2019 Larson Allmaras Lecture

April 5, 2019 | 2 PM

 

The 17th William E. Larson and Raymond R. Allmaras Emerging Issues in Soil and Water Lecture

Advancing Science, Solving Problems, and Seeking Scientific Truth: Reflections on 46 Years of Research from Packing Sand Grains to the Minnesota River

Celebrating the retirement of Dr. Satish Gupta 

Watch a recording of the lecture 

Join us for a very special lecture. Dr. Satish Gupta, the Raymond Allmaras Professor of Emerging Issues in Soil and Water retires this year. A friend of Bill Larson and Ray Allmaras and a long time, valued professor in the Department, Satish has coordinated the lecture series since the very beginning.

Abstract

Dr. Gupta joined the Department of Soil Science in 1972 as a post-doc with Bill Larson and Dave Farrell; two USDA-ARS scientists. In 1977, he became a Soil Scientist with USDA-ARS and then in 1985, he moved back to the University of Minnesota as a member of the Soil Physics/Soil Mechanics teaching and research faculty. The focus of his research over this period has been on issues related to Water Quality, Soil Structure, Soil Management, and Recycling Waste. Some of his earlier work was geared towards agricultural production issues with emphasis on Soil Tillage and Soil Compaction.  As the environmental issues dominated our society, the focus of his research shifted to water and contaminant transport both through the soil and in overland flow, and waste utilization. In all these areas, he and his students undertook computer modeling as well as laboratory and field studies. His field studies were in collaboration with Dr. John Moncrief and Dr. Carl Rosen and were done in many parts of state from the Red River Valley to Central Sands, the Minnesota River valley, and the non-glaciated landscapes of southeast Minnesota and southwest Wisconsin. In this lecture, Dr. Gupta will highlight some of his collaborative work in Soil Physics, Soil Mechanics, and Contaminant Hydrology. The later part of his talk will touch on current issues related to antibiotics use in agriculture, sediment and phosphorus contamination of the Minnesota River/Lake Pepin, and the role of climate change on nitrogen losses from agricultural landscapes.