Professor Michael Castellano's training is in soil science (Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University) and basic biology (MS, Saint Louis University, BS University of Rhode Island). He is currently a Professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University and participates in Environmental Science, Sustainable Agriculture, and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology interdepartmental graduate degree programs.
His research focuses on biogeochemical cycling and transport within the soil as it extends to the atmosphere and subsoil. His ultimate objective is to maximize the sustainable productivity of agricultural systems. To achieve this goal we often link experiments across managed and unmanaged ecosystems, applying agronomic, ecological, and biogeochemical principles to advance our basic understanding of element cycling and improve ecosystem management.