Watch a Cal Poly professor dig in the dirt for CBS show ‘Mission Unstoppable’
A Cal Poly professor is spilling the dirt about soil on national television.
“I’m here to celebrate soil for the important things it does for humanity,” said Yamina Pressler, who appears Saturday on CBS’s “Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove.” “Soil deserves to be celebrated.”
Hosted by “iCarly” star Miranda Cosgrove, “Mission Unstoppable” celebrates professional women in fields related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), shining a light on “visionaries who work on the cutting edge of science,” according to the show’s website.
The educational TV show, which is produced by Cosgrove and actress Geena Davis, launched in September 2019.
Saturday’s episode showcases Pressler and her work studying soil, which she describes as “the basis of life as we know it.”
“In a single spoonful of soil, we can find millions and billions of microscopic organisms,” she says in the episode.
Pressler said she discovered her calling as a soil ecologist after coming to Cal Poly to study environmental management.
“I was immediately drawn to Cal Poly because of the ‘learn by doing’ approach we have here,” recalled Pressler, who grew up in the East Bay. “Really being able to get outside and literally get your hands dirty in the field that you’re studying was something I was drawn to from the beginning.”
Then she took a soil science class. “The professors I had here showed me that soils are the most precious thing you could spend your life studying,” she said. “They really encouraged me to take a closer look and dig a little deeper. ...”
So what’s the big deal about dirt?
“Soils are the living, breathing skin of the earth,” Pressler explained. “They are incredibly complex and dynamic ecosystems that underlie everything we see out in nature.”
In addition to helping humans grow food, soils help regulate the Earth’s climate and watersheds, she added.
Although Pressler does some work in agricultural systems, much of her work looks at the effects of fires and drought on social food webs. Her research has taken her from the oak savannas of Oklahoma to the semi-arid rangelands of Texas to the Alaskan tundra.
Pressler, who holds a doctorate in ecology from Colorado State University, said she’s faced some challenges as a female scientist.
“Soil science is historically a male-dominated field,” Pressler noted.
She credits her mentor at Cal Poly — Karen Vaughan, now an assistant professor of soil pedology at the University of Wyoming — with encouraging her to pursue a career in that field. Now Pressler wants to inspire other young women.
Pressler is one of 125 women STEM professionals who serve as “high-profile role models for middle school girls,” through the If/Then Ambassadors Program, created by Lyda Hill Philanthropies in partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
“One of the phrases we use a lot is, ‘If she can see it, she can be it,’ ” Pressler said. “It took being able to see and know a female scientist to see that role for myself.”
Pressler said her role as an AAAS If/Then ambassador netted her an invitation to appear on “Mission Unstoppable.” The show is aimed at children ages 13 to 16.
Footage for Saturday’s episode was shot in December 2019 on the Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo. Local viewers may recognize Stenner Creek, the site of Pressler’s so-called “living laboratory,” and Cal Poly’s Baker Center for Science and Mathematics.
Through “Mission Unstoppable,” “I really want to show people what I see when I look at soil,” Pressler said. “I see this complex, diverse, beautiful ecosystem that is full of life.”
Watch ‘Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove’
“Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove” airs at 8 a.m. Saturday on CBS. Episodes of the show can also be viewed via CBS All Access.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Watch a Cal Poly professor dig in the dirt for CBS show ‘Mission Unstoppable’."
