Rich received his undergraduate degree from the University of Rhode Island and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in soil chemistry from Iowa State University. He came to the U of S as a post-doctoral research fellow and, aside from four years at the University of Massachusetts - Lowell, he has been part of the Soil Science Department since the mid 1980s. Rich’s work is in the area of “environmental agronomy”, with a focus on how soil and fertilizer management affect the production/emission of greenhouse gases–especially nitrous oxide (N2O. This research is aimed at establishing agronomic practices that enhance nutrient use efficiency to achieve optimal yields while also minimizing the environmental footprint of the cropping system.