Forest, Range & Wildland Soils Division

Welcome! You can get involved with the Forest, Range & Wildland Soils Division on the Discussion Board. On this page you'll find award information and additional links of interest.

Jeffrey L. Smith Graduate Student Travel Award

This award was established to commemorate the contributions of USDA-ARS scientist Jeffrey L. Smith, who having lived a full life, passed away on Jan. 25, 2014. Jeff was a decorated Vietnam Veteran, received a B.S. degree from University of California-Berkeley, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Soil Science from Washington State University. He returned to Berkeley as a post-doc, helping lead one of the largest ecosystem science projects funded by NSF. He then returned to Pullman as a soil microbiologist with the USDA-ARS from 1986-2013, serving as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Crops and Soil Sciences, where he lectured, advised, and was a mentor to numerous graduate students. Their professional and personal successes were his most prized accomplishments. Jeff was nationally and internationally known for his pioneering research on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, and the impact of global climatic change on terrestrial ecosystems. He served as editor on several international scientific journals and as a leader on many ARS initiatives, including the Climate Change National Program and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement Network (GRACEnet). In 2007, Jeff was recognized for his scientific contribution to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He was a devoted member of SSSA, and an active participant in the Soil Biology & Biochemistry and Forest, Range & Wildland Soils Divisions.

The Soil Biology & Biochemistry and Forest, Range & Wildland Soils Divisions of the SSSA have long recognized the importance of graduate students to the health and vitality of our organization and have many programs in place to support and encourage graduate student participation in the meetings. An endowed fund in the Agronomic Science Foundation (ASF) is established to award a travel grant each year to a deserving graduate student presenting research in these Divisions to honor Jeff’s contributions to SSSA, and to encourage future scholars to participate in the Soil Biology & Biochemistry and Forest, Range & Wildland Soils Divisions at the SSSA meetings.

Eligibility: Students must apply each year for this award and recipients will be selected based on the following criteria:

1. Students must be members of the Soil Biology & Biochemistry or the Forest, Range & Wildland Soils Divisions of SSSA, working broadly in the fields of soil biology, biogeochemistry or microbial ecology, and must have completed two semesters of graduate work leading to a Master of Science or Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Natural Sciences.
2. Students must be the presenting author and have an abstract accepted for presentation (oral or poster) at the annual meeting within Soil Biology & Biochemistry or the Forest, Range & Wildland Soils Divisions of the Soil Biology & Biochemistry Divisions.
3. Academic performance, honors and awards (Undergraduate and Graduate School GPA, etc.) and demonstrated leadership in professional, social, or personal endeavors.
4. Prior scholarly activity (publications, abstracts, other instructional or extension activities).
5. A short essay explaining the importance of attending the SSSA annual meeting to their professional development, and demonstrating financial need to attend.
6. Preference will be given to students in the final year of study for their M.S. or Ph.D. degrees, and those that are from underrepresented groups in the earth sciences.
7. Selection of a single award, valued at $3000, will be made by the leadership of the Soil Biology & Biochemistry and the Forest, Range & Wildland Soils Divisions of SSSA.
8. An individual graduate student may receive this award only once.

Application Materials:

• Letter and statement of interest from student (1-2 pages)
• Letter of support from advisor
• CV 
• Title and abstract indicating the session it was submitted to

Send application materials (submitted as one PDF) by Oct. 15, 2024 to Send Message with Tarah Sullivan (t.sullivan@wsu.edu) and Charlene Kelly (ckelly1@mix.wvu.edu) CC'ed. Use the subject line "Jeffrey L. Smith Travel Award."

Robert J. Luxmoore Graduate Student Travel Award

The Robert J. Luxmoore Travel Award is now available for eligible students to apply. 

Eligibility
To be considered for this award, current graduate student members of the Forest, Range and Wildland Soils division must have an abstract accepted for presentation (oral or poster) at the Annual Meeting.

Application
Below is a link to the application form. The due date is 10/15. Please add "LUXMOORE STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD" in the subject line and email applications to the current chair of FRWS Dr. Charlene Kelly (ckelly1@mix.wvu.edu), past chair Dr. Katherine Heckman (Send Message), and incoming chair Dr. Lucas Nave (lenave@mtu.edu) as we will review and make the selections ASAP after the deadline.

Luxmoore Travel Award Application Form

Award
This year we will provide two travel grant awards valued at $1500. This is a great opportunity to help defray costs associated with attending and presenting at this year's SSSA Annual Meeting.

S.A. Wilde Early Career Achievement Award

In further recognition of Dr. Wilde’s role as a mentor of developing soil scientists, the S.A. Wilde Early Career Achievement Award is established to recognize significant accomplishment in forest, range or wildland soil research by an individual up to seven years post completion of a terminal degree program.

To be considered for this award, members of SSSA meeting the early career criteria must be nominated by a member of the FRWS Division.  The award will consist of the honor of presenting an extended oral presentation (30 minutes) at the annual meeting and an honorarium of $2000 to support attendance at the meeting for the purpose of making the presentation.  

Please submit the following application materials to the current FRWS Chair: Katherine Heckman, Send Message

1. A letter of nomination from a member of the FRWS Division addressing the significance of the candidate’s research accomplishments to date, 
2. An extended abstract of the proposed presentation (not to exceed one page), and
3. A copy of the applicant’s Curriculum Vitae.

Application materials are due May 1, with the award to be announced by May 9.

Sergei A. Wilde Distinguished Lectureship on Forest Soils

Colleagues and friends of Dr. S. A. Wilde established a Distinguished Lectureship in his name to honor his leadership role in the evolution of forest soil science during the 20th century. Dr. Wilde, a native of Russia, came to the United States in 1929 and was employed by the U.S. Forest Service. In 1934 he became Professor of Forest Soils at the University of Wisconsin, a position he held until his retirement in 1968. Through his research, his authorship of two textbooks, numerous forest-related publications, and his public service, Dr. Wilde had a profound influence on the science that now underpins management of forest soils and seedling production technology. His legacy will continue through the generations of academic offspring both informed and inspired by this quest for knowledge in support of forest soil science and forest management. 

The lectureship consists of an annual presentation on forest soils or a closely related area by a distinguished scholar at the annual meeting of the Soil Science Society of America. The lectureship will focus on current and emerging developments in the area of forest soils, with emphasis on science, technology, and educational or policy issues. The lecture is generally be given as a plenary session sponsored by the Forest, Range and Wildland Soils Division.