IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS for SOIL ECOLOGY ENTHUSIASTS

Soil Ecology Society half day virtual meeting

Thursday, May 27th, 2021

We are looking forward to connecting with you during our upcoming virtual meeting! Please see below for meeting details, meeting registration link, our 2021 meeting logo, reminder about Early Career and Student Paper awards, and some highlights from our members.

Our virtual meeting is open to everyone (no membership or registration fee required). Please share the meeting information with colleagues, collaborators, and students in our global soil ecology community. Additional details regarding the meeting are forthcoming.

REGISTER FOR THE MEETING

 

CALL FOR SES AWARD NOMINATIONS 

We are still accepting nominations for the Early Career Research Award and the Outstanding Student-Authored Paper Award. Please nominate your students and colleagues. We have only received a few nominations, so there is a good chance the person you nominate may receive the award. Recipients will have the opportunity to speak during our virtual meeting in May and will be highlighted at our next in-person meeting. We have extended the deadline to submit nominations to April 23rd.

AWARD DETAILS & SUBMISSION PROCESS

 

WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR WORK

We want to hear about your work and share it with our community on our social media, website, and future newsletters. We created a member announcement form so that you can easily share your accomplishments and publications. Submit your member announcements and we will share them with our community.

We especially love celebrating student-led research at the Soil Ecology Society. Students – tell us your wins! Advisors – share the work of your students!

Women in Soil Ecology (WiSE) is a female-focused network aimed at connecting and supporting women scientists to create a strong, equity-centered community for all those identifying as womxn in soil ecology. WiSE aims to build community between women in the soil ecology field across and within career stages through their mentorship program, monthly meet and greets, and online training workshops.

SUBMIT MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

WiSE

You can join WiSE by signing up for their email list and mentorship program on their website https://womeninsoilecology.github.io/. You can also follow the group on Twitter (@WomenInSoilEco) and join their monthly virtual meet & greets. To support, you can become a mentor to someone in the network, or volunteer to lead a skills workshop, career panel, or give a seminar on your research.

You can follow WiSE co-founders and leadership team on Twitter:Peyton Smith (@apeyton_smith), Stephanie Kivlin (@stephaniekivlin), Michala Phillips (@PhillipsMichala), Kendall Beals (@kendallkbeals), Courtney Collins (@cour10eygrace).

LEARN MORE ABOUT WiSE

Old Announcement:

Greetings soil ecologists,

Thank you to everyone who voted on our proposal to postpone the in-person 2021 meeting and extend the membership and leadership by one year. We received overwhelmingly positive support for our proposal, and are officially postponing the 2021 in-person meeting until May 2022. All current memberships have been extended at no cost and the current Executive Board members will retain their leadership roles through the extension period.

Instead of meeting in-person, we are looking forward to coming together as a community during our virtual gathering in May. Do you have ideas about what you’d like to see at our virtual half day event? Reply to this email and let us know!

Sincerely,

Soil Ecology Society Board Members

SES Meeting and Membership Extension Vote

Greetings soil ecologists,

We hope you are staying healthy and in good spirits as we navigate the challenges of a global pandemic. As a society, we value our community and the connections we have with each other. Now, more than ever, we need to come together to advance the understanding of the importance of soils for human and environmental well-being. Our biennial gathering is a critical part of our SES mission, where we connect with old friends and meet new colleagues in an effort to address pressing issues in the field of soil ecology. Yet, elevated COVID-19 infections and travel restrictions hinders our ability to plan and hold an in person meeting as planned.

To maintain the vibrant, student friendly celebration of our science and our community, the SES Board proposes to postpone the in person meeting previously scheduled for May 2021 until May 2022. We propose to host several webinar events this spring, and a ½ day virtual meeting to provide a venue for social interactions, acknowledgement of our outstanding achievements through our awards ceremony, and to continue advancing our society goals through our SES Business meeting. To facilitate these changes, we also propose to extend all SES memberships at no cost and all board terms by one year to maintain continuity.

As SES members, we request your vote on the above proposal. The vote will be open to active members for 30 days, until Monday January 11th, 2021.

Click here to vote on SES meeting & membership extension

Warm wishes,

Soil Ecology Society Board Members

Happy World Soil Day (Dec 5, 2020)

Happy World Soil Day, soil ecologists! We are grateful that you are part of our vibrant community of soil ecologists. We are connected by a shared love and curiosity for soil and the incredible biodiversity that lives belowground. We are here to support all of your scientific efforts in soil ecology, and look forward to all that is to come in 2021.

Check out these World Soil Day resources and celebrations!

“We literally treat [soil] like dirt, and yet there is so much untapped potential, so much wonder, & so many secrets just waiting to be discovered”
– Bridget Emmett, Soil Scientist, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Look out for an email from us next week regarding updates for the 2021 SES meeting and plans for the year to come.

In community,
Soil Ecology Society Board Members

2019 Award Winners

Congratulations to the Soil Ecology Society Award Winners!
The 2019 awardees are:

  • Career Achievement Award Winner:  Jayne Belnap, USGS
  • Early Career Achievement Award Winner:  Thea Whitman, University of Wisconsin
  • SES Best Student Authored Paper Award:  Debjani Sihi, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • Service Award Winner: No Nominations – consider nominating a deserving candidate for 2021!

2019 Student Presentation Awards:

  • Outstanding Oral Presentation:  Steven McBride, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Volatile organic compounds produced during leaf litter decomposition enter soil organic matter
  • Outstanding Poster Presentation:  Heather Kittredge, Michigan State University, Natural Transformation of Extracellular DNA in Soil
  • Oral Presentation Honorable Mention:  Ilenne Del Valle, Rice University, Using synthetic biology to understand flavonoid bioavailability in soils
  • Oral Presentation Honorable Mention:  Ashley Jernigan, Cornell University – Invertebrates strengthen the linkage between soil microbial activity and crop productivity
  • Poster Presentation Honorable Mention:  Corinne Walsh, University of Colorado, Boulder, Investigating the effects of soil microbes on seedling success and endophyte colonization
  • Poster Presentation Honorable Mention:  Allison Zahorec, Michigan State University, Influences of Bioenergy Cropping System Identity and Management on Microarthropod Communities

2019 Parkinson Travel Award Recipients:

  • Holly Andrews , University of California, Riverside
  • Binod Basyal, University of Louisville
  • Natalie Bray, Cornell University
  • Ilenne del Valle, Rice University
  • Courtland Kelly, Colorado State University
  • Steven McBride , Virginia Tech
  • Theo Michaels, University of Kansas
  • Chance Muscarella (undergraduate), University of Arizona