LAB UPDATES
06-04-2019
Welcome to the lab, Tvisha!
This week the Rhizosphere Dynamics Lab welcomed Tvisha Martin. Tvisha will be working with the lab as a research assistant over the summer and will begin her Master's degree course work this fall. Today we worked with greenhouse staff to mix topsoil and sand for our greenhouse study. In an effort to be kind to our new student, we waited till her second day with the lab to do heavy lifting.
Adding components to the mixer. Mixing the topsoil and sand. Tvisha getting sand ready for the mixer.
05-31-2019
Dr. Christine Sprunger awarded SEEDS grant for study: "Rainfall extremes and rhizosphere dynamics: Implications for soil health and crop productivity"
The Ohio State University's SEEDS: The CFAES Research
Competitive Grants Program awards several categories of research
grants, including an Early Career category, of which Dr. Sprunger was
awarded funding for her project investigating rainfall extreme effects
on soil health and crop production via rhizosphere dynamic
measurements. This project will run from 03-01-2019 to 02-28-2019
and will involve greenhouse and field experiments. For further details
on this project, click here.
Information on OSU's SEEDS program can be found here.
04-06-2019
Rhizosphere Dynamics Lab joins College of Wooster to promote women in science by volunteering for Girls Science Day program
Christine and Nicole were joined by soil grad student Noely to put on a workshop for girls interested in STEM fields as a career. They organized a soil biology workshop for 5th and 6th grade girls from Wayne, Holmes, and Ashland counties for the "Expanding Your Horizons" event, hosted by the College of Wooster. Their "Soil Safari" session showcased soils and their role in the food web, determining physical soil properties, and their contribution to ecosystem services. After a brief presentation, the focus shifted to hands-on experiences where the girls drew a soil food web, learned how to determine soil texture, hunted for soil invertebrates in soil samples, and investigated how vegetation and root systems influence water infiltration and soil erosion through a mini-experiment. It was a great experience and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to open their minds to soils as a potential career path.