- Author: Milton E McGiffen
Lauren Hale is the new Research Soil Scientist at the USDA-ARS San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Fresno. I knew Lauren from her PhD research at UCR under David Crowley. Her thesis explored the use of biochar as a shelter for beneficial soil microbes. She subsequently worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Oklahoma's Microbial Ecology lab, where Dr Hale researched total microbial community response to climate change and how that response affects carbon and nitrogen cycling.
Her research projects going forward will include how the soil microbiome affects and is affected by soil health. This currently includes field experiments on the influence of biochar on plant yield under deficit irrigation. Dr. Hale is particularly interested in whether biochar stabilizes microbial communities in cases of drought stress. Future research will investigate biochar for use in water purification.
Contact information: lauren.hale@usda.gov . Office phone: 559-596-2865
- Author: Milton E McGiffen
Congratulations to Steve Feher, Butte College, and a fine list of conference participants for the excellent Biochar Workshop. Good to see a lot of people from within and outside of California that work on biochar given a chance to speak and interact. Steve has done an excellent job over the last several years of making, characterizing, and using biochar for hands-on instruction. He has done this conference each February for the last few years so I think we have to call it an annual event.
If anyone wishes to donate materials, money or time to Steve's efforts should contact him. The enthusiasm of the students make it all worthwhile.
- Author: Milton E McGiffen
Assistant professor positions in soil biogeochemistry and soil health that would touch on biochar-related areas have opened up at the University of Missouri. For more information search: http://hrs.missouri.edu/find-a-job/academic/
- Author: Milton E McGiffen
IBI Biochar World Congress 2019
November 10 @ 8:00 am - November 14 @ 5:00 pm
Event Navigation
The IBI Biochar World Congress 2019 which will be held from 10 -14 November 2019 in Seoul, Korea. Could not find any further information on the web, but IBI should be posting some soon.
- Author: Milton E McGiffen
My grandparents grew up in this province, so I will have to seriously think about going.
Website: http://www.engconf.org/conferences/energy-technology/bio-char-ii-production-characterization-and-applications/
From their website:
The conference aims to create a forum where the current knowledge as well as the future directions are openly reviewed and discussed.
Main Themes and Proposed Sessions:
- History and long-term performance of bio-char: what can we learn from the past? Long-term monitored field studies
- Sustainable feedstocks for bio-char production: characterization, pre-processing and suitability/response to thermal processing
- Bio-char production processes: from torrefaction, slow and fast pyrolysis, gasification and hydrothermal processing
- Bio-char characterization: relationships among feedstock, production technology and characteristics
- Bio-char reactor technologies
- Co-products of biochar production: a biorefinery approach
- Bio-char physical and chemical post-processing (grinding, functionalization, activation
- Bio-char applications: soil amendments, adsorbents, catalysts, fillers for composites, electronic applications
- Bio-char handling, storage, markets and commercialization
- Bio-char use sequences: integration of value chains in agricultural models and forestry
- Bio-char policies, regulations, and standardization
- Case studies: success stories, failures, and lessons learned
- Biochar and climate change
The proposed program is as follows:
Typical Day (Monday – Tuesday – Wednesday):
(Note: Thursday will not have late afternoon presentations BUT there will be a poster session/refreshments before the evening banquet; Friday will be morning only plus posters but no plenary):
- 8:00 am start with plenary (30 minutes)
- 8:30 am to 12:30 pm: short presentations (10 min + 2 min) with a 30 minute coffee break at 10:00 am (total of 18 presentations)
- 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm lunch
- 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm networking/ad hoc discussions
- 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm short presentations (10 min + 2 min) (total of 10 presentations)
- 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm dinner
- 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm posters for each of the 28 presentations of the day plus extra room for ~ 15 free forum posters and social hours – 43 poster spaces (each ~ 4 ft wide – 4 ft long = 2 posters for each side of 8 x 4 board)