Kate M. Scow is an American

soil scientist Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation t ...

and

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

whose research investigates the soil microbiome especially in contexts of agricultural soil management and the remediation of polluted environments. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Soil Science and Microbial Ecology in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources (LAWR) at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

. She was director of the Russell Ranch Sustainable Agriculture Facility and director of the University of California's Kearney Foundation of Soil Science. Scow was a former editor-in-chief of '' Soil Biology and Biochemistry''.

Education and career

Scow is originally from Rockville, Maryland and lived, as a child, in Argentina and Israel. Her first experience with soil was on a road trip across Europe with her family, collecting soil from every country she passed through. She majored in biology at

Antioch College Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...

, graduating in 1973. After graduate studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and in evolutionary biology at

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, she earned a master's degree and Ph.D. in soil science from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1986 and 1989 respectively. She joined the Dept of Land, Air and Water Resources as assistant professor at the

in 1989 and retired in 2021. She was visiting professor in agroecology at Maringa State University in Parana, Brazil.

Recognition

Scow was elected as a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America in 2000. She was the 2017 Nyle Brady Frontiers in Soil Science lecturer at the meeting of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, and the 2019 Francis E. Clark Distinguished Lecturer on Soil Biology. In 2022 she was elected to both the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

and

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

References

External links

Scow Soil Microbial Ecology Lab
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scow, Kate Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American soil scientists Women soil scientists Antioch College alumni Cornell University alumni University of California, Davis faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering