Ray R. Weil

Ray R. Weil is Professor of Soil Science at the University of Maryland. He has earned degrees at Michigan State University, Purdue University, and Virginia Tech. Before coming to Maryland, he served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia, managed an organic 500 acre mixed grain-vegetable-livestock farm in North Carolina and was a Lecturer at the University of Malawi in southern Africa. He has become an international leader in sustainable agricultural systems in both developed and developing countries. Published in over 100 scientific journal articles, chapter and books, Weil's research focuses on cover crops and organic matter management for enhanced soil quality and nutrient cycling for water quality and sustainability. His lab developed analytical methods for soil microbial biomass and active soil C that have been adopted by the USDA/NRCS and are used in ecosystem studies world wide. His contributions to improved cropping systems and soil management have been put into practice on farms large and small. Dr. Weil has taught over 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students, addressed over 5,000 farmers and farm advisers at meetings and field days, and helped train hundreds of researchers and managers in various companies and organizations. He has been the major adviser for some 43 MS and PhD students. He is a Fellow of both the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy. He has twice been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to support his work in developing countries. In 2009-2016 he was a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University, New York and served as soil and crop management adviser to the Millennium Villages Project of the Earth Institute Center for Food and Agriculture. In this role he performed field diagnosis and advising on soils issues in Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Malawi, Uganda, and Senegal. He also advised the government of the Mexican State of Chihuahua and the Laguna Foundation in development work for the Tarahumara indigenous peoples in the Sierra Madre Mountains. The synergism between Ray Weil's teaching and research, and his ecological approach to soil science are especially evident in his work since 1995 on the most widely read and cited textbook in the field, The Nature and Properties of Soils, by Weil and Brady, now in its 15th edition and in full color throughout. When not working with farmers, scientists and students, Ray enjoys gardening, hiking, reading and commuting to campus by bicycle.