Rate My Professor Louis Schipper

Schipper's research investigates soil biogeochemical processes at landscape scales, including long-term changes in soil organic matter, nitrogen cycling with emphasis on denitrification and immobilization, carbon fluxes and nutrient cycling in agricultural and indigenous ecosystems such as wetlands, soil microbial ecology, and the temperature dependence of soil biological processes. He pioneered denitrifying bioreactors—lined structures filled with woodchips that enable microbes to convert nitrate from agricultural runoff to harmless nitrogen gas, reducing pollution in waterways. Key publications include 'How to measure, report and verify soil carbon change to realize the potential of soil carbon sequestration for atmospheric greenhouse gas removal' (2020), 'Denitrifying bioreactors—An approach for reducing nitrate loads to receiving waters' (2010), 'Decreases in organic C reserves in soils can reduce the catabolic diversity of soil microbial communities' (2000), 'On the temperature dependence of enzyme-catalyzed rates' (2016), and 'Nitrate removal and hydraulic performance of organic carbon for use in denitrification beds' (2010). His work has garnered over 15,000 citations on ResearchGate. Schipper is a Fellow of the New Zealand Soil Science Society (FNZSSS) and the Soil Science Society of America (FSSSA), and holds two patents. He received the M.L. Leamy Award for best soil science publication, the Environment Waikato Environmental Science Award in 2007, and the Kudos Award for Excellence in Environmental Science. He engages in public outreach through national radio interviews and television appearances on soil health and greenhouse gases.