Horton receives 2026 Dokuchaev Award

The International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) awarded SSSA/ASA member Robert Horton, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Agronomy at Iowa State University, with the 2026 Dokuchaev Award, which is the IUSS’s highest honor for fundamental contributions to soil science. Widely regarded as the "Nobel Prize" of soil science, the quadrennial honor was presented to Horton during the 23rd World Congress of Soil Science, which took place in Nanjing, China with the theme, "Soil and the Shared Future for Humanity." 

Horton’s pioneering work on coupled heat and mass transfer in soil has fundamentally transformed global understanding of the Earth's vadose zone, and his development of mathematical theories and advanced sensor technology has allowed scientists to accurately measure and predict soil-water movement, mitigate fertilizer nitrogen leaching, and better understand environmental climate change impacts. 

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