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Group Leader
Laura Christianson, Ph.D., P.E. founded and led the Illinois Drainage Research and Outreach Program (I-DROP lab) at the University of Illinois. She was promoted to Associate Professor with indefinite tenure in August 2022. She transitioned to Adjunct Research Associate Professor in 2023 following her family’s move to Minnesota. She continues to work remotely on issues of conservation drainage, nitrate leaching, and especially woodchip bioreactors.
With a background in agricultural engineering, Dr. Christianson formerly worked on the design of woodchip bioreactors for removal of nitrate from point and non-point sources as a research engineer, studied options to improve ditch drainage water quality in the Mid-Atlantic, and has done research on drained dairy pastures as a Fulbright Fellow in New Zealand. She is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Illinois. Dr. Christianson was awarded the American Society of Agronomy’s Environmental Quality section 2018 Inspiring Young Scientist Award and the ASABE’s Larry W. Turner Young Extension Professional Award in 2020.
The work of the I-DROP Lab was not possible without the many great specialists, post docs, visiting scholars, graduate students, and undergrads who passed through Turner Hall. Thank you for all your work and for sharing so many laughs. Pizza stickers all around!