Wednesday, 9 November 2005 - 8:30 AM
260-3

Soil Scientists by Any Other Name.

James Montgomery, DePaul University, Env. Science Dept, Chicago, IL 60614 and John Tandarich, Dominican University, 7900 W. Division St., River Forest, IL 60305-1066.

Where does soil science as a unique discipline stand today? In all likelihood future soil scientists will not have the word “soil” in their title, but rather will be identified by what they actually do. They may not be trained at land grant universities, but instead from four year liberal arts schools which emphasize teaching. These schools, such as DePaul University and Dominican University in the Chicago area, will play an important role in training students how to integrate soil science to solve non-agricultural and largely urban environmental problems. Indeed, it is the responsibility of professional societies such as SSSA and SWCS, and agencies such as NRCS, to promote soil science to other non-agricultural disciplines, many of which interface with the urban environment, and to assist in guiding students to obtain the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully assimilate soil science into their future careers as biologists, chemists, ecologists, environmental scientists, engineers, landscape architects or urban planners. In addition it is incumbent on these organizations as well as the land grant institutions to establish linkages and lend support to non-land grant institutions in their efforts to educate students on applications of soil science to urban environmental problems, particularly given the fact that the United States' urban population is continuing to grow rapidly. Without such support soil science will continue to defragment, and the remnants shoved into less visible places within the academic, public and private sectors, or become irrelevant.

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