David Laird

David Laird is a professor in the Department of Agronomy and Environmental Science Program at Iowa State University.    Previously, David was a Lead Scientist with USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, IA.  He has professional memberships with the American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, Clay Minerals Society, American Chemical Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.  He was named a Fellow in 2008 by Soil Science Society of America, a Fellow in 2007 by American Society of Agronomy, recipient of the Raymond and Mary Baker Agronomic Excellence Award in 2003, and the Marion L. and Christie M. Jackson Soil Science Award in 2000.  Research interests include the use of pyrolysis to process biomass into bioenergy and biochar co-products, and the impact of biochar amendments on soil quality, the stability of biochar in soils, and the net impact of biochar on greenhouse gas emissions from soils.  Other research interests include the chemical, mineralogical, and surface properties of soil clays, interactions of pesticides and other organic compounds with clays, the nature of soil humic substances, clay-humic interactions, and the development of field-mobile near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for mapping soil organic carbon and other properties.