Joshua Schimel received his Ph.D. in soil science from University of California, Berkeley, and became an assistant professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, before moving to the University of California, Santa Barbara. He studies how soil processes regulate ecosystem function, particularly in the Arctic and in dry California systems. He has served in many roles including Chair of the Environmental Studies Program, Chair of the Univerisity of California Systemwide Council on Planning and Budget, and as Associate Dean of Sciences. He is the author of Writing Science: How to Write Papers That Get Cited and Proposals That Get Funded (OUP, 2012).