People News
Burgin Named Chair of Iowa State’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
Returning to her home state, SSSA member Amy Burgin will become the next chair for Iowa State University’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology (EEOB), effective Jan. 1, 2025.
Amy Burgin
Burgin will succeed Lynn Clark, who has served as the EEOB department’s interim chair since June 2021. Clark will continue in the interim department chair role through the fall 2024 semester.
Burgin comes to Iowa State from the University of Kansas, where she is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and senior scientist for the Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research.
Burgin has a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Science from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA. She went on to earn her doctoral degree in Zoology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior from Michigan State University and the Kellogg Biological Station.
Her research brings together the fields of microbial ecology, biogeochemistry, and aquatic ecosystem ecology. Through her work, she seeks to better understand how streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands are influenced by human activities.
—Source: Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Kelly Appointed to Head the U.S. National Committee for Soil Sciences
SSSA member Eugene Kelly, a soil scientist with a decades‐long career in agriculture, urbanization, and climate change, has been appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to a three‐year term as chair of the U.S. National Committee for Soil Sciences.
Eugene Kelly
Kelly is a professor of pedology in the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at Colorado State University (CSU). He also serves as director of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, which supports research across seven colleges at CSU and 11 research centers across the state.
He also serves as an adviser to the USDA with the National Cooperative Soil Survey, the National Science Foundation, and several major research programs. Kelly is an SSSA Fellow and a recipient of the SSSA Research Award.
Kelly’s research centers around the effects of global change on soils while accounting for vulnerability and instability caused by changing climatic and land use conditions.
The U.S. National Committee for Soil Sciences brings together members of the American soil science community while working to advance the field of pedology both nationwide and abroad. This is achieved through collaborative partnerships and leadership building.
—Source: Colorado State University/Katie Fisher
Text © . The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.
