Matthew Wallenstein

Wallenstein, professor and head of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, studies how microbes drive nutrient cycling, soil formation and decomposition, and affect crop health and productivity.

Wallenstein’s research group has discovered how plants control the assembly of the microbiome in their rooting zone, and has shown how this affects plant fitness. He has applied his expertise in plant-microbe interactions to develop and commercialize microbial biostimulants that increase nutrient availability.

Wallenstein is a professor and department head in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University. He is the founding director of the Innovation Center for Sustainable Agriculture abd the past president of the Soil Ecology Society and the Chairman of Growcentia, Inc. He is also a recipient of a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award.

Wallenstein earned his B.A. in geosciences from Franklin & Marshall College in 1996 and his Ph.D. in ecology from Duke University in 2004.