Erick Fernandes holds a BS in Forestry from the University of Aberdeen and a PhD in Soil Science from North Carolina State University. He was appointed as an International Professor of Crop and Soil Sciences at Cornell University (1995-2005) with research and teaching programs on tropical agroecosystems, cropping systems, and agroforestry. At Cornell, he also served on the Program Committee of Cornell’s International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development (CIIFAD), as the Global Coordinator of the GEF-UNDP-CGIAR program on “Alternatives to Slash and Burn Agriculture” (ASB), and as a Principle Investigator in the NASA-supported, Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere (LBA-Eco) program in the Brazilian Amazon.