In the Push for Climate Solutions, Momentum Matters
The Climate and Carbon Management Initiative, seeded by a $4 million gift from the Ballmer Group, tackles the issue at the very root of climate change: too much carbon in our atmosphere.
Across disciplines and through research, education, and public outreach, we’re addressing this challenge head-on. Our ultimate goal: to create solutions for reducing carbon in our air and our economy, so we can all thrive in a cleaner, safer future.
Project Spotlight: The Fate of Coastal Wetlands
Coastal wetlands store as much carbon as the Amazon, but sea level rise caused by climate change is threatening their existence.
With support from the Wrigley Institute’s Climate and Carbon Management Initiative, USC researchers are studying California’s wetlands for insights to help similar ecosystems around the world.
See “blue carbon” research in action
“This breakthrough will help us anticipate and respond to climate change impacts, allowing us to better protect our vulnerable watersheds.”
–David Bañuelas, postdoctoral researcher
Current Research Projects
Accelerating Alkalinity Reactions for Carbon Capture and Storage
This project develops chemical resins to increase the ocean’s capacity for carbon storage.
PI: Seth John, associate professor of Earth Sciences
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Research Launchpad: Applied Environmental Solutions
More About This Research
Advancing Smarter Decisions About Atmospheric Carbon Removal
This project develops tools and insights to help people and organizations make informed decisions about direct air capture of carbon dioxide.
PI: Joe Árvai, Dana and David Dornsife Chair in Psychology and Professor of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Research Launchpad: Social Transformation
More About this Research
Paper: Consumer acceptance of products from carbon capture and utilization >>
Blog: Checking Out a Prototype CO2 Capture Facility in Switzerland >>
Captured Carbon Dioxide for Fungal Fermentation of High Value Compounds
This project investigates whether captured carbon dioxide can be used as raw material for usable compounds created by fungus.
PIs: Clay C. C. Wang, Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences; Smaranda Marinescu, Associate Professor of Chemistry
USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Research Launchpad: Applied Environmental Solutions
Carbon Capture and Its Effects on Public Health
This project investigates the effects of carbon capture technologies on air quality and public health.
PI: Sam Silva, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Population and Public Health Sciences
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Research Launchpad: Applied Environmental Solutions
More About this Research
Visit the Silva Lab website >>
Effects of Sea Level Rise on Carbon-Capturing Estuarine Bacteria
This project monitors how sea-level rise is affecting carbon-storing microbes in Orange County, CA, salt marshes.
PI: Cameron Thrash, associate professor of biological sciences
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Research Launchpad: Earth and Environmental Systems
More About This Research
Visit the Thrash Lab website >>
Story: What is ‘blue carbon’? Inside USC research on carbon capture >>
Enhanced Rock Weathering for Large-Scale Carbon Capture and Storage
This project investigates the scaleability and potential ecological impacts of marine enhanced rock weathering for carbon storage.
PI: Josh West, Professor of Earth Sciences and Environmental Studies
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Research Launchpad: Applied Environmental Solutions
More About this Research
Visit Josh West’s lab website >>
Microbial Consumption of Methane in Urban-Adjacent Marine Basins
This projects measures how much methane is being consumed by microbes living on the seafloor in Southern California’s San Pedro Channel.
PI: Karen Lloyd, Wrigley Chair in Environmental Studies and Professor of Earth Sciences
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Research Launchpad: Earth and Environmental Systems
More About this Research
Ocean Impacts of Emerging Carbon Sequestration Methodologies
This project investigates whether carbon dioxide captured from shipping emissions can be safely stored in the ocean.
PI: William Berelson, Paxson H. Offield Professor in Coastal and Marine Systems and professor of Earth sciences, environmental studies, and spatial sciences
USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences
Research Launchpad: Applied Environmental Solutions
More About this Research
Visit the Berelson Lab website >>
Story: Ocean-inspired tech to speed carbon capture from ships >>
Story: Berelson Lab leads carbon capture at USC >>
Redox-Active Materials for Sustainable Hydrogen Fuel Production
This project enhances the efficiency of reactions that use sunlight to produce hydrogen fuel from water.
PI: Kandis Leslie Gilliard-AbdulAziz, WiSE Gabiland Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Research Launchpad: Applied Environmental Solutions
More About this Research
Seawater-Assisted Electrochemical Carbon Sequestration
This project tests the manufacture of undersea structures as a method for capturing and storing carbon.
PI: Qiming Wang, Stephen Schrank Early Career Chair and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Research Launchpad: Applied Environmental Solutions
More About this Research
Meet the Researchers
Leslie Abdul-Aziz
WiSE Gabilan Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Leslie Abdul-Aziz is a chemical engineer whose research focuses on developing new materials for the sustainable production of low-carbon chemicals, such as clean fuels.
Through her Climate and Carbon Management project, she is improving the efficiency of clean hydrogen production, focusing especially on the use of sunlight to create hydrogen fuel from water.
Joe Árvai
Dana and David Dornsife Chair in Psychology; Professor of Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies; Director, USC Wrigley Institute
Joe Árvai is a behavioral scientist who conducts research on how to improve decision-making about sustainability and the environment.
His Climate and Carbon Management research focuses on developing and testing decision-support tools for government and industry, and on investigating consumer attitudes and preferences about capturing carbon directly from the air.
Will Berelson
Paxson H. Offield Professor in Coastal and Marine Systems and Professor of Earth Sciences, Environmental Studies and Spatial Sciences
Will Berelson is a biogeochemist who studies how chemical reactions in the ocean influence local and global processing and storage of carbon.
His work with the Climate and Carbon Management Initiative focuses on novel processes that capture and break down carbon dioxide emissions for safe, long-term storage in the ocean.
