Bernardo recipient Prize

 Bernardo “Bernie” Bastien-Olvera, a recent Ph.D. graduate from the Geography Graduate Group, is this year’s recipient of the Kinsella Memorial Prize for his doctoral research on the effects of climate-driven impacts on global ecosystems and the influence on human well-being.




The award recognizes a student whose Ph.D. dissertation is of high quality, original, involves more than one field of study and aligns with the mission of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The $3,500 prize was established to honor the late John Kinsella, a former CA&ES dean and internationally recognized food chemist.


“I feel so honored to be the recipient of this award,” Bastien-Olvera said. “It’s amazing.”


Bastien-Olvera’s dissertation, “Climate Change Impacts on Natural Capital: Consequences for Human Well-Being and Macro-Economic Growth,” included creating a model of the interactions between climate, economics and ecosystems to estimate metrics such as the social cost of carbon, which is the cost society has to bear created by 1 ton of carbon dioxide emissions.


Frances C. Moore, associate professor of environmental science and policy, was Bastien-Olvera’s advisor and praised his interdisciplinary work that “directly addresses important policy questions” around climate change costs and biodiversity policy.


“During his time at Davis, Bernie excelled in every way – as a student, scholar, student leader – while completing highly-original research spanning multiple disciplines,” Moore wrote in a nomination letter.


By the time he completed his Ph.D., Bastien-Olvera had three peer-reviewed published papers related to this doctoral research, including one published in the journal Nature Sustainability. He also holds a master's degree in climate change from University College London and a bachelor's degree in earth science from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.


Bastien-Olvera is now serving as an institutional postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, where he is studying climate change effects on ocean-based economies and ecosystem services.

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