Ellen Maas

Dr Ellen Maas’ primary career goal is to contribute to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change, focussing on sustainable agriculture and food security. Ellen has a computer science background, and for many years she worked in technology with databases and programming. In 2015, she began graduate studies in soil science and is now an agroecosystems modeller using process-based models in arable agriculture and grazelands in the US, UK, and Africa. Models have included RothC, DayCent, LandscapeDNDC, APSIM, and the Millennial model. Most of her previous science projects have focussed on analysing and/or projecting the effects of variable management practices, including tillage, fertilizer, residue retention, cover crops, biochar, and subsurface drainage, primarily with commodity crops in the US. Other projects include contributing process-based modelling to a farm-scale digital twin based on Rothamsted’s North Wyke Farm Platform in Devon, UK, and developing definitions for crops identified as climate-resilient in Ghana and Nigeria for use in the APSIM model.