Kyle Hemes

As an environmental scientist and Ph.D student in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley, Kyle Hemes’ work has taken him deep into the landscapes of Southeast Asia. Living, working and studying in Laos, Thailand, China and Vietnam, Hemes has focused on issues that range from forest carbon conservation and migratory fish tracking to low-emission agriculture and land management practices. Focusing on this region, he received a National Geographic Young Explorer grant for his Friction of Terrain expedition that aimed to document the people and landscapes of the southeast Asian uplands, which are changing rapidly with recent large-scale infrastructure and foreign investment.