The International Erosion Control Association Region One (IECA) has announced the winner of the 2017 Most Distinguished Technical Paper award: Dr. Jerry L Hatfield. Hatfield is a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). His paper, “Enhancing Soil Begins with Soil Biology and a Stable Soil Microclimate,” will be presented at Environmental Connection 2017, 21 – 24 February 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The award honors presenters who have demonstrated excellence within the context of their Environmental Connection technical presentation. Other recent winners of this honor include Michael Perez (2016), Jay Sprague, CPESC (2015) and Julie Etra, CPESC (2014).
ABOUT JERRY L HATFIELD
Dr. Jerry L Hatfield is the Laboratory Director of the United States Department of Agriculture‐Agriculture Research Service (USDA‐ARS) National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment Director of the Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, Iowa, and co‐PI on the Agriculture Model Improvement and Intercomparison Project. His personal research focuses on quantifying the interactions among the components of the soil‐plant‐atmosphere system to quantify resilience of cropping systems to climate change and development of techniques to enhance decision‐making for agriculture. He leads the agriculture sector for the National Climate Assessment, a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process that received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and lead on the agriculture indicators of climate change for the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). He is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America and Past‐President of the American Society of Agronomy and member of the American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union and Soil and Water Conservation Society. In 2014 he was elected to the ARS Hall of Fame for his research on improving agriculture and environmental quality and the Hugh Hammond Bennett award for his national and international work on conservation. He is the author and co‐author of 425 refereed publications and the editor of 16 monographs.
“I am honored to be recognized by my peers in the sediment and erosion control community and receive this award,” says Hatfield. “The paper details how soil biology is fundamental to reducing erosion and stabilizing soil. The research also explores how soil responds to changes in soil biology and how we can enhance soil by promoting an active soil biology.”
IECA will release information on other 2017 Awards of Environmental Excellence winners at Environmental Connection 2017.
