Matthew Wallenstein serves as Chief Soil Scientist at Syngenta Group, where he leads a global team working at the intersection of soil health, AI-powered analytics, and regenerative agriculture. Since joining in 2022, his focus has been translating complex soil science into practical solutions that work at scale—from rapid assessment tools to technologies that help understand soil performance across diverse agricultural systems.

For twenty years, Matthew has worked to answer one question: How do we translate soil science into solutions that actually work in the field? Before Syngenta, he spent 16 years at Colorado State University, where he served as Head of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. He is co-founder of Growcentia, Inc., past president of the Soil Ecology Society, recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER award, and a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America.

Matthew's work bridges fundamental research and field implementation. He collaborates across the agricultural ecosystem—from farmers and agronomists to NGOs and academics—to ensure innovations create real value. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from Duke University and is passionate about advancing soil health as both a scientific discipline and a practical pathway to agriculture's biggest challenges: productivity, resilience, and sustainability.