Soil Research

Can a field remember what grew in it? In summer 2026, I worked as a research assistant in Connecticut College's Summer Science Research Institute, studying how a field's crop rotation history shapes its soil.

I collected about 40 to 45 soil samples across six rotation fields. For each one, we measured the life and fertility of the soil: microbial respiration, moisture, compaction, pH, organic matter, active carbon, phosphorus and other nutrients.

We also ran a greenhouse experiment to see how each field's soil affects the next crop. I analyzed the data in R and prepared a research poster. I worked with Eric Vukicevich and Justin Richardson.