.  I had to read up on this […]

Episode Intro Ross Chambless: Many believe that chemistry is foundational to understanding and solving environmental challenges. And when it comes to solving a pernicious global environmental problem – such as methane emissions – it may be basic chemistry research that ultimately leads society to innovative breakthroughs. Methane (C𝐻4) is a potent greenhouse gas. It is […]

Date: Thursday, November 13, 2025 Time: 2:00 to 3:30 pm Location: Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy (L. S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, Suite W1204) Larissa Yocom, Executive Director,  Utah Forest Restoration Institute Abstract: Wildfire in the western US is an ecological phenomenon and a societal problem. Ecologically, many fires burn in areas where […]

Lead: University of Utah PI(s): William Anderegg, Divya Chandrasekhar, John Lin, Fielding Norton Key Partners: NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest; U.S.-Canada Center on Climate-Resilient Western Interconnected Grid; Utah Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management; Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands; WCF Insurance; InnSure; Park City Depts of Planning and Environment…

Episode Intro Ross Chambless: In September 2025, the Wilkes Center awarded its annual Wilkes Climate Launch Prize to the organization Build up Nepal. Build up Nepal has developed a new approach to building homes for very low-income Nepalese using bricks that are not made by burning coal, but instead are compressed, and made with locally […]

A company that makes safer, greener  building materials; an animal-free protein growing technology; and a technology for resource recovery from wastewater  are among the top three climate solutions that could win the $250,000 prize.   SALT LAKE CITY – On Wednesday, September 24, the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy at the University of […]

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Wednesday, September 24 5:00 PM reception 5:30 PM announcement L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, Suite W1204 275 S University Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments provided. Free parking is available on all of Presidents Circle and Lot 2, (see map below) Join us for a reception with the Wilkes Center team […]

Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 4:00 to 5:30 PM Air Pollution and Health: Scientific Promise and Public Policy Controversy Hosted at the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy (L. S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, Suite W1204) Abstract:  An important promise of air pollution health science is that it supports evidence-based public policies aimed at safeguarding […]

Thursday, September 4, 4:00 p.m. Dust as a Solar Shield L. S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, Suite W1204 Ben Bromley is a theoretical and computational astrophysicist in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah. Astrophysical dust is remarkably efficient at modifying starlight. Even in small quantities, dust can reflect and absorb […]

Anderegg has established a legacy of communicating science and convening innovators at The Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy After three years as the founding director of the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy at the University of Utah, William Anderegg, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, will step down as the […]

When you try to imagine ‘anthropology’, your mental image might be a bit vague. If you’re not thinking of a women’s clothing store that sells thousand dollar cowboy boots (that’s Anthropologie), you may not get farther than picturing an old, cliche poster like this: While it’s not not that, anthropology isn’t as dusty as you […]