Catherine Keske

Dr. Catherine Keske is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of California, Merced. She holds cross-appointments in the MIST (Management of Innovation, Sustainability and Technology) and Environmental Systems (ES) graduate groups, reflecting her interdisciplinary focus on sustainable systems.

• Education: Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics (Colorado State University, 2006), M.S. in Mineral Economics (Colorado School of Mines, 2003), M.S. in Hearing and Speech Sciences (Vanderbilt University, 1994), and B.S. in Communication Disorders (Bowling Green State University, 1992).

Her research integrates biomass, bioenergy, and biochar systems with agricultural economics and engineering economics. She investigates coupled natural and human systems and sustainable resource management across diverse geographies including California, Ethiopia, and Northern Canada. Her recent work examines collaborative wildland management, digital agriculture adoption, and forest restoration economics.

Dr. Keske’s publications span topics from carbon abatement potential of biochar to climate adaptation economics in rural communities. She employs quantitative frameworks to analyze trade-offs in environmental systems, with a focus on policy-relevant outcomes for agricultural producers and forest managers.

She serves as a faculty member in UC Merced’s School of Engineering, where she contributes to graduate programs in Environmental Systems and Management of Innovation, Sustainability, and Technology. Dr. Keske’s technical expertise includes economic feasibility assessments, ecosystem service valuation, and techno-economic modeling of sustainable systems.