A little over a month ago, I reached out to Eugene Kelly, a professor of pedology, deputy director of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, and associate dean of extension at Colorado State University.
Within five minutes of meeting him in the Lory Student Center, Dr. (“Just call me Gene!”) Kelly had gotten me to spill my life story as an endurance athlete, bought me a latte, and told me that he used to commute to CSU from Boulder, his home, on his bike, which is about 43 miles … one way.
And then CSU President Amy Parsons floated by us, stopped abruptly when she saw Kelly (“It’s so good to see you, Gene!”), and continued on her way.
“Oh, that’s just my friend, Amy,” Kelly offered, innocently. “Shall we sit outside?” I nearly spit out my coffee, as Kelly had seemingly psychoanalyzed me, been recognized (on a first-name basis) by our president, and was apparently a world-renowned pedologist (soil scientist) who has been consulted as a soil expert for the blockbuster movie The Martian, among other projects. Starstruck, I remember thinking to myself: “Who… in the world is Eugene Kelly!?”
Sitting out on the plaza, Kelly spoke on growing up as the oldest boy in an Irish Catholic family, reminiscing on the impact Catholicism and the highly placed importance education had on his upbringing.
“That’s what I remember most about growing up and my early education — living a life of purpose and service — it’s probably the most important thing my folks instilled in me,” Kelly said. “I believe in that deeply and make my bed every day when I wake up, even at hotels. Then I go for a run.”
Running, as well as swimming, cycling, water polo, yoga and aerobics — you get it — these are all huge aspects of Kelly’s life. Growing up on Long Island, New York, Kelly was a “reasonably good athlete” by his standards, excelling in track and field, lacrosse and basketball, among other things.
“I believe that like all things in life, endurance sports take time, passion and persistence. It changes your lifestyle, mindset and character,” Kelly said, smiling deeply. “They teach us how far we can go and how much we can endure before giving up or continuing. Your mind will give up far earlier than the body will.”
To this day, exercise remains a crucial component of his life — perhaps most evident by his legendary commute to CSU from Boulder.
I did indeed ride my bike from Boulder to CSU each day in the summer, weather permitting,” he said. “I was training for Ironman triathlons and marathons, and I really couldn’t get enough mileage on the bike — and even more so, it was great to get myself in the right frame of mind, whether I was working on a proposal or preparing for classes.”
There’s a lot here. Despite researching the sheer impact Kelly has had on the field of soil health and pedology prior to our interview, I was repeatedly blown away by Kelly’s incredible, multifaceted way of life. Venturing away from Kelly’s impressive athletic feats, we started discussing his holistic academic career.
“After finding my way out of New York — in a van, mostly just to ski and surf — I made my way out West, finding CSU,” he said. “My advisor during my bachelor’s studies in range science asked me if I knew the difference between a bull and a steer. I couldn’t come up with a quick answer, so he literally walked me over to a new building to study something different … soil science.”
In a roundabout way, Kelly found soil science and never looked back. He went back to CSU to get a master’s degree in soil science, while simultaneously training for huge endurance athletic events, and then went to the University of California at Berkeley for his Ph.D. — coming back to CSU shortly after to become an assistant professor.
“I drifted into soil science while studying natural resources here at CSU. I was drawn to pedology because it’s highly interdisciplinary and converges around the things that interest me: chemistry, physics, biology, geology and ecology,” Kelly said. “It’s a discipline that simultaneously challenges one intellectually and physically and has brought me to see some of the most beautiful places in the world.”
Now a revered professor in the realm of soil health and pedology, Kelly is an integral component of the world’s knowledge and perception of our soil. He was recently appointed chair of the National Committee on Soil Science by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, helping to raise awareness among scientists, societies and decision-makers about the profound importance of soil for human well-being and our planet.
“The Martian movie story is funny … I was being interviewed by some folks unrelated to the movie on providing input on a TV program that was loosely tied to the Biosphere 2 program, and I spent a bit of time as a biospherian, mapping soil and living on the Biosphere 2,” he said. “The experiment that they had designed was failing … without going into too many details, they had too much organic C in the soil, which set the whole system out of whack, and we solved it. Eventually, some movie folks approached me and were interested to see if the idea of food production was viable in closed systems like in the movie.”
Kelly — the dynamo of energy that he is — is clearly one of the most influential and important soil health advocates on our planet, yet somehow maintains a whimsical, passionate love for the complexities of life that extends beyond just that of his career. How?
“Navigating a professional career, much like enduring in sports, entails confronting multiple and diverse challenges,” he said. “It’s critical to cultivate a new perspective on failure. Obstacles are a part of our journey, and they are inescapable, whether in your career path or during your daily pursuits, be it work or play. As you navigate the various facets of life, you might encounter those who seem insensitive, akin to birds that, occasionally, leave their mark (essentially, crap on you). Addressing these situations with humor is key to gaining spiritual and emotional separation. Laughter is a trusted ally.”
Let’s all be like Kelly, and just laugh a little bit more through it all.
