August 24, 2023

A Special Presentation by 
UIUC Scientists and Colleagues from the Library, Archives, and ACES IT

Did you know the University of Illinois is home to the second-oldest agricultural experiment in the world? In 1876, Professor Manly Miles broke ground on the Morrow Plots, and every year since scientists have studied the soil and the crops as the campus rose up around the field (located just south of the Main Quad). Take a trip back through university history through the lens of the plots with the team behind the recent publication of more than 100 years of Morrow Plots data. 

Meet the scientists currently managing the plots and their colleagues in the University Library, University Archives, and Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) IT who helped bring the data (gathered from a handwritten archival notebook, printed farm reports, and decades of digital records) together. See some of the most fascinating historical records documenting the plots and learn why this enduring experiment at the heart of campus is still scientifically significant today.

 With the participation of:

• Andrew Margenot, Assistant Professor and Leader of the Soils Lab
• Maia Rothman, Research Technician
• Bethany Anderson, Natural and Applied Sciences Archivist
• Sandi Caldrone, Research Data Librarian
• Josh Henry, Associate Director of ACES IT