Dr. Phil Alderman grew up internationally as the child of a U.S. Air Force officer. The cross-cultural and cross-linguistics experiences of his childhood led him initially to pursue a B.A. in Linguistics from the University of Florida. However, through part-time work as an undergraduate research assistant, Dr. Alderman was exposed to simulation modeling and its potential for use in agricultural research. This interest led him to pursue an M.S. degree modeling physiological aspects of perennial grass regrowth followed by a Ph.D. doing integrated socioeconomic-biophysical modeling of soil fertility dynamics and household welfare in northern Ghana. After that, Dr. Alderman worked for nearly three years in the Global Wheat Program of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (known by its Spanish acronym, CIMMYT). While there, he collaborated closely with international wheat modeling efforts to research climate impacts and adaption strategies for wheat. Since joining the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Dr. Alderman has continued to pursue interdisciplinary research into the agricultural impacts of climate variability. The goal of his research is to provide meaningful information and decision-support resources to enhance the resource use and resilience of agricultural systems in Oklahoma and around the world.