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Data-enabled solutions to our most pressing environmental challenges

Our Mission

The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment (DSE) combines the power of computing and environmental science with open science principles and a commitment to inclusivity—all towards the purpose of building tangible, replicable, and accessible solutions to problems compromising the health of our environment. We aim to co-create these solutions in direct partnership with those who hold the knowledge and expertise of their local needs and environmental context.

Launched in 2022, the DSE is a partnership between UC Berkeley's Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society, with the financial support of Eric and Wendy Schmidt.

News

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Plastics pollution

New global plastic policy tool illustrates data science center’s approach

Sam Pottinger spent years turning the latest advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning into models and dashboards that supported decision-making at Silicon Valley technology companies. At UC Berkeley, he's building those kinds of tools to turn quality environmental science into accessible, actionable information.

November 13, 2023
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Plastics teaser

Data, Interactive-Tools, and AI for Actionable Change in Ending Plastic Pollution

The research is clear, plastic pollution has become a global crisis, with 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste produced by 2015 (Geyer et al. 2017).  Often research alone is hard to put into a usable form for action, but we identified a clear path to make a difference. The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center for Data Science & Environment at Berkeley (Schmidt DSE) teamed up with University of Santa Barbara researchers to build a bridge from a research model to an interactive data visualization tool that can be used by policymakers to form laws on global plastic.

November 9, 2023
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Plastics tool

Webinar: Policy Simulation Tool in Support of the UN Global Plastics Treaty

Inviting those engaging in any capacity with the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution to join a webinar sharing first key insights from a research program evaluating the impact that specific policies contained in the INC zero draft could have on curbing plastic pollution.

October 9, 2023