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I am currently Vice-President of the British Society of Soil Science, having been President in 2009 and 2010, as well as Head of the Department of Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems at Rothamsted and Scientific Director of the Centre for Soils and Ecosystem Function. I also manage the Cross-Institute Programme for Sustainable Soil Function (SoilCIP), which links research on soil science across our Rothamsted and North Wyke sites, and includes some research at James Hutton Institute in Scotland. My first degree was in Chemistry and Mathematics at Exeter University, and I moved into agricultural research via an MSc in Soil Chemistry at the University of Reading under Dennis Greenland, and a PhD in ion exchange in soil at Imperial College, London. I joined the Chemistry Department at Rothamsted in 1974 when George Cooke was head.
My research at Rothamsted has included soil potassium and phosphorus, acid rain, soil acidification and liming. My current focus is on nutrient cycling in the biosphere, especially losses of nitrogen to air and water and their environmental impact, with a strong emphasis on policy-relevant research. I recently managed the revision of the ‘UK Fertiliser Recommendations for Agricultural and Horticultural Crops (RB209)’ to produce the new ‘Fertiliser Manual (RB209)’ for the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra).
I am a visiting Professor at the University of Nottingham and China Agricultural University, Beijing. I am a member of the Society of Chemical Industry, a Fellow of the Institute of Professional Soil Scientists and a Chartered Scientist. I was awarded the Royal Agricultural Society of England’s Research Medal in 2003 for my research into diffuse pollution from agriculture and made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in 2010. With two colleagues at Rothamsted, I received a certificate for my contribution towards the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the IPCC
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