Melissa Berke

Melissa Berke is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame's College of Engineering. She specializes in molecular paleoclimatology, biogeochemistry, and paleoenvironmental change, leveraging organic geochemical signatures in sediments to study historical climate patterns and inform renewable energy strategies.

• Ph.D., University of Minnesota (2011)
• M.S., Earth Sciences, University of California Riverside (2003)
• B.S., Geology, Oberlin College (2000)

Her research focuses on organic geochemistry, paleolimnology, and paleoceanography, analyzing sedimentary organic matter to understand climate forcing and environmental responses. She also investigates the relationship between organic components in fossil fuels and modern algal biofuels to reduce societal energy impacts.

The MAB Lab, led by Berke, conducts interdisciplinary projects linking past climate systems to current environmental challenges. Recent work includes studying hydrogen isotope ratios in leaf waxes to reconstruct monsoonal climate gradients.