People

Dr. Meagan Schipanski
meagan.schipanski at colostate.edu

Curriculum vitae

Candace Carter
M.S. Student
B.S. Wildlife Biology, Colorado State University

The interconnections of the natural environment have fascinated me since childhood. This fascination lead me to the Wildlife Biology program at Colorado State University. After graduation I got a job in a local Canola breeding program. I was always thinking I would return to natural resources and ecology, but after spending time in agriculture and agribusiness I found that working in agriculture would allow me to have a larger impact on the environment than working in natural resource management.  I started looking for ways to look at agriculture as part of our ecosystem and how our crops can be raised more sustainably.  The soil is the foundation of agriculture and a never ending supply of fascinating questions to ask.

Agustín Núñez
Ph.D. Student
M.S. Soil Science, Universidad de la República, Uruguay

I have been working in the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) of Uruguay since July 2010, and my research has focused mainly on soil fertility and plant nutrition. I am very interested in nutrient and carbon dynamics in the soil-plant system because I believe this will allow me to work in crop nutrition as well as integrating considerations of environmental impact and sustainability to the agronomic management of agricultural soils. During my PhD studies I will focus on soil quality changes during the transition from irrigated to dryland cropping systems in the Ogallala Aquifer Region. Due to declining levels of available water, conversion from irrigated to dryland cropping systems is increasing in some areas of the Ogallala Aquifer Region, one of the most important aquifers in the world. In general, irrigated cropping systems yield more and have more soil organic carbon than dryland cropping systems. However, little is known about the evolution of soil quality after conversion from irrigation to dryland and the effect of soil quality on crop production during this transition. Results will help to understand the interaction between water management, soil health and crop production and help to identify the best cropping system management practices to improve water use efficiency.

Shelby McClelland
Ph.D. Student
B.S. International Agriculture & Rural Development, Cornell University

Prior to arriving at CSU, I worked as a research associate with the University of California Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center in northern California studying the invasive annual grass Taeniatherum caput-medusae in Californian rangelands. For the last two years I researched enteric methane and agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the Environmental Defense Fund. I am currently researching soil carbon and GHG emissions in organic agriculture production systems. We are particularly focused on three key organic-oriented practices: cover crops, manure and organic amendments, and plant-soil impacts of management intensive grazing. Results of this work will be integrated into the COMET-Farm and Cool Farm Tool to improve GHG decision-support for farmers.

Christopher Toy
Ph.D. Student, CSU InTERFEWS Program

James Hale
Research Associate, Colorado State University

Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences
Former postdoc at the Centre for Sustainability, University of Otago
Ph.D. Sociology, Colorado State University
M.S.S. Society and the Environment, University of Colorado at Denver
B.A. Psychology, University of Colorado

I am a sociologist who specializes in studying the socio-cultural, community, and governance dimensions of food, agriculture, and environment improvement efforts. I have spent time in both practitioner and research settings including working as a Peace Corps agroforestry agent in Malawi, helping spearhead alternative food projects in Colorado, and leading related research projects at Colorado State University and the Colorado School of Public Health. More recently, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Sustainability at the University of Otago in New Zealand. To learn more about my background and experience please visit www.jameswthale.com.

Angie Moore
Research Technician
B.S. Horticulture, Colorado State University

Cassandra Schnarr
Current position: Research Assistant, Kansas State University
M.S. Student, Colorado State University

Outside where the sun does boil
All day in the field we shall toil
We play in the dirt
And try not to get burnt
But we do it ’cause we love the soil

Dr. Cynthia Kallenbach
Current Position: Assistant Professor, McGill University
Postdoctoral Fellow, Colorado State University

My research emphasis is in agroecosystem soil ecology and biogeochemistry. I explore the role of microbial communities in decomposition dynamics and rhizosphere processes, their influences on soil organic matter formation and stabilization, and their responses to agricultural management and global change.  This is particularly important when we consider the expansion of  crop production to meet rising global food and energy demands and subsequent impacts of agricultural management strategies on soil microbial communities and soil carbon and nutrient dynamics.

Dr. Theresa Nogeire
Research Associate
Ph.D. University of California Santa Barbara
nogeire.weebly.com

I conduct research in landscape ecology and conservation biology. My current projects focus on scale and spatial distribution of food systems, and how different models of food production might improve conservation outcomes, social justice, and resilience of food supplies to climate change.  My past research focused on how biodiversity persists in human-dominated landscapes, and especially how wide-ranging species use agricultural and grazing landscapes.  I use GIS, spatially explicit modeling, and field data to answer questions about how private lands might be better managed to advance conservation goals while providing necessary resources for people.

Dr. Steven Rosenzweig
Current position: Soil Scientist, General Mills, Brookings, SD
Ph.D. Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University
B.S. Biology, SUNY Geneseo

Dr. Andrew Robertson
Current position: Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Francesca Cotrufo, CSU
Postdoctoral Fellow, Schipanski Lab, CSU
Ph.D. Aberdeen University