We Measure The World

Texturing and analyzing soil in the field isn't all infiltrometers and digital sensors—you've got to get your hands dirty, too. Join us as University of Idaho graduate students MaryBeth Gavin and Paul Tietz discuss the exciting community of collegiate soil judging. Learn about the challenges in categorizing and documenting soils, even in difficult weather, and how those skills are supporting the next generation of scholars across a multitude of disciplines.

Sustainable irrigation starts with understanding how water moves through the entire system. Every interaction—from where it originates to where it’s taken off, stored, or lost—influences a crop’s ability to survive, especially in arid regions like Utah, USA and Punjab, India, where every drop matters.

In this episode, PhD candidate Tejinder Singh joins us to discuss his research in soil hydraulics, evapotranspiration modeling, and sustainable irrigation.

Scientific advancements only matter if they reach the people and places they’re meant to benefit. That’s why Dr. Jake Mowrer and other Extension Professors in Texas A&M’s AgriLife program work to bring the university’s research on soil nutrients and water management directly to the Texas community who can use it. Join Jake as he discusses new insights on effectively implementing biochar, understanding phosphatase activity, and the vital role extension plays in bridging the gap between academic research and the real-world application.

The story of the energy transition is told in many languages: meter-scale satellite imagery, hyperlocal atmospheric data, ecological sustainability studies, infrastructure sustainability studies and more. Understanding the full story requires researchers to harmonize data collected across political lines and scientific disciplines at different scales, on varying platforms, and by organizations with varying assumptions and methodologies. In this episode, Dr. Michael Young talks about his approach to bringing all these elements together into collaborative systems that serve all stakeholders.

What do you do when you need a direct measurement of the water flux occurring within and around your plants but do not have the funding for eddy covariance systems? Postdoc at UC Berkley, Tianxin "Carlos" Wang, has been on the hunt for an affordable way to measure sensible and latent heat exchanges to enable more people around the world to manage water usage effectively without complex and expensive instruments. In this episode, Carlos discusses his research evaluating the accuracy and convenience of methods for utilizing the variance-Bowen ratio.