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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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Prize Announcement Watch Party

Categories: Event, Speaker

RSVP Here Join us for a Watch Party for the live announcement of the 2026 Wilkes Climate Innovation Prize from New York Climate Week.  Find out which of the nine finalists wins $250,000 whose breakthrough has the potential to significantly advance climate innovation. Date: Wednesday, September 23rd Time: 4:00 to 6:00 pm Location: Wilkes Center […]

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August 11, 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.
Explore This Tool
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.
Explore This Tool
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.
Explore This Tool
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.

‘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
Where Biology Meets Behavior
Science.utah.edu May 29, 2026

The University of Utah launches new undergraduate neuroscience major

Wilkes Summit Spans Local and Global
Science.utah.edu May 26, 2026

Understanding, accessing datasets mapping aboveground biomass in North American Arctic and Boreal regions

Carbon markets underestimate risks U.S. forests face from climate change
At The U May 20, 2026

Maps produced in U-led study show where the risk of loss from fire, insects and...

U of U Health study links air pollution to worse post-surgical outcomes
At The U May 8, 2026

Findings by research team, which included CSBS faculty, could inform Utah environmental policy and keep...

Exposed GSL playa can threaten human health in new ways.
Science.utah.edu April 20, 2026

Toxins from Great Salt Lake dust are absorbed by plants, soils and human bodies

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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The Wilkes Center Podcast

Conversations about transformative research happening in the fields of climate science and policy at the University of Utah.

From new renewable energy technologies and other potential solutions, to improved forecasting tools, to enhanced understanding of ecological, health, or community impacts, it’s hard to keep up with all of the climate change research and innovation now happening across the U.  Talking Climate brings University of Utah climate change researchers and their work into focus.  Talking Climate is hosted and produced by Ross Chambless, Community Engagement Manager for the Wilkes Center.

35: Wastewater Treatment Could be a Solution for Cleaner, More Efficient Fertilizer

Interview Summary Founder and CEO Margaret Lumley describes how Roca Water is developing electrochemical technology to recover ammonium from wastewater and convert it into fertilizer, addressing both water pollution and...

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34: Climate Change Should Be Funnier. Seriously.

Interview Summary This episode of Talking Climate examines how humor can be used to communicate climate change more effectively. Through clips from well-known comedians and an in-depth discussion with University...

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33: How Utahns Could Support a Tax on Carbon Emissions

Episode Intro A couple years ago, a Utah statewide ballot initiative called Clean the Darn Air was proposed to tackle the persistent air pollution which Wasatch Front residents deal with...

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32: Could Lab-generated Lactoferrin Be Healthier, Cheaper, and Better for the Planet?

Episode Intro One of the two runners up for the Wilkes Center Climate Launch Prize this past year is De Novo Foodlabs, a startup with operations in North Carolina and...

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Donate to the Wilkes Center

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