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I discovered my passion for soil science as an undergrad. We were assigned “The Nature and Properties of Soils” by Brady and Weil. My professor infused life in every class with stories and interesting information while explaining how ‘soils have and sustain life’. This class had a huge impact on me and inspired me to explore and satisfy my curiosity about soils. It was evident to me that teaching meant connecting with the students and then connecting the student to the content.

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I believe in creating an environment of teaching and learning based on getting constant feedback and relating the course content to real-life situations. I want to try to create an active learning environment through lectures, discussions, interactive classes. I want my teaching to be beyond the course and contribute to their overall development.

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TEACHING & MENTORING EXPERIENCE

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North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC​

  • Courses taught: SLMG 200 Soil Science, SLMG 400 Soil Ecology, ENVS 699 Environmental Problems, SLMG 350 Soil Health Management                                                                                                                                                                          2018-

  • Academic advisor for 9 undergraduate students in Sustainable Land Management concentration at Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Design (NRED)                                                                                                                                            2018-2019

  • Advised and mentored 4 undergraduate research projects                                                                                                   2018-

  • Chair of graduate advisory committee for 1 student in NRED                                                                                            2019-

  • Member of graduate advisory committee for 3 students in NRED                                                                                      2018-

 

Agronomy Crop and Soil Science Society                                                                                                                                   2017-2018

  • ​Student Mentoring Program Chair, Soil and Water Management and Conservation Division, Soil Science Society of America​

  • ‘Golden opportunity mentor’ for Mr. Alec Martin Weber (ACS golden opportunity scholar) who is a senior Agronomy major at South Dakota State University with an emphasis in Agricultural Business and Precision Agriculture

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The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA                                                                                                          2016-current

  • Guest lecturer on soil health indicators, Environmental Soil Microbiology, SOILS 512 

  • Guest lecturer on molecular techniques in soil microbiology, Environmental Soil Microbiology, SOILS 512

  • Guest lecturer on nitrogen cycle, developed a module (lecture and field trip) on the impact of microbial ecology on soil nitrogen cycling, Soil Ecology, SOILS 412

  • Formal mentoring of undergraduate students Ana Turosky and Haley Stauffer on soil sampling, processing, soil microcosm incubation setup, DNA extraction, electrophoresis gel run, PCR, qPCR and analysis of soil physico-chemical properties

  • Formal mentoring of masters’ student Emily Ball on field gas sampling (GRACEnet protocol) and writing graduate research proposal

  • Informal mentoring of Mara Cloutier and Tarik Acevedo-Gonzalez, PhD students on designing laboratory incubations for soil microbiome study

 

North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND                                                                                                                                   2014-2016

  • Graduate teaching assistant, Introduction to Soil Science Lab SOILS 210

  • Informal mentoring of undergraduate Eva Magnuson, currently an Intern for Corn hybrid research at DuPont Pioneer, Dallas, IA

  • Successfully completed teaching assistant training conducted by the Graduate School

 

Punjab Agricultural University, Punjab, India                                                                                                                              2012-2013

  • Undergraduate teaching assistant, Soil Management

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MENTORING EVALUATION:

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TEACHING EVALUATIONS FROM STUDENTS:

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I started working with Dr. Bhowmik as an undergrad at Penn State. His passion about the research he was doing was contagious; the way he talked about soil, its importance in our world, and the vast amount of research that is being done on it, greatly influenced my choice to continue in the field. Arnab was able to assist me in overcoming my lack of experience in the lab in a manner that was not intimidating or condescending. He systematically explained steps and protocols fluently so that I would feel confident working independently. I always felt like a priority when working or talking with him. I witnessed his respectful, honest, and straightforward communication with the other members of our lab which served as a great example of how to work in a group. He helped me become a scientist who is confident in her knowledge and abilities and who has a true desire to contribute to the scientific community- (Ana Turosky, Soil Conservation Technician, NRCS, ana.turosky@pa.usda.gov)

I have had other people teach the nitrogen cycle to me before but Dr. Bhowmik's presentation was both easy to understand and thought provoking enough so that I was able to see more than I had before. I feel as if he helped me get a rooted understanding of N cycling processes in the soil. He introduced the topic in a way that explained the nitrogen cycle as a function based on inputs, key players and the environmental qualifiers. The field trip exercise helped solidifying the concepts. 

I have had other people teach the nitrogen cycle to me before and Dr. Bhowmik's presentation was both easy to understand and thought provoking enough so that I was able to see more than I had before. I feel as if he helped me get a rooted understanding of N cycling processes in the soil. He introduced the topic in a way that explained the nitrogen cycle as a function based on inputs, key players and the environmental qualifiers. The field trip exercise helped solidifying the concepts.- L.K. Richard (Soil Ecology student)

The most useful part of Dr. Bhowmik's lesson was the quiz that he gave at the end. I found it useful to be quizzed on the information and then to go over the questions as a class after the completion of the quiz. This helped to strengthen my knowledge of the topics I may have still been struggling with. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the N cycle.

The most useful thing I learned about the nitrogen cycle was how the difference in cover cropping, bare soil, crop residues, manure etc. make an effect on the cycling of nitrogen. Before this lesson I knew of all these practices and their other benefits, but really nothing about their participation in the nitrogen cycle. Dr. Bhowmik's teaching and practical classes brought it to a very realistic perspective of how the nitrogen cycling affects real life situations that we may be interacting with.

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