McNeal Blair

McNeal Blair is a Professor at Northwestern University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), affiliated with the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. He has been at Northwestern since 2007, focusing on research and teaching in biogeochemistry and environmental science. His research examines carbon cycling in soils, sediments, and their environmental impacts under land-use changes and climate shifts.

Education:

• Bachelor's in Chemistry, University of Maryland, College Park
• Ph.D. in Chemistry, Stanford University
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, NASA’s Extraterrestrial Research Division

Research Interests: Dr. Blair investigates how carbon moves through landscapes and oceans, particularly the fate of organic carbon displaced by agriculture and its contributions to atmospheric CO₂. His team developed a conceptual model for lateral carbon transport, revealing the coexistence of contemporary, millennial-aged, and ancient carbon components in soils and sediments. This work addresses critical gaps in understanding global carbon cycles under human-driven environmental changes.

Awards:

• 2025 Leonardo Da Vinci Award (honoring contributions to engineering and environmental science)

Teaching & Advising: Blair teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, including Oceans, Atmosphere and Climate (EARTH 106), Earth in the Anthropocene (Civ_Env 203), Organic Geochemistry (Civ_Env 314), and Biogeochemistry (Civ_Env 317). He emphasizes the societal importance of his research in sustaining food and water resources amid population growth. Funding challenges remain a key hurdle, with grant success rates as low as 10% in some NSF programs.

Labs & Collaborations: His research group focuses on interdisciplinary projects combining fieldwork, modeling, and geochemical analysis to study carbon dynamics in terrestrial and aquatic systems. Collaborations likely involve environmental engineers, geologists, and climate scientists.