home faculty directory Earth & Soil Sciences

Department Chair
Brent G. Hallock, Ph.D. 
U.C. Davis
52-C28, 756-2436, bhallock@calpoly.edu

Dr. Hallock teaches Introductory Soil Science, Soil and Water Conservation, Soil Morphology, Rangeland Management (with the Animal Science Department), and a graduate course, Erosion and Sediment Control. He is currently President-elect in the Professional Soil Science Association of California. His current projects include rangeland health in the Morro Bay watershed project, archaeology projects on soil stratigraphy and geomorphology, and sediment and erosion control Best Management Practices for San Luis Obispo County, the Coastal Resource Conservation District and the California Department of Transportation. He is a Registered Soil Scientist, and a Certified Erosion and Sediment Control Specialist. Specialties: Geomorphology; Soil Taxonomy and Mapping Landscapes. 

Christopher S. Appel, Ph.D.
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
52-C32, 756-1691, cappel@calpoly.edu

Dr. Appel teaches Orientation to Earth and Soil Sciences, Introductory Soil Science, the laboratory portion of Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition, Soil and Water Chemistry, and Tropical Soils.  He oversees and advises the Earth and Soil Sciences Department College Based Fee Committee, is advisor to the Earth, Soil, and Water Conservation Club, and helps coordinate the MESA Soils Program.  Currently, Chip’s research focuses on the study of chemical interactions between heavy metal contaminants and soil surfaces at a nearby military base.  Also, for some reason, he seems to really enjoy learning about the interactions of lead and other heavy metals with tropical soils. He is a member of the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy.  His specialties include soil chemistry, the chemical properties of tropical soils, and he really likes soil mineralogy.

Lynn E. Moody, Ph.D.
U.C. Riverside
52-C27, 756-2807, lmoody@calpoly.edu

Dr. Moody teaches Introductory Soil Science, and Rocks and Minerals. She is currently an investigator on the Morro Bay Nonpoint Source Pollution study funded by the EPA, and is developing a research program on soils which form in parent rocks within the Franciscan Melange. She often works with the Natural Resources Conservation Service during summers projects such as the California soils database and the soil survey of the Carrizo Plain. She is a member of the Soil Science Society of America, Soil and Water Conservation Society, Clay Mineral Society, and Professional Soil Science Association of California. Specialties: Soil Mineralogy; Soil Genesis; Coastal Soils.

Thomas J. Rice, Ph.D. 
North Carolina State University
52-C41, 756-2420, trice@calpoly.edu

Dr. Thomas Rice is responsible for teaching university courses in soil science, land use planning, soil geomorphology, soil resource inventory, and advanced land management. 
Dr. Rice has directed and performed soil resource inventories in California, Montana, North Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. he has supervised over forty masters theses and senior projects dealing with soil chemistry and viticulture, soil resource inventories of vinyards, soil-serpentinite minerology relationships, environmental mercury contamination, land use planning, and nonpoint source pollution-water quality studies. Dr. Rice has published numerous journal articles, research reports, and popular press articles. He has been the project director for funded studies involving soil taxonomy updates in California, Nevada, and Utah; a comprehensive soils database for California; nonpoint source pollution in western rangelands; mercury pollution in a California watershed; soil mapping of a national wildlife refuge; and soil map unit interpretation record updates for California. He has served as a private soils consultant and has testified as an expert witness in legal depositions, California civil courts, and legal arbitration proceedings. 

Terry L. Smith, Ph.D. 
Iowa State University
52-C33, 756-2262, tsmith@calpoly.edu

Dr. Smith teaches Introduction to Soil Science, Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition, Soil Fertility, and Advanced Soil Fertility. He is advisor to the Soils Club. Dr. Smith received the 1996 Sunkist Outstanding Teaching Award for the College of Agriculture. He is a former President of the California Chapter of American Society of Agronomy (ASA). He is chair of the National ASA Placement and Career Promotion Committee and a member of a new ASA committee titled, "Celebrating our Heros: Profiles of the Most Significant Persons in Agronomy, Crops and Soils in the 20th Century." Specialties: Soil Fertility; Soil Environmental Management; Plant-Soil-Nutrient Interactions.

PART TIME EARTH AND SOIL SCIENCES FACULTY

DAVIS, Myles	52-C32	756-1691	mhdavis@calpoly.edu
GARCIA, Dr. Antonio F.	52-D41	756-2430	afgarcia@calpoly.edu
PRESTON, Dr. William L.	52-C29	756-2210	wpreston@calpoly.edu
RAIO, Larry E.	52-C44	756-2753	lraio@calpoly.edu
RUEHR, Dr. Thomas, A	52-C34	756-2552	truehr@calpoly.edu
TASKEY, Dr. Ron D.	52-C26	756-1160	rtaskey@calpoly.edu
WILL, Dr. M. Elizabeth	52-C44	756-2753	ewill@calpoly.edu

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