Laura Gentry, Ph.D. is the Director of Water Quality Science for IL Corn. Her work focuses on watershed research to support agriculture water quality initiatives and nutrient management, with a primary responsibility being the Precision Conservation Management program.

Laura served most recently as Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, specializing in the sustainability of high-yielding corn production systems, residue management and reduced tillage, and production and sustainability of annual bioenergy crops. Previous to her position at UIUC, she was an Assistant Professor at North Dakota State University.

Laura earned her Ph.D. in Soil Science from North Carolina State University.  She attained her M.S. in Soil Science and her B.S. in Botany, from North Carolina State, as well. Her Ph.D. studies focused on the effect of tillage, rotation, and organic amendments on nutrient cycling. 

Laura maintains an office on the UIUC campus in Turner Hall.

She and her husband, Lowell, live in Urbana, Illinois. They have two daughters.