Joel S. Bell
Research Specialist
Office: 149 Walster Hall
Phone: 701-231-7556
E-mail: Joel.Bell@ndsu.edu
Research Activities:
- Soil water and solute transport
- Soil heat transport
- Data management
- Applied soil physics
Background: I grew up on a farm in the Fargo, ND area, and still am actively involved on the family farm. I received my BS (1990) and MS (1998) in Soil Science from NDSU. I have been in my current (full-time) position since February, 1991. I am married with 3 school-age children.
Research: I work with Dr. Lyle Prunty in Soil Physics research. We are currently involved in several research projects. One is a lab project investigating the effect of varying soil pore gasses on infiltration rate. Another is a field project looking at early spring soil heating ant its effect on growth and yield of early-seeded crops. We are also starting a new project looking at the effects of concrete roadway grinding residue on soil properties along ditches where it is placed. Recent research has generally involved soil heat transport phenomena and factors which effect heat transport. We have also compared several heat transport models with our experimental results. In the past Dr. Prunty and I have been involved in various other Soil Physics research projects including: soil water content determination by Karl Fischer titration, use of X-rays to monitor volatile liquid movement and concentration in soil, use of synchrotron radiation for detecting movement of a volatile soil liquid, real-time measurement of heat of infiltration, a revised method for calibration of soil heat flux transducers, and use of synchrotron radiation to measure distribution and concentration of iron in common bean seed. If interested in publications from or further information about the previously mentioned research projects, we welcome you to contact us.
