Anna Paltseva received the 2026 Emma Marie Antonie Täuber Award from the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) during the 23rd World Congress of Soil Science held June 7–12, 2026, in Nanjing, China. The award recognizes outstanding early-career contributions to soil science.
During the congress, Anna presented her research, “Who Bears the Burden? Trace Element Contamination and Environmental Justice in Chicago’s Urban Parks,” which examined the distribution of soil contaminants across Chicago parks and their relationship to socioeconomic factors. The research was recently published in iScience as “Legacy Contamination in Chicago Urban Park Soils: Spatial Patterns, Socioeconomic Disparities, and Implications for Urban Agriculture.” The study highlights how historical contamination continues to affect urban environments and underscores the importance of soil assessment and environmental justice considerations in urban land management and agriculture.