معرفی
C. Ryan Penton is an Associate Professor at Arizona State University (ASU), affiliated with the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (CISA), School of Applied Sciences and Arts. He holds additional roles as Associate Faculty in the Biodesign Center for Fundamental & Applied Microbiomics and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. His research focuses on microbial ecology, particularly soil microbiome dynamics, nitrogen cycling, and sustainable agricultural practices. Penton earned a Ph.D. in Microbial Ecology from Michigan State University and holds M.Sc. and B.S. degrees in Biogeochemistry and Microbiology from the University of Florida.
His work explores mechanisms of crop disease suppression, biochar impacts on soil health, and microbial responses to climate change. Key areas include nitrogen fixation, denitrification, and the role of microbial communities in carbon decomposition in permafrost systems. Penton has received the Junior Faculty Excellence in Research Award (2016-2017) and serves on editorial boards for journals like Biology and Fertility of Soils. He collaborates internationally with institutions like CSIRO Australia and Nanjing Agricultural University.
Penton teaches courses in microbiology, soil ecology, and honors thesis supervision. His research group uses high-throughput sequencing, metagenomics, and stable isotope probing to study functional microbial genes. Major grants include projects on nanomaterials in agriculture and permafrost thaw impacts. He advises graduate and undergraduate students, emphasizing fieldwork and lab-based microbial analysis.
Publications span over 50 peer-reviewed articles in journals like Microbiome, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, and Nature Ecology and Evolution. His work bridges basic and applied microbiology, aiming to improve agricultural sustainability through microbiome manipulation and climate resilience strategies.