Steffen Buessecker
Postdoctoral Researcher
PIs: Will Berelson and Josh West (Earth Sciences and Environmental Studies)
Steffen Buessecker researches microbial and mineral processes that have the potential to impact Earth’s climate.
At the Wrigley Institute, his work investigates the scaleability and possible ecological impacts of marine enhanced rock weathering. This technique accelerates the natural dissolving of minerals in the ocean, which helps to capture and store CO2.
YC Chan
Postdoctoral Researcher
PI: Sam Silva (Earth Sciences)
YC Chan is an astrobiologist who studies how the atmospheric chemistry of aerosols and trace gases shapes the emergence, sustainability, and detectability of life in the Universe.
At the Wrigley Institute, he is examining the impacts of carbon removal technologies on air quality and public health.
Seth John
Associate Professor of Earth Sciences
Seth John is a geochemist who studies how trace elements help support life in the ocean, and how they can help us understand the history of biological and geological processes.
Under the Climate and Carbon Management Initiative, he is studying the creation of new resins to help break down captured carbon dioxide for safe, long-term storage underground or in the ocean.
Karen Lloyd
Wrigley Chair in Environmental Studies and Professor of Earth Sciences
Karen Lloyd is a biogeochemist who studies the behavior of microbes that leave deep in the Earth’s surface and in extreme environments.
Through the Climate and Carbon Management Initiative, she is researching deep-dwelling ocean microbes and their effects on the methane found in Southern California’s San Pedro Channel.
Mohammed Hashim
Postdoctoral Researcher
PIs: Will Berelson and Seth John (Earth Sciences)
Mohammed Hashim is an ocean chemist who wants to improve our understanding of the ocean-climate connection.
At the Wrigley Institute, his research focuses on the use of chemical resins to help increase the ocean’s capacity for storing carbon that has been captured from the air.
Smaranda Marinescu
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Smaranda Marinescu is an inorganic chemist who develops catalysts for use in converting solar energy to renewable fuels.
Through her work with the Climate and Carbon Management Initiative, Marinescu is creating catalysts for testing whether fungi can be used to create high-value compounds from captured carbon dioxide.
Samantha Mertens
Postdoctoral Researcher
PI: Joe Árvai (Psychology and Environmental Studies)
Samantha Mertens is a psychology researcher who focuses on ways to encourage pro-environmental behaviors.
Her research with the Wrigley Institute studies consumer attitudes toward direct air carbon capture technology, as well as ways to gain bipartisan political support for adoption.
Amanda Molder
Research Project Administrator and Postdoctoral Researcher
PI: Joe Árvai (USC Wrigley Institute; Psychology, Environmental Studies, and Biological Sciences)
Amanda Molder is a social scientist who examines the impact of media and communication on people’s attitudes, behaviors, emotions, and policy preferences, with a focus on environmental issues such as wildfires and climate change.
Her Wrigley Institute research focuses on how communication and framing influence public opinion toward decarbonization technologies.
Sam Silva
Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Population and Public Health Sciences
Sam Silva is an atmospheric chemist who uses Earth data science and machine learning to study atmospheric composition and the relationship between air quality and climate.
Through the Climate and Carbon Management Initiative, he’s leading an investigation into how carbon removal technologies affect air quality and public health.
Paul Rousteau
Postdoctoral Researcher
PI: Karen Lloyd (Environmental Studies and Earth Sciences)
Paul Rousteau studies how microbes help process and store carbon in ocean and salt-marsh ecosystems.
His Wrigley Institute research focuses on sea level rise, global warming, and their effects on microbes that help regulate planet-warming gases. He also supports related science communication activities.
Clay C. C. Wang
Professor of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Clay Wang is a pharmacologist whose work focuses on using bacteria and fungi to produce high-value materials, such as medicines and consumer products, from various kinds of waste.
Under the Climate and Carbon Management Initiative, Wang is testing whether fungi that have previously produced high-value materials from plastic trash can be made to do the same using captured carbon dioxide.
Qiming Wang
Stephen Schrank Early Career Chair and Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Qiming Wang is a mechanical engineer who focuses on creating biologically inspired materials that can help solve major challenges in civil and environmental engineering, such as infrastructure resilience, carbon dioxide storage, and plastic waste.
His Climate and Carbon Management research tests whether new undersea structures, created using methods inspired by coral reef-building, can help capture and store carbon dioxide.
Josh West
Professor of Earth Sciences and Environmental Studies
Josh West is a geochemist whose work focuses on the intersection of Earth’s landscapes, water and soil resources, and the carbon cycle and climate. He is especially interested in how global climate has changed over geologic time, and in how mountains affect the natural environment.
Under the Climate and Carbon Management Initiative, he is investigating the scaleability and possible ecological impacts of marine enhanced rock weathering. This technique accelerates the natural dissolving of minerals in the ocean, which helps to capture and store CO2.
Madelyn Willis
Postdoctoral Researcher
PI: Karen Lloyd (Environmental Studies and Earth Sciences)
Madelyn Willis studies microbial life in extremely cold environments, such as Antarctica or the bottom of the ocean.
At the Wrigley Institute, she’s helping to track how microbes on the floor of the Pacific Ocean’s San Pedro Channel process methane, a planet-warming greenhouse gas.
Global Impact for a Global Issue
The Climate and Carbon Management Initiative also operates in keeping with the other two pillars of the Wrigley Institute mission: undergraduate education and public engagement.
Through career treks, study abroad, and other immersive learning opportunities, the initiative helps train a new generation of leaders in climate and carbon solutions. And public events help spread the impact of Wrigley Institute expertise beyond the walls of academia.
