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Get to know new ACES facultyACES@Illinois aces.illinois.eduYuji Arai of the Department of NaturalResources and Environmental Sciencesreceived a Ph.D. in environmental soilchemistry from the University of Delaware.Areas of interest: environmental soilchemistry and understanding thepredominant and fundamental chemicalreactions of nutrients, metals, andradionuclides at the mineral–water interface in soils andsediments. Such knowledge greatly enhances the ability tounderstand contaminant speciation and predict the fate,transport, and bioavailability in terrestrial water environments.Tell us something no one knows about you. My students say I ama speed walker.Dustin Boler of the Department of AnimalSciences received a Ph.D. in animal scienceswith a specialization in meat science andmuscle biology from the University ofIllinois.Areas of interest: how on-farm productiontechniques influence fresh meat quality andfurther processed product characteristics.What piqued your interest in the field you’re now studying? Ifirst developed an interest in the meat industry during high schoolwhile participating in the meat-judging career development eventin FFA. That interest grew during my employment with TysonFoods.Jonathan Coppess of the Department ofAgricultural and Consumer Economicsreceived a juris doctor degree from GeorgeWashington University Law School.Areas of interest: agricultural policy andlaw, including farm support, crop insurance,conservation, renewable energy and biofuels,and biotechnology and related issues,including the political process for creating and implementingagricultural policies.What piqued your interest in the field you’re now studying?I trace my interest in these issues to having grown up on a familyfarm, and especially to my grandfather who farmed and was veryinterested and involved in politics. When I was young, he waselected county commissioner for a term, and we talked politicsand policy quite a bit over the years. For the last eight years, I’vebeen working in Washington, D.C., both in the Senate and atUSDA.Megan Dailey of the Department of AnimalSciences received a Ph.D. in behavioralneuroscience from Georgia State University.Areas of interest: how our bodies sense thenutrients we eat; the mechanisms responsiblefor cellular adaptation in the intestine, findinga therapy for such intestinal disorders asCrohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome,and cancer.What hidden treasure have you found on campus? The facultymembers here are passionate about their jobs and creative in theirresearch endeavors. I am impressed by the continuing efforts of thisuniversity to improve teaching and enhance the student learningenvironment.Todd Henry Kuethe of the Department ofAgricultural and Consumer Economicsreceived a Ph.D. in agricultural economicsfrom Purdue University.Areas of interest: measuring and forecastingaggregate agricultural asset values, the impactsof policy on agricultural asset values and farmprofitability, economic decision-making fornon-operating farmland owners, spatial modeling of real estatemarkets, and economic analysis of large-dimensional data systems.Tell us something no one else knows about you. My dream job is tobe a television writer for a sitcom or procedural drama.Nathan E. Schroeder of the Department ofNatural Resources and EnvironmentalSciences received a Ph.D. in plant pathology atthe University of Wisconsin–Madison and wasa postdoctoral fellow in genetics at RutgersUniversity.Areas of interest: how nematodes sense andrespond to environmental stress.What piqued your interest in the field you’re now studying?My interest in nematodes was love at first microscopic sight.20