Knowledge on Tap with Dr. Thomas DeSutter

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 | 6–7 pm CT

Junkyard Brewing | 409 Sheyenne St, West Fargo, ND

Arrive early to purchase food and drinks before the program begins at 6 pm.

Advance registration is required. Tickets will not be available at the door.

Soil and Oil Are Related in More Ways Than Their Spelling!

How are energy and agricultural industries related to one another? Why should people care about reclaiming soil? Can soils remain productive after being disturbed?

In this Knowledge on Tap conversation, Dr. Thomas DeSutter will explore these questions and the connections between soil, agriculture, energy extraction, and reclamation.

Dr. DeSutter is a University Distinguished Professor of Soil Science at North Dakota State University. He received his Ph.D. in 2004 from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. After completing a postdoctoral position with the USDA-ARS in Ames, Iowa, he was hired in 2006 as an Environmental Soil Scientist by the School of Natural Resource Sciences at NDSU in Fargo.

His primary research interests are saline and sodic soils, reclamation of energy-extraction-impacted soils, and instrumentation for measuring soil parameters. He has taught Introductory to Soil Science, Soil and Land Use, Environmental Field Instrumentation and Sampling, and Soil Genesis and Survey.

The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Shari R. Veil, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at North Dakota State University. Dr. Veil brings more than two decades of experience in academic leadership, research, and student success to her role at NDSU. An internationally recognized scholar in risk and crisis communication, she has held academic leadership roles at the University of Nebraska, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Oklahoma, and earned her Ph.D. in Communication from North Dakota State University following completion of her MBA and undergraduate degrees at the University of Mary.