2016 Lecturer | Dr. Diana Wall

About the Lecturer

Dr. Diana Wall is a University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University and was appointed as the Founding Director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability in 2008. A professor in the Department of Biology and Senior Scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Diana is responsible for helping faculty and students contribute to progress towards a sustainable future.

A soil ecologist and environmental scientist, Diana is actively engaged in research exploring how life in soil contributes to healthy, fertile and productive soils and thus to society, and the consequences of human activities on soil globally. Her research on soil biota, particularly soil nematodes, extends from agroecosystems to arid ecosystems. Her research on soil biota, particularly soil nematodes, extends from agroecosystems to arid ecosystems. Diana has spent more than 25 seasons in the Antarctic Dry Valleys examining how global changes impact soil biodiversity, ecosystem processes and ecosystem services.

Dr. Wall currently serves as Science Chair for the Global Soil Biodiversity Initiative. She has also served as President of the Ecological Society of America, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Society of Nematologists, and the Intersociety Consortium for Plant Protection.

Dr. Wall is a fellow of the:

  • Aldo Leopold Leadership Program
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Ecological Society
  • Ecological Society of America
  • Society of Nematology

Dr. Wall served on the editoral board for Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas, Environmental Research Letters, Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Environmental Development, Oecologia, Ecosystems, The International Journal of Meiofaunal Zoology, and the Editorial Advisory Board for Applied Soil Ecology.

Dr. Wall has co-authored more than 180 referred publications.

Awards

Notable recent awards include:

  • 2013 Soil Science Society of America Presidential Award
  • 2013 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement
  • 2015 Ulysses Medal, University College of Dublin
  • Honorary Doctorate, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
  • SCAR President’s Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research
  • Wall Valley, Antarctica was named in 2004 to recognize her research contributions

Education

  • Ph.D., Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington
  • B.A., Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington