Sustainable Bioresource Systems Engineering (SBSE) Major [formerly BSE]
Degree Overview| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
The SEFS community is saddened to share the passing of a dear friend and College of Forestry alumnus Alan Carter Randall. He was 94. Randall was one of twelve graduates of the College of Forestry in 1957. In his commencement speech to College of Forest Resources graduates back in 2003 he shared, “Many things brought me to forestry and to the College ― memories of growing up in the boreal forests of Alaska, pride in the profession and in the College, and a desire to work outdoors in beauti...| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
The beginning of the 2025-26 academic year is here and I hope you made the most of the summer season, whatever your plans for it might have been. I know many of our faculty members and students spent their summer months in the field and in the lab, locally and abroad, partnering on research that informs how to sustainably manage natural resources, adapt to a changing climate, develop and apply new technologies for resource management and use, and inform fair policies and practices.| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
This is the third donor spotlight in a series. This series of stories reveals the impact that donors have on students, faculty and research here at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences and more broadly at the College of the Environment. Tom Friberg is a University of Washington alumni. He has been supporting the SEFS community with the Thomas Swen Friberg Endowed Fund for Students since its establishment in 2007.| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
A conservation‐planning paradigm for a changing climate might be the answer. It’s called Whole-Earth. New research from Prof. Josh Lawler, colleagues with the U.S. National Park Service and the South African National Parks, calls for a new conservation strategy. Existing conservation strategies call for protecting 30–50% of the earth’s surface to preserve biodiversity and respond to the climate crisis. The authors argue that expanding the world’s protected area network will be diffi...| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Laurel James is the Director of Programs at the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society in Colorado while concurrently pursuing her iPhD from SEFS and the Department of Anthropology here at the University of Washington. She expects to graduate this fall and in anticipation of graduation, we wanted to take a moment to speak with her about her current role and her research and experience while pursuing her BS and MS in Forest Resources (2008; 2012) and PhD here at the School of Environmental an...| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
The Washington Bee Atlas is a WSDA Pollinator Program project that works with citizen scientists to identify and map the ranges of existing native bee species across the state. Understanding the identity and geographic distribution of bees in Washington is a critical first step toward effective native pollinator conservation. Bees in many counties in Washington, particularly more rural places on the east side of the Cascades, are understudied.| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
First-of-its-kind tool increases our understanding of how zoning affects forest land conversion and conservation The Natural Resource Spatial Informatics Group (NRSIG), a research group within CINTRAFOR here at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, has assisted in the launch of a first-of-its-kind tool that can translate local zoning into standardized categories for easy comparison. The newly launched Washington State Zoning Atlas, or WAZA, is available as an interactive web-base...| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
On July 17, the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS) announced the election of 36 new members in recognition of their outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement and willingness to assist the Academy in providing the best available scientific information and technical understanding to inform complex policy decisions in Washington. The Academy shared, “We are pleased to recognize the achievements of these world-renowned scientists, engineers, and innovators,” said WSA...| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
On Thursday, June 13, SEFS came together to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of the graduating class of 2025. We opened up the ceremony with remarks from SEFS Director, Dan Brown, who acknowledged that the graduating class of 2025 is equipped with the knowledge, skills and passion needed to tackle the complex challenges posed by climate change, biodiversity loss and human demand for natural goods and services. Like very few cohorts before them, the graduating class of 2025 faced ch...| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
October 9, 2025| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
Degree Overview| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
The Sustainable Bioresource Systems Engineering (SBSE) major launched Fall Quarter 2025. The major will give graduates the knowledge and tools to be successful process engineers, especially with processes that have biomass feedstocks, and have a solid foundation in the fundamentals of sustainability. Graduates of the major will have multiple employment opportunities with corporate sustainability departments, consulting firms, NGOs, and government agencies that have sustainability assessment n...| School of Environmental and Forest Sciences
