Biography Dr. Aburto received his B.S. in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Chile and an MSc and Ph.D. in Soil and Biogeochemistry from the University of California, Davis. He was an Assistant and Associate Professor of Soil Sciences at the University of Concepción (UdeC), Chile, before joining Texas A&M University as an Assistant Professor in October 2021. Dr. Aburto’s international research program applies a collaborative interdisciplinary approach to studying soil development and the effect of land use change and management intensification on soil biogeochemical functionality. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Soil Morphology, Soil Genesis and coaches the TAMU Soil Judging team. Dr. Aburto also holds an Adjunct Professor position in the Department of Environmental Sciences at UdeC. Dr. Aburto is a first-generation graduate, USDA E. Kika de la Garza Research Fellow, Fulbright Scholarship and NSF CAREER awardee. He has authored/co-authored 34 journal articles and collaborated on 25 projects, raising over $18 M. His research and outreach activities have been featured through multiple media outlets. He is the elected chair of the Pedology Division of the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). He also serves as the technical editor for the Pedology and Soil Mineralogy Divisions of SSSA journal.
