LAB UPDATES
05-06-2021
Welcome to the lab, Cole!
11-18-2020
PhD Assistantship available with the Sprunger Lab beginning May 2021
Two PhD Assistantship positions will be available in May 2021 through The Ohio State's University School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) and Department of Horticulture and Crop Science (HCS).
The assistantship with Dr. Christine Sprunger of SENR will focus on the characterization of soil rhizosphere aspects and quantify nutrient cycling dynamics. More information can be found here.
If you are interested in this position, please contact Dr. Christine Sprunger at
02-09-2021
PhD Assistantship positions filled for May 2021
We thank everyone for their interest in these two positions with our lab!
03-19-2021
Recent Sprunger Lab publication featured in CSA News
Our lab’s recent publication in Agricultural & Environmental Letters (Sprunger et al 2020) was featured in the March 2021 issue of CSA News magazine. CSA News is a monthly magazine that highlights exciting new research for members of three large interdisciplinary, professional societies: ASA, CSSA and SSSA. We are proud, honored, and excited to have our lab's research highlighted!
Click here to see the feature.
The full March issue can be viewed online by subscribers and in the upcoming print edition of the magazine.
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The Rhizo Lab welcomes its newest master's student, Cole Goldman. Cole started his first day on Monday May 3rd, 2021. He will be working this summer to collect field data on the effects of flooding and climate change on soil food webs and nutrient cycling. Check out Cole's bio on the Our Team page and stay tuned to hear more about his work.
We are excited to have Cole be a part of our lab!
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.