Christopher Graham
Associate Professor/Extension Specialist-Agronomist
Biography
Originally a native of South Dakota, I came to SDSU in 2013. I obtained my B.S. from Arizona State University. After graduation, I spent a year in Mauritius as a Fulbright Scholar. I then completed an M.P.A. at Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Cornell University, working with Dr. Harold van Es on the nitrogen cycle with a focus on nitrous oxide emissions in agricultural fields. In between my university studies, I have had a number of different projects spread throughout both western and eastern Africa.
Education
- Ph.D. | Cornell University
- M.P.A. | Columbia University
- B.S. | Arizona State University
Academic and Professional Experience
Academic Interests
- Interactions between plants, soil and microbes
- Nitrogen cycle
- Plant physiology
- Nitrogen fixation and pulse crops
Extension Responsibilities
- Research
- Conducting Trials for spring wheat, winter wheat, oats, field peas, lentils, grain sorghum, forage sorghum and sunflower
Research and Scholar Work
Areas of Research
- Water and nutrients in semi-arid climates.
- Legumes and small grains.
- How cover crops fit into semi-arid rotations where water is the primary limiting factor.
- Nitrogen and water demands by mixed-species cover crops and the effects to a subsequent cash crop.
- Using native rhizobia to increase N fixation in field peas and lentil.
- Effects on nitrogen, carbon and microbial populations during the conversion of native prairie to row crops.
