By Christi Mays
If it involves dirt and the great outdoors, Caleb Shackelford probably loves studying it.
The senior biology major spent the summer before last snake hunting in the high desert near Boise, Idaho, as a summer intern with the U.S. Geological Survey. Climbing over rocks and through shrubs, he caught rattlesnakes, striped whipsnakes, and gopher snakes, swabbing each to test for snake fungal disease. This past summer, Caleb spent his days growing and tending a patch of prickly “weesatch” plants to study the bacteria on their invasive root systems. It was part of a two-year research project he is working on as a research assistant with Dr. Kathleen Wood, chair of the biology department. He was thrilled when he learned about the project.
“Soil has always interested me. It fascinates me. It’s kind of a nerdy thing to be interested in, but it's amazing how diverse soil is and how there’s a huge web down there, a big ecological system that we don’t see,” said Caleb, who will graduate in December. For graduate school, he plans to study soil science/chemistry at Texas A&M University, where he will research rhizosphere interaction and carbon sequestration.
His research at UMHB has earned him some notoriety when he presented at three conferences and won top prizes at each — two first-place wins in microbiology at Heart of Texas last year and again this year, and first place in plant biology at the Texas Academy of Science Conference.
