"We spoke with nine C-level U.S. airline executives and senior officials across six U.S. carriers for this story. They expressed varying degrees of skepticism, but none felt the cuts were without some level of political interference."

Grew up under a dictatorship, they attacked expertise first. This is alarmingly familiar. Trust in expertise is the foundation of modern civilization. Even as a researcher, I rely on expert knowledge I could never master in a lifetime. Rejecting that isn’t freedom, it’s how societies collapse!

“Despots want science that has practical results,” said Paul R. Josephson, an emeritus professor of history at Colby College and author of a book on totalitarian science. “They’re afraid that basic knowledge will expose their false claims.”

The Soil Physics Kirkham Medal was given to Bill Jury at the Kirkham Conference in Fukushima. He had an illustrious career at UC Riverside before retiring as Distinguished Professor Emeritus. #soil #soilphysics #kirkhamconference #sssa

It’s official, JB Milliken will be the 22nd President of the University of California system. It was a privilege to represent UC faculty interests in this search. … he currently serves as Chancellor of the UT System, previously led the CUNY system, U of NE and was v. Pres of UNC

Gardner (1991) argued that “if basic soil science did not exist, there is ample evidence that we need to invent it.” While practical applications are valuable outcomes of soil science research, they should emerge from a deep understanding of soil systems rather than define the discipline's scope.

📢 New pub: Defining #soil science: Balancing fundamental research and societal needs, in Soil Science Society of America Journal doi.org/10.1002/saj2... @teamrat.bsky.social & I argue, soil science, though crucial for solving environmental challanges, should not be defined solely by its applications

Pope Francis’s first papal visit was to Lampedusa, where thousands have perished. There he criticized the “globalization of indifference”. He said we “have forgotten how to cry” for migrants and “take care of each other,” in his homily. It seems the indifference is worsening everywhere.

the so-called war over California’s water is a dangerous, flawed trope that reduces certain water uses to right or wrong, and turns the Delta into a place with no local stakes. Faced with threats of drought, climate change and water scarcity, we should not reduce this place to a warring of... sides.

"Thousands of highly cited scientists have at least one retraction" "Oransky says the results throw into question the practice of ranking scientists on the basis of citations at all."

The Ahwahnee at Yosemite

A foggy and rainy Yosemite. #yosemite

Heron on a bridge.

Geese at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge.

A blue heron basking under the morning sun at @ucmerced.bsky.social

Today, as President Jimmy Carter is honored, we reflect on his 2010 visit to UC Merced, where he received the Spendlove Prize and celebrated the Central Valley’s diversity as a strength of our nation. 🔗ucm.edu/lhgqp1

“… Research Program at the UCLA, surveys first-year college students every year. The percentage who named being “very well off financially” as an important goal doubled from 1967 to 2019. Those who wanted to develop a “meaningful philosophy of life” decreased by nearly half.

This study suggests our faces evolve to match our names. It makes me wonder - what people think when they first see my name? Do I look like a Teamrat? Like most Eritrean names, which reflect the hopes and circumstances of the family at the time of birth, it's a story in a word. #names #culture

Congratulations to QSB graduate student Dean Wu on successfully defending your PhD!!

Today marked my 25th PhD committee/reader sign-off since joining @ucmerced.bsky.social in 2009. What a privilege to support these brilliant minds on their research journeys. Each defense reminds me why I love this profession. Congrats to the newest PhD, Dr. Dean Wu 🎓 #AcademicLife

Delighted to see my friend and colleague Jing Yan, a new Assistant Professor of Soil Physics at University of Hawaii, Manoa, join @bsky.app Proud to see his continued success! Follow him at @jyansci.bsky.social

Congratulations to my @ucmerced.bsky.social colleague John Abatzoglou on his well deserved election to Felloe of AGU. #AGU24

This paper offers valuable insights on adapting teaching and assessment methods for new technologies. However, I question the framing of the title and similar concerns I see lately. By this logic, should we ask if libraries could get degrees? #HigherEd #ai #education

I created this page of AI-generated podcasts based on my papers over many years. It's a great way to share a high-level introduction. Interestingly, the quality of the podcasts directly correlates with the clarity of the writing. #podcast #AI #soil #research #academicwriting #scicomm #notebooklm

Happy to Share Our Latest Article with @teamrat.bsky.social and colleagues. Soil Science Informed Machine Learning. We outline how soil science knowledge can be incorporated in ML models. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Got to hold these wiggly champions today before they are sent off to their new homes. My colleague Becca Ryals is leading an incredible community composting initiative! 🪱 These well-fed workers will help more community gardens and composters turn food waste into black gold. www.cvccompost.com

This paper from Andrea Carminati's group is fascinating. #readinglist www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Honored to contribute to this review paper "Soil Science-Informed Machine Learning" lead by @budimansoil.bsky.social... bridging ML & soil science knowledge for better, more reliable predictions. 🌱🤖 [link] www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Really appreciating hearing from @aaberhe.com Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, who is calling for transformative thinking around the next generation of computing in terms of sustainability. Underscores that incremental thinking will not be enough in terms of the real-world energy costs/usage on technology

Moving in and unboxing here.

When Minnesota farmers cranked up their wells in a drought, they blew through state limits. Thirsty crops included corn, soybeans and perfect, fry-friendly potatoeshttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/03/climate/minnesota-drought-potatoes.html