Our People

Chen’s focus is on value-added products from waste, mitigation of environmental impacts caused by waste, and dissemination of science-based information to help stakeholders make informed decisions, leading to positive changes.

Courtney fosters collaboration between farmers/producers and soil health professionals. She also creates and fills the gaps in regionally relevant soil health resources.

Heimgartner teaches courses in agricultural mechanics and skills such as beginning welding, shop practices and advanced welding. Students mastering the theoretical and technical knowledge as well as the tactile or motor skill.

My projects focus on the understanding of ecosystem biogeochemical cycles within natural and managed ecosystems with an emphasis on ecosystem sustainability, resilience, diversity and adaptation.

Johnny’s research is focused on robotics sensing, control and computing and their interfacing with artificial intelligence and decision support systems for climate-smart agriculture, sustainable manufacturing and infrastructural management.

Robert conducts research on water quality and water quantity water resource issues in Idaho. In addition to public perceptions, priorities and actions taken to address water resource issues in the Pacific Northwest.

Greg’s focus is to advance sustainability by developing new knowledge and innovations in the area of sustainable solutions for water resources impacting individuals, communities and environmental quality globally.

My research is on drought monitoring and forecasting, hydrological modeling, and water resources planning and management in a changing global environment associated with urbanization and climate variability. Continue in biography.

Linda addresses the needs of stakeholders in southern Idaho related to the impacts of nutrient and livestock waste management and other land management practices on soil health and water quality.

My Environmental Soil Chemistry program is focused on gaining a better understanding of reaction processes in the environment to gain new insights into contaminant and nutrient speciation, reaction pathways, and mineralogy in soil and water systems.

My research interests are the interface between soil, microbial and ecosystem ecology. Soils, as well as the microbial communities and ecosystem processes supported by soils, are some of the most imperiled systems on the planet.

Teach classes in agricultural systems management and update course content as needed to keep students up to date on agriculture innovations.

I support ongoing research efforts, with a primary focus on soil and environmental inorganic chemistry; provide analytical assistance to collaborators; support graduate students; laboratory and field studies.

I have broad interests in hydrology and water resources. I strive to better understand how human and natural disturbances of the environment alter both the availability and the quality of water resources.

My focus is studying the phosphorus cycling and transformation in soils with long term manure amendment.

Vanessa evaluates how different soil management strategies (crop diversity, intercropping, compost addition, livestock-crop integration) can influence an agroecosystem through holistic approach (microbial community diversity, function, soil enzyme activities, etc.).

Kahl manages the Soil and Water Resources Lab where much of the research is focused around carbon and nitrogen cycling, earthworm ecology and soil health monitoring in regional conservation agriculture soils and native ecosystems.

I am exploring the factors that influence the invertebrate and microbial communities within the leaf litter and soil in agricultural and tropical ecosystems.

My research include surface water quality, water use by crops/vegetation, instrumentation of non-agricultural areas collecting meteorological data Also supervise the laboratory technicians and maintain the databases and equipment.