Tom Bott reports on his research trip to France. My project is interested in how soil microbiology changes when there is an increase in the amount of methane and other gases such as ethane and propane (collectively called alkanes). Such gases may originate from the geology below the site, for example from oil or gas […]

STARS students are once again organising a session at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly. The EGU is a week-long gathering of Geoscientists from all over the world who come together to share and discuss their research in all areas of geoscience. The STARS students are planning a Pico session and they are currently seeking […]

STARS CDT are delighted to be able to announce the appointment of Legacy Fellow, Dan Evans. Dan will be taking up the post, on a part time basis, in December. This is an exciting development for STARS, building on the tremendous amount of work put in by our students and supervisors; we want to capture […]

Sam Musarika reports on a recent STARS course. PhD projects are complicated and are sometimes not easy to communicate. What might seem to be an interesting project to the researcher and his fellows could be easily dismissed by those outside that sphere of interest. It is important therefore that a researcher presents their work in […]

Leigh-Anne Kemp, a 2nd year STARS PhD student, reports on an International Knowledge Exchange visit. I recently completed a month-long international interdisciplinary internship at Ohio State University. I was invited to work with Dr Bennett’s lab group focusing on the effects of selenium leaching from mining activities on microbial communities. My internship was twofold. First […]

Lucy Greenfield, a 3rd year STARS PhD student, reports on an International Knowledge Exchange visit. I recently travelled to the University of Göttingen for a month to learn the technique of enzyme photography or zymography from Dr Bahar Razavi. Enzymes are released into the soil by microorganisms to aid the breakdown of many soil compounds.  […]

I recently finished a three-month placement at Ramboll, a civil engineering consultancy, in Southampton. I was given the opportunity to work with the Environment team there as part of an industry placement funded by the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF). During my placement I helped out with many different projects and got a great overview […]

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, […]

A European Journal of Soil Science, STARS special issue, is being planed. Having formally launched the proposal at the STARS conference in January, editors Phil Haygarth, Guy Kirk and Davey Jones are currently compiling a list of provisional paper titles. Although time is short, it is not too late to submit suggestions. Volunteer papers comprised […]

How does soil science link to future global challenges? Read this conversation between Harry and Alex, members of the third and second STARS cohort respectively, as they reflect on the first STARS CDT conference held recently. At this key time for STARS, we are at maximum capacity.  Students and supervisors were present from all 4 cohorts at the […]