Journal editor appointments for 2026

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA have appointed three new journal editors for 2026 along with a reappointment of another journal editor.

Eric Brevik: Natural Sciences Education

Eric C. Brevik has been appointed to a first three-year first term as Editor of Natural Sciences Education for 2026 to 2028. He is a Professor of Soils and Geology at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Geology from the University of North Dakota and his Ph.D. in Soil Science from Iowa State University. Brevik’s research interests include soil survey, human impacts on the soil resource, soils and human health, soil science history, and soil science education. He has a long history of interest in science education, publishing his first education article as a Ph.D. student in 2000. He has served on the SSSA Board of Directors and several editorial boards.

Venkat Lakshmi: Vadose Zone Journal

Venkat Lakshmi has been reappointed to a second three-year term as Editor of Vadose Zone Journal for 2026 to 2028. Lakshmi graduated from the University of Roorkee in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He received a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Princeton. He worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 1996–1999 as a research scientist in the Laboratory for the Atmospheres.

His areas of research interest are catchment hydrology, satellite data validation and assimilation, field experiments, land-atmosphere interactions, satellite data downscaling, vadose zone, and water resources.

He is currently the John L. Newcomb Professor of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia. He has served as Cox Visiting Professor at Stanford University (2006–2007 and 2015–2016) and Program Director for Hydrologic Sciences at the National Science Foundation (2017–2018).

Lakshmi is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Geological Society of America (GSA), ASA, and AAAS. He has more 200 peer-reviewed articles and around 600 presentations and has been a thesis supervisor for 25 graduate students. He is the founding editor-in-chief of Remote Sensing in Earth System Science (Springer Journals). He has served on the National Academies Panel for the Decadal Survey of Earth Observations from Space and as chair of the planning committee for Groundwater Recharge and Flow: Approaches and Challenges for Monitoring and Modeling Using Remotely Sensed Data. He is currently serving as a member of the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Academy of Sciences and Vice-Chair of the Earth Science Advisory Committee for NASA. He is the President of the Hydrology Section of the American Geophysical Union.

Jean E. McLain: Journal of Environmental Quality

Jean McLain has been appointed to a first three-year first term as Editor of the Journal of Environmental Quality for 2026 to 2028. McLain is a Research Scientist in the University of Arizona (UofA) Department of Environmental Science and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Agriculture, Life, and Environmental Sciences. McLain's research expertise is in establishing the applicability of recycled municipal wastewater for crop irrigation, replenishment of surface water, groundwater recharge, and human consumption. She has also established a research program examining the potential for development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria in soils irrigated with recycled wastewater. McLain has taught Scientific Writing for Agriculture, Life, and Environmental Science to UofA undergraduates and graduate students.

Prior to moving to the UofA in 2011, McLain worked as a Research Scientist at the USDA-ARS Arid Lands Agricultural Research Center in Maricopa, AZ. There, she managed a program focused on establishing the microbiological safety of non-potable irrigation sources for crop irrigation.

McLain is an experienced peer reviewer and editor, working in the role of associate editor for Agronomy Journal from 2012 to 2015, technical editor from 2016 to 2021, and administrative technical editor from 2022 to 2025.

McLain holds a bachelor of science degree in Forestry from the University of Vermont, and a master’s degree in Forest Science from Yale University. She received her Ph.D. from Duke University in Microbial Ecology.

Manoj Shukla: Soil Science Society of America Journal

Manoj Shukla has been appointed to a first three-year first term as Editor of Soil Science Society of America Journal (SSSAJ) for 2026 to 2028. Shukla has earned a B.S. in Agricultural Engineering, an M.S. in Soil Water Engineering, and a Ph.D. in Soil Physics and Hydrology. Currently he serves as the Department Head of Crop and Soil Sciences at Oregon State University (OSU). Shukla serves on several commodity commissions and committees in the state of Oregon. Prior to OSU, he served as the Director of Global Programs for Aggies Go Global and as Nakayama Research Excellence Professor of Soil Physics at New Mexico State University (NMSU). 

Shukla is a Fellow of SSSA and a recipient of the NMSU Research Council Distinguished Career Award. He has received the Outstanding Global Work Award, Leaders of Excellence Award, the Patricia Christmore Faculty Teaching Award, and the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture award. 

Shukla has provided research leadership by serving as chair of two western multistate research projects. Currently, he is a technical editor for SSSAJ, a consulting editor for Vadose Zone Journal, and a member of the Unsaturated Zone Technical Committee for the American Geophysical Union. He was NMSU representative for International Arid Lands Consortiums and APLU-BAA international section. Shukla has served as a chair or co-chair on more than 40 graduate student committees as well as a member on an additional 40 committees. He has authored four books and co-authored 180-referred journal articles.