I teach and perform research on soil evolution across multiple scales in time and space. Soil is a natural resource that is poorly understood by the general public and I seek to provide and share values, knowledge, and an overall appreciation of soil.
I am an assistant professor at UW and I teach and do research on soil development and wetland biogeochemistry. I work closely with graduate and undergraduate students to explore the hidden world of soils. I am especially fascinated by climatic controls on soil formation, mineral weathering, and landscape evolution. I teach classes in introductory soil science, pedology, soil judging, as well as two hands on field courses on Arctic soils and soil and rangeland ecology.
Favorite scicomm project(s) I’ve worked on:
Role(s) in WySCI:
Co-founder, committee member
Contact me about: Presentation and poster design, translating science to youth and the general public, interactive displays, film concept development, etc.
Contact information: karen.vaughan [AT] uwyo.edu | uwyopedology.com/ | @uwyopedology on IG | @vaughan_soil on twitter