Professor Lis Wollesen de Jonge from the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University has been awarded SSSA Fellow by the Soil Science Society of America. The award was presented at a ceremony at the society’s annual international meeting held in California in January 2019. Lis Wollesen de Jonge was awarded the honour in recognition of her significant contributions to soil science.   

Lis Wollesen de Jonge, who is a professor in soil physics, is the only European among the 12 newly appointed Fellows who, apart from her, include two experts from Canada and nine from the USA. The Danish professor studies soil structure, colloid facilitated transport in the soil, water repellency, and spectroscopic prediction of soil physical properties. Her recent focus has been on investigating the functional properties of arctic soils and the development of farming in South Greenland.   

Lis Wollesen de Jonge has a CV that would leave most people breathless. Besides conducting research, she has a seat in several committees, including Independent Research Fund Denmark | Technology and Production, is chairman of the PhD programme in the Department of Agroecology, is a prize-winning associate editor, and is supervisor for numerous PhD, master and bachelor students. She has authored more than 300 articles, including 154 published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals. 

Fellow is the highest recognition bestowed by the Soil Science Society of America. Society members nominate worthy colleagues based upon their professional achievements and meritorious service. Up to 0.3 percent of SSSA’s active and emeritus members may be elected Fellow. At the present, the 83-year-old society has more than 6000 members. The Soil Science Society of America is an international scientific society that fosters the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global soils. Three of this research area’s important journals are published by SSSA. 

- I am deeply grateful and honoured by the award. I have participated in Soil Science Society of America’s meetings since I was a PhD student in the early 1990s. Being nominated as Fellow in 2018 by my international colleagues and ultimately being bestowed the honour means a lot to me. I am very grateful, says Lis Wollesen de Jonge. 

For more information please contact

Professor Lis Wollesen de Jonge, Department of Agroecology, e-mail: lis.w.de.jonge@agro.au.dk, mobile: +45 2494 0550, telephone: +45 8715 7737