John Selker stands onstage to present his talk at the 2025 Congreso Futuro in Chile.
John Selker is a distinguished professor of hydrology in OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences, where he has been researching water and soil dynamics since 1991. During his time at OSU, he has used his sabbaticals to explore soil conditions all over the world, including in a large dryland region in Chile. He recently returned from speaking at Chile’s Congreso Futuro.
Where were you working?
For this trip to Chile, the Congreso Futuro took us all over the country: We were in Chillán in the south of Chile, in Valparaíso (on the coast), in Santiago (the capital) and up north in the Atacama Desert where we visited the ALMA telescope.
When was your most recent trip?
Jan. 8-26. Over the last 30 years, I’ve probably spent two years total in Chile, including my year-long sabbatical and 11 other trips.
What language is spoken there?
Spanish.
A slide from Selker's Congreso Futuro presentation in Chile reads "Working with nature for water safety: A perspective on Chile's special challenges and opportunities."
What was the focus of your work?
During my first sabbatical from OSU in 1998, I studied the Secano Interior region in Chile, which turns out to have the coolest soil. It’s this soil that expands and contracts as it gets wet and dries, which gives rise to all kinds of weird behavior. The hydrology of that soil has been an active area of research for me since 1998.
Then last September, I got an invitation to be part of the 2025 Congreso Futuro, which is this weeklong conference Chile has done for 14 years where they look at the facts and the science of the way the world’s going — in a non-political way — and get direction from the best scientists in the world. It includes Nobel laureates, so when I saw the invitation, I was like, Wow, this is kind of cool! (John’s Congreso Futuro bio.)
We ended up having dinner with the Chilean president; he gave two speeches to our delegation of 80 people from around the world, and we gave talks in various places. I gave an hourlong talk in central Chile on “Food safety in the biotech era,” and a 20-minute talk in Santiago. The event was an incredible opportunity to be part of an intelligent governance process, sponsored by the government of Chile with full participation of the president of Chile, where we could actually give advice to the general populace. There’s been wide dissemination of these scientific talks and ideas, creating a sense of public consensus.
Who are your closest local colleagues?
I work with the INIA (National Institute of Agricultural Research), which is like the USDA of Chile; I also work very closely with the Universidad de Concepción, the Universidad de Talca, the Universidad de San Tomás and others. I was actually awarded a centennial medal from the Universidad de Concepción at their 100-year anniversary in 2020.
What is the biggest challenge of working there?
I find it a great place to work. People are enthusiastic and very professional. But it’s a big country, so getting around is a little bit of a challenge.
What’s the best food you’ve eaten there?
Porotos granados, which is a bean stew; pastel de choclo, a kind of sweetcorn casserole; and then it’s not food, but of course, pisco sours.
What’s the most non-touristy thing you got to do?
We went to the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) telescope. It’s up at an elevation of 18,500 feet, and it was the foundation for the world’s first image of a black hole. I was really fascinated to see that telescope. It’s got 50-foot antennae, and they move 16 kilometers left or right, so the antennae effectively have a 32 km (20 mile) width.
A selfie from Selker's visit to the ALMA telescope array in Chile's Atacama Desert.
What’s an important phrase you’ve learned in the local language?
I speak Spanish, but I hadn’t been to a Spanish-speaking country since pre-COVID, so I was really concerned about whether I’d still be able to speak it. But I gave my lecture in Chillán in Spanish and I felt gratified that I was able to directly communicate my ideas.
What’s one thing from your experience that you’ll take back to Oregon?
The sense of optimism; the sense that science and discovery and truth are still respected in many places as the fundamental ingredients to good governance. To listen to the president of Chile speak to us about what we were doing and why it mattered, and to be with this group of people who had devoted months of their time to explore and express what they thought would be the most useful information for Chile — for me, it was a brilliant example of how academics prefer the world to work. We are in the business of discovery in service to people and society.
Was there anything that surprised you?
I think the most impressive thing is their sense of how to think about public budgets. In the mid-2000s, they had a positive balance, billions and billions of dollars in reserves. Then the earthquake hit in 2010, and they plunked down tens of billions to fix everything back up. The sense of long-term vision for that country and managing their resources – they’re really thinking about the future.
Besides family, what did you miss most from home when you were there?
Family-wise, it turns out I have a cousin down there. My mom was a Holocaust survivor, and after World War II my family blew up and ended up all over the world. There’s one group of family down in Chile, and I had a lovely visit with them, so I didn’t miss my family as much as I thought. I was able to travel with my wife on this trip, as well.
What advice would you give others who might travel there?
Just have a great time, visit with everyone you can, talk about anything that comes to mind — they’re open. And bring back lessons for our own country. Be humble and open to a culture that has a lot to share.
A selfie of Selker and his wife in the Atacama Desert.
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