April 9, 2009

Don Zak, a professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, will deliver the Francis Clark Distinguished Lectureship at the 2009 Soil Science Society of America meeting.

The lectureship is the highest award given by the society for pioneering work in soil biology and biochemistry. His lecture will be delivered Nov. 3 at the International Annual Meetings of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). That event is Nov. 1-5 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. It brings together more than 3,500 people from 50-plus countries representing academia, government and private industry, including a large contingent of undergraduate and graduate students.

The Francis Clark Distinguished Lectureship on Frontiers in Soil Biology focuses on topics in soil biology that are of interest to researchers, teachers and students. The lecture emphasizes the role and importance of soil biology in addressing agricultural, environmental or socio-economic issues. The fund was established by SSSA in honor of Francis Clark's lifelong commitment to the study and teaching of soil biology and microbiology.

Zak holds a joint appointment in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the College of Literature, Science, and Arts, and with SNRE. His research investigates links between the composition and function of soil microbial communities, and the influence of microbial activity on ecosystem-level processes. His work draws on ecology, microbiology, and biochemistry and is focused at several scales of understanding, ranging from molecular biology to global biogeochemistry. His current research centers on understanding the link between plant and microbial communities within terrestrial ecosystems, and the influence climate change may have on their physiological processes.

He teaches several undergraduate courses, which include Soil Ecology, Ecosystem Ecology, General Ecology, and Ecosystem Science in the Rocky Mountains.