Professional summary

Research Interests

I am a Principal research scientist and group leader, responsible for a department of 15 research staff and a number of graduate students. I am responsible to the Science Area lead and Directors for the leadership, direction and resourcing of the Catchment to Coast interdisciplinary research group. The group focus is on national monitoring of soil, water, flora and fauna; integrated landscape and hydrological modelling and long-term soil and vegetation experiments.

My personal research program focuses on soil physical function and its interplay with biology, within the wider context of natural capital and ecosystem service delivery in response to climate and land use change drivers. I have a range of international experience in the USA, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Asia.

I have served the community in a number of roles including as a co-lead author for the 2015 United Nations Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soils, first World Soil Resources Report. I co-lead the UK Soil Observatory and I have published over 100 ISI papers (GS h-Index=51) in a range of interdisciplinary journals.

Brief CV

Recent appointments

10/2009 – Present Soil Scientist - UKCEH

11/2017 – Research Leader - UKCEH

01/2017 – Present Adjunct Professor - Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

Recent research funding and project management

UKCEH Countryside Survey soil and vegetation national research platform

EU Fabulous Farmers

ERAMMP soils national monitoring

NERC STARS Doctoral training program Soil Science, Project Management Board

Professional awards, recognition and development

2019 EU ‘Soil Health and Food’ mission board foresight panel

2018 Soil Science Society of America, Don and Betty Kirkham Award Soil Physics 

2015 – Present professional designation, BSSS, F.I. SoilSci 

2015 Soil Science Society of America: Fellow

2014 Association for Geographic information: Excellence with impact award for UKSO

2006 Soil Science Society of America: S-6 Soil & Water Management & Conservation Early Career Award

2005 Soil Science Society of America: S-1 Early Career Award in Soil Physics

Qualifications

PhD  Soil Physics, 1999: Soil water content estimates based on the measurement of soil relative permittivity: Use of capacitance, time domain reflectometry and impedance sensors, Institute of Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxon, and Univ. of Ulster, UK.

BSc  Soils and the Environment with Sedimentary Geology, 1994: 2:1 (Honours) Reading University, UK.

Panels, committees and memberships

Soil Science Society of America (Fellow)
British Soil Science Society (Fellow)

Personal web page: http//sites.google.com/site/davidrobinsonsoils/

mySoil app: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mysoil/id529131863?mt=8

UK Soil Observatory: www.ukso.org/

 

 

Publications