Soil scientist honored with renaming of carbon center

Today the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), was officially renamed to include the name of its founding director, Rattan Lal.

Lal is a Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science in the college’s School of Environment and Natural Resources.

Across six continents, Lal has pioneered ways to reduce deforestation, control soil erosion, and restore soil fertility. The agricultural methods he advocates enhance carbon sequestration, the soil’s ability to take up carbon dioxide from the air, thus enriching the soil while also defending against rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Lal received his PhD in soil science from CFAES in 1968. He returned in 1987 to accept a position as an associate professor, and he has been at CFAES ever since. 

In 2000, he established the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, the longest-running U.S. institution with a focus on carbon sequestration in both natural and managed terrestrial ecosystems, and in particular soils.

The center is now called the CFAES Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration (C-MASC).

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