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A compilation of what I've been up to in the soil world. 

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I'm happy to announce my first scientific paper has been published in Environmental Microbiology. Including work from my undergrad and post-bac at the University of Minnesota, we examined carbon utilization patterns across isolates of Streptomyces from agricultural soils. The paper is available open access (!!) here: https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.16498

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I kicked off the first sampling of my PhD this summer in Morgantown, West Virginia. My research will be investigating soil recovery from mining and agricultural disturbance through the lens of microbial carbon biogeochemistry, organic matter dynamics and soil sensing.  Shoutout to the fantastic field crew who sampled with me and my collaborators at West Virginia University! May 29, 2023.

A snapshot of a soil profile from an abandoned coal mine in the Appalachians. Due to severe disturbance, the soil is profile is only about 10 inches deep and is classified as an Entisol (natively an Ultisol). A dark band of biochar is visible within the profile. Biochar is being used as an experimental amendment to probe its potential effects on soil microbial and carbon recovery. 

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I had the opportunity to present a conceptual poster of my research titled  "Exploring Plant-Soil-Microbe Interactions in Organic Vegetable Cultivar Development" at the annual Marbleseed Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse, WI.  Feb. 24, 2023.

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Myself and 5 fellow UW-Madison soil science graduate students presented at the Madison College STEM Seminar. We spoke to over 50 high school students about careers and research in soil science. Dec. 6, 2022.

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The UW-Madison Dept. of Soil Science hosted an "auger competition" to see which team could dig a hole the fastest to the standard depth of 1.2m using a dutch auger. Oct 21, 2022.

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Setting up the field trial of my masters thesis at West Madison Agricultural Research Station! I plotted out my randomized block trial using wooden stakes, and lined up drip irrigation for every row of planting. June 21, 2022.

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The Whitman and Freedman labs of the UW-Madison Dept. of Soil Science hosted an interactive exhibit at the Madison Science on the Square annual event. We taught community members about soil biodiversity and offered hands-on activities for kids to learn about microbes. Oct. 14, 2022.

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The Freedman Lab in Morgantown, WV to assess reclaimed mine soil recovery post-disturbance and response to bioenergy cultivation.  May 17, 2022. 

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The University of Minnesota Soil Judging Team visited me in Madison on their way to Nationals in Ohio! Professor and coach Nic Jelinski showed us around the campus soil pits and we learned about Wisconsin geomorphology. April 17, 2022.

A view of Appalachia from an abandoned coal mine in Morgantown, WV. May 15, 2022. 

The University of Minnesota Soil Judging Team at Regionals in 2019. My first competition, and I took home fourth place out of 62 participants, earning myself a neat plaque! We qualified for Nationals this year and were over the moon. Oct. 2019.

The University of Minnesota Soil Judging Team on our spoil pile from one of our practice pits. This was one of my first pits with the team! Sept. 2019.

The 2019 University of Minnesota Field Study of Soils class hiking through the spruce peatlands of Northern MN. Through this class, I was fully  introduced to soil science and I can confidently say it changed my life. It all started here. Summer 2019.

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