Jo Handelsman

Jo Handelsman is a microbiologist, science educator, and director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. In A World Without Soil, she explains how soil forms, why erosion threatens food systems, and what conservation, agricultural practice, technology, and public policy can do in response. Yale University Press issued the 2021 book with research and creative contributions from Kayla Cohen. Handelsman's scientific background gives the discussion a broad scale: her work spans microbial communication, metagenomics, plant pathology, mentoring, and science education. She also served as associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Written for nonspecialists, A World Without Soil connects the biology beneath the ground with climate, water, and food security above it. Handelsman treats soil as a living system rather than an inert surface, moving between microscopic organisms and worldwide patterns of land use. That shift helps readers see why an easily overlooked resource matters to agriculture and ecosystems. The book's movement from the origins of soil to possible remedies reflects her wider interest in making research useful to students, policymakers, and general readers.