Dr. David Myrold passed away on July 15, 2021 in Corvallis. Dave was a Professor of Soil Science in the department from 1984 until his retirement in July 2021. He is survived by his wife Jackie, sons Alan and Kirk, and a daughter, Becky.
David D. Myrold was born on 16 October 1955 in Milwaukie, Wisconsin. He earned a B.S. in Forestry in 1977 from Michigan Technological University; an M.S. in Soil Science in 1979 from Washington State University, and his Ph.D. in Microbiology in 1984 from Michigan State University. Following completion of his doctorate degree, he was hired as Assistant Professor of Soil Science at Oregon State University in 1984. He was twice Visiting Professor at Umeå, Sweden.
Dave had strong interests in soil biology and ecology. Among the principal topics investigated by Dave were the autecology of Frankia in soil, including population dynamics and biological diversity, nitrogen cycling in forest ecosystems and the linkages to plant productivity, and the role of microbial biomass as a sink and source of available nutrients. He worked on the development of molecular probes for detection of soil microorganisms and used isotopes to measure the dynamics of the nitrogen and carbon cycles.
He taught courses in soil biology, forest soils, soil ecosystems, soil microbial ecology, stable isotopes and others over the span of his career. Forty-seven students completed M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Soil Science under his guidance.
Dave was elected fellow of the America Association for the Advancement of Science (2020), Soil Science Society of America (2001), and American Society of Agronomy (2000). He was active in many societies and organizations but was most strongly affiliated with the Soil Science Society of America. He was honored by the SSSA with the Soil Science Research Award in 2007 and he served in many leadership roles in the SSSA, most notably as Editor and Editor in Chief. Dave was the recipient of this year’s College of Agricultural Sciences’ Agricultural Research Foundation Distinguished Faculty Award.