Project Leader:

 Alex Woodley
Assistant Professor in Sustainable and Organic Soil Fertility
919.819.7158
3214 Williams Hall

Alex is originally from Stratford Ontario. He received his B.S., M.S. degrees in Environmental Science from the University of Guelph, and his Ph.D. in Land Resource Science from from the University of Guelph. He was a NSERC visiting fellow at the Harrow Research and Development Centre (AAFC) working in Dr. Craig Drury’s lab.  He joined the faculty at NCSU in spring 2018.

 

Current Lab Group Members: 

 

Samantha Steffen – Research Technician

Samantha was born and raised in Gainesville, Florida and has received a B.S. degree in Marine Science with a minor in Geology at Florida Gulf Coast University, and a M.S. Degree in Soil and Water Science from the University of Florida. She has worked at wastewater treatment plants, and has been an Earth Science teacher for high school students. She has since moved to RTP area to gain further experience in the lab and field.

 

Raine Lookabill – Master’s Student

Raine moved to Raleigh from just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She received her B.S. degree in Plant Science with a focus on Agroecology and minors in Crop Production and International Agriculture from The Pennsylvania State University in Spring of 2023. She is currently working in the greenhouse on a study looking at nitrous oxide emissions in corn. Before starting her program, Raine worked with the hydroponics program at Penn State, studied abroad in Kenya, and interned with Penn State Extension.

 

Diego Salazar Peraza – Master’s Student

Diego Salazar was born and raised in El Salvador. He received his B.S. in Environmental Science and Social Development from Escuela Agricola Panamericana Zamorano, Honduras. In the Summer of 2023, he joined the sustainable soils lab at NCSU to start his Master’s program. His research primarily focuses on evaluating enhanced efficiency fertilizers in corn systems.

 

Doyeong Hur – PhD Student

Do Yeong was born and raised in Ulsan, South Korea. He received his B.S. degree and M.S. degree in soil science, from Pusan National University. His research primarily focuses on evaluating enhanced-efficiency fertilizers to reduce nitrous oxide emissions and ammonia volatilization in corn systems. In the fall of 2022, He began his Ph.D. at NCSU. He joined the Sustainable Soil lab, aiming to expand his expertise and understanding of soil nitrogen management.

 

Fred Teasley – PhD Student

Fred Teasley is a Ph.D. student investigating soil health of farming systems transitioning from conventional to organic management.  Broadly speaking, he is interested in the relationships between nutrient cycling, soil health indicators, and farm management practices.  Fred obtained a B.Sc. from Towson University in Environmental Science and a M.Sc. from the University of Delaware in Plant and Soil Science.  In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, cooking, and repairing vintage motorcycles.

Rashid Imoro – PhD Student

Rashid was born in Janga, a small farming community in the North – East region of Ghana.
He had his bachelor’s education at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he graduated with a BSc. Agriculture (Crop and Soil Sciences Option). He had his master’s education at the University of Aberdeen, UK in soil science. He is currently a Ph.D. Soil Science student here at North Carolina State University (NCSU) researching into Biochar as a Soil health and Carbon Sequestration strategy for North Carolina State Agriculture.
His research interests cover environmental sustainability, soil health, GHG emissions, soil physics, soil genesis, morphology and classification and agroecology.

 

Past Lab Group Members:

Richard Hendley – Research Technician / MSc. Student 

Richard grew up in Marietta, Georgia and received a B.S. degree in Horticulture from the University of Georgia in 2011.  He came to NC State in 2019 to pursue an M.S. degree in Crop Science after working on vegetable and plant nursery operations for several years.  His Master’s research explores precision cover cropping with a focus on weed suppression and soil fertility.

 Tom Stanton – Research Technician

Tom received his B.S. degree from The Pennsylvania State University in 2016, majoring in Agricultural Sciences. After a few years of working on different agricultural operations in Pennsylvania and Maine, he joined the Sustainable Soils lab in 2018.

Sam Hahn – M.S. Student

Samuel is from a small town in the ‘pinky’ of Michigan that was voted “Good Morning America’s” Most Beautiful Place in America in 2011. He received his BS in 2015 from the University of Michigan in Ecology and History. After that he taught middle school science in South Carolina, bought a heifer, got a dog, and did some traveling. He started his MS at NCSU in the fall of 2018.

Lily Kile – MSc. Student

Lily is originally from Murfreesboro, TN. She obtained her B.S. from Pennsylvania State University in Plant Sciences where she also worked on a Christmas tree farm. She obtained her certificate in Foundations in Counseling at the University of the Nations in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. She spent a year travelling to work with sex trafficked victims in the Philippines and facilitate group counseling sessions with refugees in Germany and Greece. She began her M.S at NCSU in the fall of 2020.

Cara Mathers – PhD Student

Cara Mathers grew up beside the Chesapeake Bay in the small town of St. Leonard, MD.  She received her BS degree in Comprehensive Science from Villanova University in 2017, and then immediately began her graduate studies at NCSU.  She worked in the soil physics laboratory group studying the influence of soil drying on evaporation while working towards her MS.  She is now pursuing her PhD in the sustainable soils lab, and her research focuses on the intersection of agricultural management, soil water dynamics, and crop productivity.

Chris Gillespie – PhD student  (Co-chaired with Dr. Shuijin Hu)

Christopher Jorelle Gillespie was born in Champaign-Urbana. Gillespie grew up in Douglas Park, an area historically stagnated by racial segregation and economic curtailment. Raised by a single mother, Gillespie was introduced to the sciences by his grandmother, an educator and University of Illinois affiliate. In May 2017, Gillespie received his bachelors in Crop and Soil Science from Michigan State University. Gillespie then matriculated to Oklahoma State University, obtaining a M.S. in Plant and Soil Science specializing in soil chemistry in June 2019. Currently, Gillespie is working towards a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology (specializing in soil biogeochemistry) at North Carolina State University. As a member of the Hu Lab, Gillespie’s primary research endeavors are focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within differing agroecosystems. Moreover, Gillespie seeks to explore the influence of soil physical