Olivier Duboc - What's up? - Timeline and blog

PhD thesis defense

2/12/2019

2. December 2019: my PhD Defense!
"Nutrient recycling, and testing methods for diverse fertilizers"
The crowning of 5 years of work at BOKU's Institute of Soil Research.
Looking back, it's been such a rewarding time. The research was exciting, and it's been so enriching to work in a team for 5 years: my supervisors, the master, bachelor and trainee students, the rhizosphere ecology (Rhizo) group, the FERTI-MINE project team, and all other the people I've worked or interacted with.

The defense ended well (!) with french cider, chocolate truffles & salted butter caramels.
Big thanks to all who attended, and those who prepared this great wish card & present!

Starting with LEX4BIO @BOKU

3/10/2019

I am now part of the LEX4BIO, Horizon 2020 project at BOKU!

"Optimizing bio-based fertilisers in agriculture”.
EU Horizon 2020 project to provide a knowledge-base on bio-based fertilisers, collect regional nutrient stock, flow, surplus and deficiency data, assess technological solutions, and develop a toolkit for use of bio-based fertilisers and for their environmental impacts.

Objectives are to optimise the usage of bio-based fertilisers from nutrient-rich side-streams, ensure their safety, build evidence-based trust in their usage and develop the legislative framework.

Natural Climate Solutions

26/9/2019

From the Natural Climate Solutions website.

January 03rd, 2019

3/1/2019

Funny interview with Bill Gates reinventing the toilet

PSP 6 in Leuven

14/9/2018

PSP 6 in Leuven was a great event. Some of my favorite presentations:
- Astrid Oberson about how to notice that an inoculated P solubilizing microorganism didn't do better than soil-borne biota.
- Hannah Vos about Earthworms mobilizing soil P
- Moritz Hallama about how cover crops mobilize P for the main crop (meta-analysis)
- Kari Ylivainio about liming as a prerequisite to soil fertility management in acidic tropical soils.
- Ellis Hoffland trying to assess complementarity of P resource use efficiency in crop mixtures (partitioning).

I was there with our poster about P recycling fertilizers.

Visiting University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

12/7/2018

Currently on a 2-week exchange visit at University of Peradeniya (faculty of agriculture) funded by Erasmus Mundus for staff training. Meeting scientists to learn about waste management, nutrient recycling and organic agriculture etc. in Sri Lanka. Will give a presentation of my work too... and enjoy Durian, Mangosteen and Rambutan as it is full season right now.

Just started reading

22/2/2018

Just started reading "Holistic Management", by Allan Savory.

More about it here.

next Trip to India, fall 2017: Conferences & co.

17/8/2017

Making plans for my upcoming 3-week travel to India this fall. On the program:

24-28 October 2017: 7th international conference on Silicon in Agriculture in Bangalore.

9-11 November 2017: 19th Organic World Congress in Delhi, where I will present a paper on the use of recycling fertilizers from wastewater in organic agriculture.

Between both conferences I'll have a free week to visit interesting people and friends. One main aim is to visit the Solitude farm in Auroville, Tamil Nadu where I have already been in 2004. There are several exciting activities going on there, among which experiments with Natural Farming which is a form of no-tillage organic agriculture following the do-nothing philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka from Japan.

I'll also visit friends who live a 2 h drive west of Madurai, at the feet of the Eastern Ghats hill range.

Drawdown

15/8/2017

I've recently bought this amazing book. Not only informative, but also beautiful. It gives an overview of solutions in terms of climate change mitigation / reversal.

One of the most motivating lectures ever!

For more information visit www.drawdown.org/ and read this greenbiz.com article which is also a good appetizer.

A water sanitation system - gates foundation

2/2/2016

Presentation of a new water sanitation system that is energy self-sufficient by producing electricity with sludge incineration, which is intended to function in poorer countries