Dr Helen Glanville
I am a Lecturer in Geography and Environmental Science and I LOVE soil! I research small-scale microbial pathways in soil and water to understand their resilience to environmental change.
My love of soil started by accident. My MSc was in Geology, but I had always wanted to visit the Arctic and when I saw a soil science PhD at Bangor University advertised involving a trip to Svalbard, I thought why not apply, even if I know nothing about soil. Safe to say, 15 years later, I am a soil convert.
I like finding innovative ways to connect people with soil, and here I am holding a soil Dorodango ball or “Japanese shiny mud ball” which I made with students at my previous institute during lockdown. Students loved making them and my favourite quote from them was “you have made me annoyingly interested in soil”. This is something I hope to continue at Loughborough and connect more people to the world beneath their feet.