1998 Lecturer | Dr. J. Thomas Sims

About the Lecturer

The fifteenth annual Roscoe Ellis, Jr. Lecture was presented on 18 March 1998 by Dr. J. Thomas Sims, Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees (Agronomy and Soil Fertility) from the University of Georgia. He received the Ph.D. degree (Soil Chemistry) from Michigan State University.

His research has included development of N and P management programs, organic waste management (composting, nitrification inhibitors, pelletization), use of coal fly ash as a soil amendment and a component in synthetic soils, herbicide mobility and degradation in soils, remediation strategies for soils contaminated with Pb and As. He recently co-authored a textbook (Soils and Environmental Quality) and chapters for Advances in Agronomy, Methods in Soil Analysis (SSSA), and the Handbook of Soil Science. Dr. Sims is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Environmental Quality and for Nutrients in Agricultural Ecosystems.

Dr. Sims has taught Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition at the undergraduate and graduate levels for 12 years. In 1994, he revised the undergraduate course, now titled Environmental Soil Management, to address contemporary environmental issues. Since 1992, he has offered an introductory-level course, Soils and Environmental Quality, for non-majors with interest in biology, chemistry, and the environment.

Dr. Sims received the F. D. Chester Award (1992), from the College of Agricultural Sciences, University of Delaware, in recognition of his research and public service efforts. He was the 1996 recipient of the Excellence in Research Award from the Northeastern Branch of ASA. He is a Fellow of ASA (1995) and SSSA (1996).