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Events & Partnerships

Climate Solutions Hackathon
The annual Wilkes Climate Solutions Hackathon challenges undergraduate and graduate students from any discipline to team-up and develop innovative proposals in a slide deck within 24 hours.
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Wilkes Summit
The annual Wilkes Climate Summit at the University of Utah brings together leading policymakers, nationally-recognized scientists, foundations, and innovators to discuss the most promising and cutting-edge solutions for climate change.
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Speaker Series
The Wilkes Center Speaker Series provides a welcoming venue for scientists, researchers, and policymakers to discuss challenges and solutions for the defining issue of our age - climate change. The series seeks to create a platform for distinguished researchers to share insights, to foster meaningful opportunities for dialogue and collaboration, and to enhance awareness and motivate effective policy action.
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Fix Fossil Fuels

Categories: Event, Speaker

Abstract: Solutions to climate change often focus on phasing out fossil fuels, replacing them with non-fossil alternatives, or even discouraging the activities that use them altogether. But this leaves out an important part of the story: in many pathways that limit global warming to well below 2°C (roughly 4°F) above pre-industrial levels, we continue to […]

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October 8, 2026

Our North Star

Climate insight. Practical solutions. Measurable impact. 
Climate insight. Practical solutions. Measurable impact. 
The Wilkes Center turns climate insight into practical solutions with measurable impact by connecting research, policy, innovation, and education to strengthen communities and inform decisions in Utah, nationally, and worldwide.
ABOUT US
Carbon Futures<br />Modeling Tool
Carbon Futures
Modeling Tool
This is interactive tool shows carbon storage potential in forests in the US.
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Global Forest <br />Climate Risk Tool
Global Forest
Climate Risk Tool
This tool projects the relative risk to Earth’s forests globally during the 21st century based on multiple approaches, datasets, and climate change scenarios.
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US Forest Risks<br />Mapping Tool
US Forest Risks
Mapping Tool
This map tool shows harmonized projections of risks to US forest carbon from fire, drought, and insects under a changing climate.
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Utah Greenhouse Gas <br />Monitoring Tool
Utah Greenhouse Gas
Monitoring Tool
This map provides real-time data on CO2 and methane emissions at strategic monitoring sites across northern and eastern Utah.
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Balsam Woolly Adelgid <br />Monitoring Tool
Balsam Woolly Adelgid
Monitoring Tool
This model predicts current and future exposure to climate-facilitated balsam woolly adelgid damage to subalpine fir trees in Northern Utah.
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Great Salt Lake Basin Dust Exposure<br />Modeling Tool
Great Salt Lake Basin Dust Exposure
Modeling Tool
The Great Salt Lake Dust Exposure Modeling tool demonstrates why wind blown dust from Great Salt Lake is a significant concern, and why lake levels are a major factor in controlling dust.
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Carbon Reversal Risk Tool
Carbon Reversal Risk Tool
This interactive tool, created as part of a Nature study in 2026, identifies the areas at greatest peril of climate-induced ‘carbon loss.’ The study aims to help correct carbon markets and identify where the optimal places for siting forest restoration projects.
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Research Focus Map Tool

See where Wilkes Center researchers are focused on campus, across Utah, and around the world.

Protecting children’s health from air pollution and climate change
At The U October 19, 2026

As Utah families trade summer heat for cooler fall days, the environmental conditions affecting children’s...

Taking a seat at the roundtable
Science.utah.edu October 15, 2026

Wildfire Resilience experts convene at the Wilkes Center hosted by US Senator John Curtis

Aspens ‘remember’ past drought in their leaves
Science.utah.edu October 14, 2026

How chemical compounds that protect aspens from insects and pathogens rise and fall in response...

2026 Wilkes Prize goes to Houston-based Solidec
Science.utah.edu September 28, 2026

Solidec reduces supply chain volatility while lowering carbon emissions and waste.

What are best options for controlling GSL dust, and what would they cost?
At The U September 15, 2026

Engineered measures on Great Salt Lake’s exposed playa would incur costs and tradeoffs, constrained by...

‘The Elephant in the Desert’
At The U August 3, 2026

U’s Wilkes Center produces an interactive tool exploring the past and future of Utah data...

The Elephant in the Desert
Researcher Spotlight July 14, 2026 In the Media, News, Spotlight
Forging the Future
Researcher Spotlight August 6, 2025 News, Spotlight
William Anderegg Passes Wilkes Center Leadership Baton Forward
Researcher Spotlight June 19, 2025 News, people, Spotlight

Anderegg has established a legacy of communicating science and convening innovators at The Wilkes Center...

Wilkes JD Fellowship
An initiative in partnership with the S.J. Quinney College of Law’s Wallace Stegner Center for supporting U of U law students who are committed to addressing climate, energy, and environmental challenges through legal and policy scholarship and work.
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Wilkes Center Postdoctoral Program
Offers two-year postdoctoral fellowships for recent PhDs in sciences that address studies with relevance to the Wilkes Center climate research and climate policy goals.
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Undergraduate Funding
The Wilkes Scholars Program enables students to explore pressing climate challenges through transformative research.
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Faculty Seed Grants
Apply to receive funding support for impactful research surrounding climate change, as well as the policy impacts.
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Wilkes Dissertation Fellowship Program
This fellowship supports the dissertation writing phase for Ph.D. candidates whose dissertation projects focus around the broad themes of climate science and climate policy.
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Research and Conference Travel Award
Provides graduates and undergraduates travel funding for research OR the opportunity to present their climate science and policy research to the academic community. One-time award, $500 max.
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You can help us to catalyze innovative science and solutions to address climate change!

Donations to the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy at the University of Utah will support our efforts to provide transformative, integrative, and cutting-edge science, education, entrepreneurship, and practical solutions to tackle climate change in Utah, the United States, and the globe. Researchers affiliated with the Wilkes Center are working on the defining issues of our age.

Founders

Clay and Marie Wilkes have worked on humanitarian projects for decades,
leading education and economic initiatives in Salt Lake City, Peru, and Nepal.

The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy was created in 2022 as a result of their
desire to urgently address threats created by climate change. Learn more about the donation