STARS students present their research to HRH The Duke of Gloucester

Four STARS students, Jessica Potts, Chris McCloskey, Paul George and Emily Dowdeswell-Downey, were given the opportunity to present their research to HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG GCVO when he visited the BSSS Early Career Researcher conference in his capacity as the Society’s Patron.

The biennial two-day event, led by BSSS National Representative Dan Evans, was held at The Edge, Sheffield University during which over seventy early career researchers from more than thirty institutions gave oral and poster presentations. In addition, delegates participated in two workshops based on future careers in Soil Science and preparing for Viva examinations, and enjoyed a team-based photo quiz at the local Botanical Gardens.

Dan Evans warmly greeted HRH The Duke of Gloucester to the conference at noon on Tuesday 16^th April, the first day of the conference. He then enjoyed two oral presentations. First, Jessica Potts presented her research on ‘Acetamiprid transport and mobility within UK agricultural soils: a comparison of commercial mixtures under different soil organic matter treatments’. This was subsequently followed by Chris McCloskey’s presentation on ‘Separating plant and soil carbon fluxes under field conditions’.

Later, The Duke of Gloucester was invited to view six poster presentations. Paul George presented his research on ‘Divergent trends in belowground microbial and animal biodiversity revealed across heterogeneous landscapes  in national-level metabarcoding survey’. Emily Dowdeswell-Downey then shared her research into ‘Aggregate stability: underlying physical, chemical and biological (de)stabilising mechanisms due to temperature and moisture effects’.

“I am delighted that The Duke of Gloucester decided to attend the BSSS ECR Conference,” Dan said. “It is one of the Society’s hallmark events to showcase the novel and impactful work being carried out by the future generation of soil scientists.“