We Measure The World

Texturing and analyzing soil in the field isn't all infiltrometers and digital sensors—you've got to get your hands dirty, too. Join us as University of Idaho graduate students MaryBeth Gavin and Paul Tietz discuss the exciting community of collegiate soil judging. Learn about the challenges in categorizing and documenting soils, even in difficult weather, and how those skills are supporting the next generation of scholars across a multitude of disciplines.

Sustainable irrigation starts with understanding how water moves through the entire system. Every interaction—from where it originates to where it’s taken off, stored, or lost—influences a crop’s ability to survive, especially in arid regions like Utah, USA and Punjab, India, where every drop matters. In this episode, PhD candidate Tejinder Singh joins us to discuss his research in soil hydraulics, evapotranspiration modeling, and sustainable irrigation.

Scientific advancements only matter if they reach the people and places they’re meant to benefit. That’s why Dr. Jake Mowrer and other Extension Professors in Texas A&M’s AgriLife program work to bring the university’s research on soil nutrients and water management directly to the Texas community who can use it. Join Jake as he discusses new insights on effectively implementing biochar, understanding phosphatase activity, and the vital role extension plays in bridging the gap between academic research and the real-world application.

The story of the energy transition is told in many languages: meter-scale satellite imagery, hyperlocal atmospheric data, ecological sustainability studies, infrastructure sustainability studies and more. Understanding the full story requires researchers to harmonize data collected across political lines and scientific disciplines at different scales, on varying platforms, and by organizations with varying assumptions and methodologies. In this episode, Dr. Michael Young talks about his approach to bringing all these elements together into collaborative systems that serve all stakeholders.

Every structure around the world has one thing in common: they are built on a foundation of rock and soil. Unfortunately, the physical properties of these materials are as varied as the structures upon them. This variability has long forced geotechnical engineers to rely on instinct and experience when determining the most cost-effective safe solution. Since safety cannot be sacrificed, the margin of error must be covered with more robust and costly solutions than necessary in every case. In an industry where the consequences of error range from costly to catastrophic, Terracon is on a mission to replace educated guestimates with measurable, repeatable data. In this episode of We Measure the World, we talk to Arash Hosseini, Ph.D., P.E. and Matthew Ridgway, P.E. of Terracon about what it takes to make site-specific measurements consistent, accurate, and scalable.

Kai-Julian Hendler is a geotechnical consulting engineer at Boley Geotechnik in Munich, Germany. He holds a master’s degree in Civil Engineering, with a specialization in geotechnical engineering from the University of Lisbon. Over the past 8 years working at Boley Geotechnik, he has been a site engineer on port construction projects in South Africa, Guinea, and Australia. In his current role, he focuses on the geotechnical challenges of infrastructure projects for railways, metros, and roads.Christoph Verschaffel-Drefke is a Geotechnical Engineering and Hydrology Coordinator for Transnet BW, a transmission systems operator in Germany. After getting his degree in Geoscience Engineering, he worked on several research projects based around the heat dissipation of underground cables. During his 6 years working at TransnetBW, he has overseen projects relating to thermal soil investigation, thermal dimensioning, bedding materials of cables, and heat emissions.

As a third-generation builder, Bryce Wuori has always been passionate about construction. To further this passion, he studied Construction Engineering at North Dakota State University and earned a Master of Project Management from the University of Mary. As the CEO and co-founder of Pavewise, Bryce believes that technology is key to the future success of the pavement and construction industry.