At Earth's surface, rocks interact with living organisms in the layer known as the Critical Zone. To support research on this zone, EESI partners with the Department of Crop and Soil Science to bring notable scientists to Penn State to share their Critical Zone (CZ) research.
Listed below are the scientists who have presented their research as part of the Critical Zone Seminar series. A committee of CZ researchers at Penn State chooses at least one annual speaker for this series. Committee members include Jason Kaye and Patrick Drohan, both from Crop and Soil Sciences, and Jennifer Macalady and Tim White, both from Geosciences.
| Date | Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| April 11, 2012 | Ron Amundson, professor Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California – Berkley |
"Hillslopes and Life" |
| Nov. 12, 2010 | Josh Schimel, professor Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology University of California, Santa Barbara |
"The Biogeochemistry of Drought" |
| Nov. 12, 2009 | Arjun Heimsath, associate professor School of Earth and Space Exploration Arizona State University |
"Quantifying Soil Production and Transport Across Diverse Landscapes" |
| Oct. 22, 2007 | Larry Wilding, professor Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M |
"Hydropedology in the Critical Zone: A Case Study in central Texas Hill Country" |
| April 30, 2007 | Oliver Chadwick, professor Associate Professor of Water Resources Department of Geography University of California, Santa Barbara |
"Impact of Time and Climate on Hawaiian Soils and Polynesian Land-Use Decisions" |
| Sept. 22, 2006 | Gail Ashley, director Senior Extension Associate Quaternary Studies Program Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Rutgers University |
"The Critical Zone: A Geological Perspective" |
