NIU Geography Soil Judging Team Advances to National Competition

Observation is often the first step toward understanding in science. For student members of NIU's Soil Judging Team, observation is also the key to determining the nature of a soil, how it formed, what types of vegetation it can support, how well it drains, and its ability to safely bear homes, buildings, and roads.


Individual Soil Judging (left) and Team Soil Judging (right)

For the third year in a row, a team of students from Northern Illinois University competed in soil judging against teams from universities in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan and, for the second year in a row, NIU's soil judging team demonstrated their outstanding skills in observation and interpretation. NIU's team of TJ Abell, Clint Bailey, Aaron Browning, Paul Gruca, Amber Singer, and Norman Yackle placed second overall in the Region 3 Soil Judging contest held in early October near West Lafayette, Indiana. Two of the team's members medaled in the individual competition, with Aaron Browning placing second and Clint Bailey placing fifth. This year's Region 3 Collegiate Soils Contest was hosted by Purdue University and the Indiana Association of Professional Soil Classifiers. By virtue of its second place score, NIU's Soil Judging Team is eligible to compete in the 50th Anniversary National Collegiate Soils Competition to be held in Lubbock, Texas in March 2010. Congratulations!


NIU's Soil Judging Team: TJ Abell, Clint Bailey, Aaron Browning, Paul Gruca, Amber Singer, Norman Yackle and Alicia Lisowski

The NIU Soil Judging Team is coached by Dr. Mike Konen, Associate Professor of Geography, and Alicia Lisowski, MS-candidate in Geography.

Post contributed by Dr. Andrew Krmenec