Dr. G. Clarke Topp
Soil Physicist
Education:
B.S.A. (1959) Univ. of Guelph; M.Sc. (Physics) (1962), Ph.D. (Soil Physics) (1964) Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison
Employment Experience Summary:
Clarke was research scientist for 37 years with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa. His primary research focus was to improve field measurement methods for soil-water properties and parameters. In the late 70s he introduced the soil community to the use of high frequency electromagnetic (EM) measurement. From this came Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR), a very versatile and powerful technique, for soil-water content measurement. Clarke’s collaboration with science colleagues from world-wide and with industrial partners in North America, made TDR and EM techniques the methods of choice for water content. He held positions as Adjunct professor in Carleton Univ., and Univ. of Guelph and he was visiting lecturer at Carleton Univ. (3 courses) and Univ. of Sask. (1 course). Clarke served as visiting soil science consultant on soil-water methods for CIDA projects in India, Pakistan and Brazil. He spent one year as visiting scientist in Environmental Mechanics and in Soils in CSIRO, Canberra, Australia. He and colleagues have patented a soil cone penetrometer which measures both soil strength and water content.
Related Scientific Responsibilities and Recognition
+ Innovator 2000 Award for outstanding technical innovation on TDR, Federal Partners Tech. Transfer, Ottawa
+ 1997 Applied Soil Research Award presented by Soil Science Society of America.
+ Co-Editor for 3 Edition of “Methods of Soil Analysis – Soil rd Physical Properties”, Soil Sci. Soc. of Amer. 2001.
+ Advisor to Small Business Innovations Research Program of U.S Department of Agriculture, Washington, USA.
+ On Advisory Panel: Environmental Research Facility at CFB Borden in regard to environmental risks associated with the University of Waterloo, Centre for Groundwater Research program at CFB Borden.
+ Member of the Canadian Society of Soil Science – CSSS Fellow 1988 and member of the Soil Science Society of America – SSSA Fellow 1990.
+ Soil water section co-editor and author or co-author of nine chapter in “Soil Sampling & Methods of Analysis, 2nd Edition”. Edited by M.R. Carter & E.G. Gregorich for Canadian Society of Soil Science with CRC Press. 2007.
Publications
He has published over 130 research papers in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings, of which 50 involved EM techniques including TDR.