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Illustration of David and Goliath

News

CALS Dean Ben Houlton may have a billion-ton solution to climate change
Benjamin Z. Houlton, Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell, is on a mission to use science to find solutions to climate change. And, like David in the epic battle against Goliath, Houlton is using rocks.
  • Health + Nutrition
  • Soil
  • Environment
Dean Ben Houlton leaning on a fence with cattle in the background

Multimedia

News

Leading Through Extension with Humility and Responsibility
In this episode of “ Extension Out Loud,” a podcast by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), Benjamin Houlton, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, shares his journey and his vision for carrying forth Cornell...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Global Development Section
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
A pond surrounded by trees and a blue sky

News

Seminar series addresses grand challenge of climate change
This university-wide seminar series, now in its sixth year, is led by Peter Hess, professor and director of graduate studies in the department of biological and environmental engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The...
  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
Bluebird perches on a piece of wood

News

Lab of Ornithology to welcome new director in July
Ian Owens, a distinguished evolutionary biologist and currently the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s deputy director, has been named the next executive director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Owens will take the helm of the...
  • Lab of Ornithology
  • Animals

News

Microbiology Chair Esther Angert joins CALS senior leadership team

“CALS is in a unique position to help the world navigate global challenges, leveraging our commitment to purpose-driven science and impact for the 21st century, the solutions century,” Houlton said. “We are delighted to have Esther Angert join...

  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Fish
A male stands next to a tractor that is being driven through a field of short crops

News

CALS dean advises on carbon removal strategies
Benjamin Z. Houlton, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, joined a group of experts working with the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) to identify key pathways for terrestrial carbon dioxide removal that merit...
  • Global Development Section
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Agriculture
a man and a woman stand in a farm field looking at a tractor in the distance

Spotlight

Benjamin Z. Houlton: Investing in agriculture for a climate resilient future
If all goes as planned, the addition of rock dust — rich in potassium, iron and zinc — will help increase the crop’s overall yield, nutrient density and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. “Each time these natural rock particles...
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Agriculture
  • Global Development
an aerial shot of the CALS ag quad

News

Benjamin Houlton named as the next Ronald P. Lynch Dean of CALS
Houlton’s five-year appointment, effective Oct. 1, has been approved by the Executive Committee of the Cornell University Board of Trustees and is pending ratification by the State University of New York Board of Trustees. He also has been...
  • Global Development Section
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Climate Change