Soil CRC researcher awarded prestigious fellowship

Soil CRC researcher Dr Yunru (Chloe) Lai has been awarded a Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Early Career Researcher (ECR) Fellowship – arguably one of the most competitive research fellowships in Australia. Dr Lai is a Research Fellow in soil and crop modelling at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), working alongside Soil CRC project leader Professor Keith Pembleton.

“Through her work with the Soil CRC and UniSQ, Dr Lai has excelled in her efforts to deliver high-impact, industry-aligned research on soil constraint modelling and management,” said Soil CRC CEO Dr Michael Crawford.

“The Soil CRC is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Dr Lai and foster her development. She is an incredibly talented scientist and well-deserving of the GRDC ECR fellowship.”

Dr Lai joined the Soil CRC as a postdoctoral research fellow within Program 4 – Integrated soil management solutions in 2019, after completing a PhD in Agricultural Science at the University of Queensland.

She has been actively engaged in several Soil CRC projects using modelling to derive spatially explicit, data-driven insights for soil constraint management. Most recently, she led the Soil CRC project ‘Optimising soil constraint management through computer-based learning and modelling’ (4.3.006), which aimed to find the best ways to manage multiple soil constraints to help farmers make informed soil management decisions.

Dr Crawford said Dr Lai’s expertise in soil constraint modelling and decision-support tool development establishes her as a valuable asset to this research field.

“Working with the Soil CRC, Dr Lai has produced impactful innovations, such as enhancements to the Gypsy tool for managing sodic soils in the sugar industry and LinkP, a tool designed to quantitatively initialise soil phosphorus parameters in APSIM using common soil test values.

“The GRDC ECR fellowship will enable her to advance solute transport dynamics and sodicity mechanisms within APSIM, translating complex simulations into practical recommendations that allow growers to address sodic soil constraints more effectively and sustainably,” he said.

Professor Pembleton echoed Dr Crawford’s sentiments and said it is a privilege to mentor and work with Dr Lai on Soil CRC and UniSQ research.

 “It has been a pleasure to witness Chloe’s rapid growth from postdoctoral researcher to project leader, and we are exceptionally proud of her achievements,” he said.

Dr Lai said the support she has received from the Soil CRC over the past five years has been invaluable, and she is grateful to have been part of the Soil CRC community.

“It has been an incredibly enriching journey, beginning as a postdoc and more recently having the opportunity to lead the modelling project as an early career researcher.

Although Dr Lai will no longer be formally involved in Soil CRC projects, she hopes to continue to engage with the research while continuing to work at UniSQ.

“The connections and collaborations I’ve built through the CRC mean a great deal to me and I hope to continue contributing in meaningful ways.”

Dr Lai said she is excited to work with GRDC on the development of the Sodicity Management and Remediation Tool (SMART) – an APSIM-based decision support platform designed to tackle sodic soils, one of Australia’s most pressing constraints affecting soil structure, water infiltration, and nutrient availability.

“This research builds on my work with the Soil CRC and has the potential to significantly improve our understanding of soil structure dynamics in dispersive soils, and tailor remediation strategies across Australia’s diverse agricultural landscapes,” she said.

Dr Crawford said Dr Lai’s work will advance knowledge in sodicity management and contribute to sustainable agricultural practices that support long-term soil health and profitability for Australian farmers.

“The Soil CRC wishes Dr Lai all the best in her future endeavours – we are confident that she will continue to excel in the field of soil science and make a positive difference to the Australian agricultural sector,” said Dr Crawford.