The year 2025 was marked by continuity and change—personally and professionally.
It was a year of deepening connections with family as the next generation grows, and defines its own paths, continued teaching and mentorship at Berkeley, and engagement with colleagues across continents.
My golden years are still golden
When you are young, you dread old age, but my 60s and 70s are among the best years of my life. I enjoy walking the dogs with Leorah, meeting with friends, watching sports, and other programs on TV, engaging with our family, doing research, and traveling for work, family, and the discovery of new locations. I know this bliss is fleeting, and I am grateful for every good day we share.
Fortunately, our children and grandchildren are doing well. Geo and Nava, Shie and Leigh’s children, are warm, intelligent, and athletic. Geo is an excellent soccer player, and Nava is very artistic and social. Eyal and Clara moved to a new home in Portland. Their sons, Arlo and Emet, inherited Eyal’s genes for computer games; both are good students and aspiring musicians. Arlo stars in the school’s plays, and Emet is surprised with new one-liners and ideas. Aytan and Davina are restoring a brownstone in Brooklyn – and we look forward to visiting their custom-built home. Visiting them last week, I enjoyed watching Addy and Sy as the stars of a violin recital and Jakey making his debut, bowing to the crowd. Addy is warm and bright loves reading, art, and socializing with friends. Sy excels in math and science, and enjoys solving the Rubik’s Cube. Jakey is a young daredevil following his dad’s footsteps.
I recently visited Israel, and thankfully, our family is doing well despite the challenging circumstances. It’s rewarding to see my sisters’ children build their own families and careers, and despite deep disagreements, get along well. I enjoyed my stay in Israel; the trains allowed me to move faster and comfortably. I was sad to realize that only a few of my cousins are still alive, but a new generation of wonderful and talented people follow their footsteps. While on the surface, life in Israel looks good, the people are quite worried and divided. I always saw Israel as a country that was supposed to be a modern, democratic home to Jews (as well as others), not a country that is run by laws and aspirations of orthodox Judaism. I hope that the Netanyahu regime is gone by the coming election, and a pluralistic, secular government restores professionalism and integrity. A government that will pursue true peace with the Palestinians and the Arab world. When Theodor Herzl envisioned a state for the persecuted Jews, he concluded Altneuland with the words, “If you will it, it is no legend.” The same idea applies to the pursuit of peace today.I am equally worried about our own own country and the loss of compassion, competence, and realism under the current federal government. In particular, I am concerned about the constraints placed on the development of the frontiers of science to address national and global challenges. Restoring coal and gas in an era of accelerating climate change and rapidly improving renewable technologies is not a path to national greatness or long-term affordability.
Continuing Research as a Professor of Graduate School
2025 was my last year as a regular faculty member. As of January 1st, 2026, I will be paid by the pension fund, but I will continue to keep my office, research, and graduate education program. Professionally, bioeconomy and supply chain research and program development again shaped the rhythm of the year and carried me across borders in 2025, and continue to be my main emphasis going forward. One major highlight of the year was my visit to Cambridge, Denmark, and Portugal. —combining intensive academic exchange with memorable culinary experiences—followed by visits to Portugal. Moorea, Tahiti, once again served as a focal point for thinking about the blue bioeconomy in both conceptual and practical terms. My visit to Israel helped to strengthen research on macroalgae, adoption, and marketing, and build a foundation for future collaboration. The year concluded with the Annual Review of Resource Economics board meeting in London. We celebrated that after 15 years, the journal has the highest impact factor among Agricultural Economics journals. I love our board meetings; they combine good food and company with deep discussion, identifying ongoing and emerging research methods and social challenges that need overview and assessment with individuals who provide a vision and insight. The journal is important in assessing and shaping the agenda of resource economics as it evolves.
My research contributions are far from over. Last year, I published two books based on my classes. One covers Environmental and Resource Economics, and the other addresses Ag Policy. This year, I intend to teach a class on innovation and supply chain, followed by a book. I believe that economies evolve through innovations embedded in supply chains, and the designer of the supply chain (subject to policies and regulations) determines the structure of markets and establishes contracts and other agreements that enable economic activity. I am developing both theory and case studies to illustrate this approach, and I hope that it will have an impact. Another ongoing activity is building a circular bioeconomy research agenda in Berkeley. I’ve been writing on the topic for years and traveling to spread the message. Several groups work in Berkeley on the bioeconomy (emphasizing macroalgae, new biotechnologies, conversion of forest residue to fuel, recycling food and water residues, and building a bioeconomy hub in the Central Valley). I hope to help bring them together – establish an educational and research program on the circular bioeconomy, hiring new faculty and establishing facilities for research, and making California and the world. I know it’s a dream, but it’s important at my age to look forward to build something new and consequential Happy 2026!
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