An international soil science medal awarded just once every eight years has gone to UC Riverside’s William Jury, a pioneer in tracking hazardous contamination in water and soil.

The Don and Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Gold Medal, bestowed by the Soil Science Society of America, is a highly competitive distinction that has only been given three times. This year, it was given to Jury, who retired from UCR as a distinguished professor in 2008. 

“I am deeply honored to receive this special award named after Don Kirkham, who is regarded as the founder of mathematical soil physics,” Jury said. “Don was a physics Ph.D. like myself. His towering career inspired me to use my training to tackle some of the many challenging problems dealing with water and chemical management in agriculture.”

Over the course of his career, Jury published 225 papers and four books and was ranked as one of the 100 most frequently cited researchers in world in the fields of engineering and environmental science. 

Jury decided to focus on soil after studying high energy physics during the early stages of his doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin. “Soil science was a fascinating and challenging profession that sustained my interest for my entire career,” he said. 

He spent the entirety of that career of more than 30 years at UCR after arriving in 1974. During that time, he served in administration as chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences, as vice provost for academic personnel, and as interim executive vice chancellor and provost. 

He also received both the Graduate Student Association and Faculty Senate distinguished teaching awards and served as the first Chair of the Faculty Academy of Distinguished Teaching.

In 1999 he won the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary's Honor Award for Environmental Protection and was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2000. 

Despite numerous accolades, Jury is thrilled to be named the third recipient of the Kirkham medal. “To be honored with such a prestigious award 17 years after my retirement leaves me humbled, and grateful,” he said.