Back in 2018, K-State agronomist Colby Moorberg received a First Award from Kansas NSF EPSCoR’s MAPS project. The goal of this seed grant was to jumpstart his research to quantify the impact of weather whiplash on roots and hyphae with an automated minirhizotron camera system.

Since then, Dr. Moorberg has been busy excelling at both research and teaching.

 
As reported by K-State news, Dr. Moorberg was recognized this month for his excellence in undergraduate teaching with a 2023 Presidential Award.
 
“Moorberg’s passion is all things soil: teaching courses heavily involving soil, coaching the K-State Soil Judging Team and creating and advising the K-State chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society. However, another passion of Moorberg’s is making education affordable for his students. 
 
Combining both passions, Moorberg has developed an internationally recognized soil science teaching program with open educational resources, including two open textbooks, with a third expected to publish in the summer of 2023. His first textbook, the “Soils Laboratory Manual,” was introduced in 2015 and has since been adopted by more than 180 soil science educators worldwide. It has saved K-State students a collective $174,000.” 
 
That last line is worth repeating.
 
Dr. Moorberg’s open access textbook “has saved K-Students a collective $174,000.” And to that, we say kudos!
 
Moorberg accepts award