JAMES LIN
M.S. Student
James Lin is a master’s student majoring in agronomy at Kansas State University in the Soil Microbial Agroecology Lab. He received his B.S. in environmental science and technology from the University of Maryland, College Park. James’s research focuses on identify the soil health status across a Kansas precipitation gradient under 3 different land management systems while evaluating the utility and reliability of NRCS soil health metrics down to a 100 cm depth. He is also involved in several projects such as structural equation modeling of soil health; greenhouse gas emissions from cattle residues; carbon sequestration, root biomass, and soil microbial diversity of green roofs; soil health of long term no-till soybean and wheat rotations; and soil health of biofuel cropping systems (switchgrass, sorghum, corn, miscanthus).
WILLIAMÂ DAVIS
M.S. Student
Originally from Maine, Will is a master’s student of Agronomy at Kansas State University currently conducting research in the Soil Microbiology and Agroecology Lab on a Nitrogen fixing bacteria intended for cereal crops. Will is passionate about environmental sustainability, food security, and understanding the challenges posed to Agronomy by the projected world population increase and climate change. He would like to use his knowledge as an Agronomy student and experience as a researcher to promote sustainable farming practices that address the needs of those most vulnerable to food insecurity in the future.
SHELBY RICHARD
Undergraduate Student
Shelby is an Undergraduate Student at Kansas State University. She is currently working towards a B.S. in Agronomy (Soil and Environmental). Shelby currently works as an Undergraduate Research Lab Assistant in the Soil Microbial Agroecology Lab at KSU and intends to pursue a career in Soil Science.
MAYA CORLEY
Undergraduate Student
Maya is an undergraduate student at K-State. She is working toward her B.S. in Agricultural Communications and Journalism. She currently works as an Undergraduate Lab Assistant in the Soil Microbial Agroecology Lab at K-State.
DIEGO GONZALEZ
Undergraduate Student
Diego is an exchange student from Paraguay and an Environmental Engineering Student at National University of Asunción. He currently works as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Soil Microbial Agroecology Laboratory at K-State. He has also worked on water quality analysis at Multidisciplinary Center of Technological Research in San Lorenzo, Paraguay.
KACIE REED
Undergraduate Student
Kacie Reed was an Undergraduate Student at Kansas State University. She was working towards a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. Kacie currently worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the Soil Microbial Agroecology Lab where she assisted with greenhouse gas sampling and soil analysis. She is planning to pursue a career in Operations Research.
DR. MARCOS SARTO
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Marcos Sarto was a post-doctoral researcher at the Soil Microbial Agroecology Lab. He received his B.S. and M.S degrees in agronomy from Western Paraná State University. Followed by a Ph.D. from Sao Paulo State University in 2017 with collaborative research with KSU. Marcos conduced research on integrated cropping systems focused on soil conservation, sustainable agriculture, soil carbon sequestration, soil aggregation, soil microbial community, and soil health.
TIFFANY POYDRAS
Master’s student
Tiffany Poydras was a master's student in Agronomy and Soil Science program at Kansas State University. She received her bachelor's in Agriculture from Southern University A &M College, an HBCU in her hometown, Baton rouge Louisiana. Her research focused on investigating the effect precipitation, land use, and soil depth has on soil health and carbon stocks.
CARLOS B. PIRES
PhD Student
Originally from Southern Brazil, Carlos is a Ph.D. student in Agronomy and Soil Science at Kansas State University. He received his BS in Agronomy from the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil, in 2016, and his Master’s degree in Soil Science in 2018 from the same university. His research focused on testing agricultural practices to improve soil health on the farm level. He conducted state-wide on-farm studies to measure and communicate the economic and environmental benefits of different soil management practices and generating recommendations for farmers to improve the productivity and sustainability of their farms. On the extension side, Carlos has organized and participated in soil health field days to share his findings and work to raise awareness with farmers about the importance of making agriculture more resilient and sustainable.
PEDRO HENRIQUE SOUZA
Undergraduate Student
Pedro has a B.S. degree in Nutrition Science from Viçosa’s University in Brazil and was a Research Scholar at the Soil Microbial Agroecology Laboratory at Kansas State University. Pedro has experience in working with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, agronomic biofortification and soil science analysis techniques.
REGAN KONZ
Undergraduate Student
Regan Konz was a Senior Pre-medicine/Microbiology major at Kansas State University. She served as an undergraduate research assistant, the group’s social chair, and conduced a research project examining the relationship between land use and microbial antibiotic resistance. She is planning to pursue a MD/Ph.D in the future to work as a physician scientist.
MARCOS BONINI PIRES
Undergraduate Student
Marcos was a visiting researcher from Brazil and a student of agronomy at the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil. He is a technician in agriculture and livestock (Federal Farroupilha Institute). His main topics of interest are soil quality, methods of assessing soil quality on the farm, stability of soil aggregates and Visual Assessment of Soil Structure (VESS). Marcos' hobbies include camping, hiking, playing soccer, and photography.
