Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a soil biogeochemist and political ecologist who served as Director of the Office of Science at the US Department of Energy from 2022 to 2024.

[8] Berhe's research interests center on the effect of changing environmental conditions—specifically fire, erosion, and climate change—on important soil processes.

One of her group's projects is to understand how drought and wildfire affect soil's ability to store carbon, taking her out to Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada for fieldwork.

[12] Her research extends to political ecology, working to understand the contribution of armed conflict to land degradation and how people interact with their environment.

Her work has been covered by a variety of national and international media outlets, including the BBC,[27] NPR,[28] the Washington Post,[29] ABC News,[30] Science,[31] Nature,[32] and Teen Vogue.

[33] At the Department of Energy’s (DOE), after nomination by President Joseph R. Biden[34] and confirmation by the US Senate,[35][36] she served as the Director of the Office of Science.