Dr. David McNear is an Associate professor of Rhizosphere Science in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and is responsible for teaching PLS366 Fundamentals of Soil Science in the Fall of every year.  Dr. McNear runs the Rhizolab where his research team investigates the biogeochemical processes occurring at the plant root-soil interface (a.k.a. rhizosphere) over multiple spatial scales, and assesses the influence of these processes on nutrient and heavy metal cycling in managed and unmanaged ecosystems.  By integrating information gained from assessing microbial community structure and function, plant genetics and metabolomics, and soil chemical processes, we aim to unravel the inherent complexity of the rhizosphere to help solve some of the most critical problems facing the World today (climate change, food security, ecosystem integrity).