Meet Prof. Richard Heck (soil structure)

I would consider soil as being one of our most precious resources. It is not really renewable in the time frame that we have available to us. We can create growing mediums that will simulate soil, but it's a very expensive way to produce food fiber and biofuels. Our soils are limited in their extent, and on a global basis they're suffering various types of degradation. Much of my research program over the past 10-15 years has been focused on soil structure. In fact, I'm using CAT scan technology to obtain three-dimensional imagery of soil structure. This is very important to understanding problems such as compaction, which is globally a major issue. If the soil is too compacted, plant roots do not develop properly. They can't get proper nutrient uptake. They could be susceptible to drought. And from a more landscape perspective, compacted soils are more susceptible to erosion when heavy rain falls. My research program has always had a very strong international component to it. Certainly that has meant that we've been looking at soils in other parts of the world under different types of management, environmental conditions, in collaboration with those local researchers. But it has also meant that my laboratory has hosted many researchers, graduate students, undergraduate students. And so it's also provided a very enriching opportunity for graduate students in my own program to be exposed to the international dimension of the subject matter.