Budiman Minasny is a soil scientist who has used breakthrough soil mapping and modelling techniques to unlock fundamental new knowledge urgently needed to protect and enhance soil carbon stocks and to sustain agriculture and ecosystems, worldwide. His foundational contribution is underpinned by his cost-effective digital techniques that enable soil organic carbon and other properties to be rapidly and precisely measured and mapped, from the surface down to the profile at any scale, from the paddock to across the globe. Minasny’s research underpins numerous critical ‘real world’ applications from soil carbon benchmarking to a global movement to increase soil carbon, established during the Paris COP21 talks.