The Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources congratulates Dr. Josh Garcia, a postdoc working with Dr. Cristina Lazcano and Dr. Mallika Nocco, for receiving the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The UC PPF was established to encourage scholars from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue academic careers in the University of California system. Fellowships are awarded across all 10 UC campuses to outstanding scholars whose research, teaching, and service addresses issues of diversity and inclusion. Fellows receive funds to pursue their own original research projects in addition to faculty mentorship and professional development opportunities. The fellowship also comes with a hiring incentive that provides salary support and start-up funds to those hired into faculty positions at any UC campus.

For his PPF project, Dr. Garcia is collaborating with urban farmers in the San Francisco Bay Area to determine how soil amendments derived from municipal waste products can support carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, microbial diversity, and soil structure. Dr. Garcia’s project will include several extension activities such as urban farmer workshops, elementary student outreach, and an episode of the UC WaterTalk podcast to outreach research findings and soil health information more broadly to diverse communities in the Bay Area.