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Wendy Chou
Soil Scientist

What a soil scientist does

A soil scientist investigates the properties of soil, and there are many different types of soil scientists. Wendy considers herself more of an ecological soil scientist. She investigates soil in relation to the entire ecosystem. Wendy is a graduate student so she does research projects to earn credit toward her Ph.D.

Why soil science?

A soil scientist must incorporate a variety of subjects together in order to have a better understanding of the entire ecosystem. Wendy Chou was interested in chemistry, biology, the humanities and environmental science. She decided to become a soil scientist because it blended all these different subjects into one field.  

A day in the life

Wendy does her research outdoors because her work is related to climate change. She works with a variety of other people “in the field.” For example, she works with the university staff that raise cattle. Wendy also works indoors in a laboratory. In her lab she often does chromatography, a laboratory technique for separating mixtures of substances. She is able to analyze data by grinding up solid things, such as leaves, and then burning (combusting) them. The combustion releases gasses such as carbon and nitrogen, which Wendy is able to measure. Wendy also analyzes her data by mixing a handful of soil with a salt solution. The samples are then taken to a machine, where they are processed and analyzed.      
                                                     
A proud moment
A proud moment for Wendy is when she gave a presentation to an ecology research group at UC Berkeley. She likes sharing her work with the community because it is “important for people to know what you are doing”. Wendy believes that the sciences are interconnected and that communication between different scientific fields is essential.   

Challenges along the way
Wendy has faced some challenges along the way. For example, she had problems with her beginning math class, which was a heartbreaking episode in her life. However, this struggle did not deter her from her goal, and she was able to acquire her first college degree. Her second struggle was overcoming her fear of public speaking. She still struggles with confidence when public speaking, but she continues because she takes pride in sharing her work. 

The best part about being a soil scientist

Wendy believes that the best part of being a soil scientist is sharing her work with other scientists. Wendy likes to share her work because she believes that scientists should share ideas in order to inspire new ideas. Wendy likes to absorb information from other scientists, and appreciates it when other scientists process and incorporate her ideas into their projects. Wendy is attracted to helping the environment. She likes studying environmental science because she wants other people to appreciate the natural world too.
 
Life outside work
 
Wendy spends her free time with her family, with whom she tries to be as close as possible. Because Wendy is committed to helping the environment, she has fun figuring out ways to protect it. Wendy says that she tries to “drive as little as possible”, and she tries “not to be wasteful of resources.”

Hobbies

Wendy enjoys classical music, and as a child she used to play the piano. Today, Wendy indulges in her passion by playing the violin and singing in a local choir.  Wendy does not like playing alone as much as she likes to play in a group.    

How Wendy got to be a soil scientist

Wendy’s parents influenced her into becoming a soil scientist. Wendy believes the fact that both her parents have a Ph.D. had an impact on her life: “Their approach to thinking about problems or just thinking about life probably influenced me in subtle ways.” Wendy’s curiosity for science began as a young girl. “[My parents] would bring me into their labs when I was very small and I would play with a pipette tip.” Wendy was influenced by her parents, but her transition into becoming a soil scientist was a slow process. Wendy has always had an interest in the sciences because she “liked the organization and the logic” of the sciences. Her interests in biology, chemistry, and environmental science made her gravitate toward soil science. 

Current and Past Projects

She is particularly interested in how climate change increases the amount of greenhouse gas that grass produces. She has investigated the rate of greenhouse gas emitted from lawns on the UC Berkeley campus. Wendy also studies the effects of rainfall on carbon production in the Sierra Foothills, and she measured the effects of ozone gas on leaf production.

Role Models

Wendy is interested in scientific journalism, which is writing about current scientific issues. She has respect for people who pursue scientific journalism, and the two writers that she highly recommends are Michael Pollan and John McPhee. John McPhee is a literary non-fiction writer for The New Yorker. He wrote a book called Assembling California which is about plate tectonics involved in creating California. Wendy describes John McPhee as a guy that, “interviews cool scientists and makes their story sound interesting.” In the past Micheal Pollan has written pieces for The New York Times Magazine. He recently wrote a book called The Omnivores Desire: A Natural History of Four Meals, which is about the consequences of big business on agriculture in modern society.  Scientific journalism is appealing to Wendy because it mixes her passion for writing and science.

Advice to Young Women

Wendy’s advice to young women: “Don’t be discouraged if something is challenging at first because you can always work through it”.