June 2025 Spotlight: Noelia Curbelo-Lopez

Meet Noelia: From Puerto Rico to the Plains

Noelia Curbelo-Lopez is originally from Puerto Rico, the small mountain town of Jayuya. She comes from a family of coffee growers and has a strong background in agronomy. Noelia earned her bachelor's degree in agronomy with a soil science focus from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM). During her undergraduate studies, she worked at the Soil Fertility and Quality Laboratory at UPRM and conducted research focused on validating a rapid procedure for measuring ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate in soil and water extracts.

She also gained experience at North Dakota State University, working in the Soil Reclamation Laboratory on the characterization of biopolymers for soil remediation.

Currently, Noelia is pursuing a master's degree in Plant and Soil Science with a concentration in soil science at Texas Tech University. Her research focuses on integrating nitrification inhibitors with manure in cotton systems to mitigate nitrous oxide emissions. While manure provides numerous benefits to soil health, its sudden addition of labile carbon can stimulate microbial activity and increase greenhouse gas emissions—particularly nitrous oxide. As a potent greenhouse gas and a major contributor to global warming, nitrous oxide also represents a loss of nitrogen, one of agriculture’s most limiting nutrients. Noelia’s research aims to optimize the use of manure to retain its agronomic benefits while minimizing its environmental impact.

Looking ahead, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. with the goal of becoming a professor of soil fertility. Her long-term vision includes working in extension to bridge the gap between agriculture and academia in Puerto Rico.