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Critical Zone (CZ) scientists have advanced understanding of Earth's surface through process‐based research that quantifies water, energy, and mass fluxes in predominantly undisturbed systems. However, the CZ is being increasingly altered by humans through climate and land use change. Expanding the scope of CZ science to include both human‐ and non‐human controls on the CZ is important for understanding anthropogenic impacts to Earth's surface processes and ecosystem services. Here, we share perspectives from predominantly U.S.‐based, early career CZ scientists centered around broadening the scope of CZ science to focus on societally relevant science through a transdisciplinary science framework. We call for increased training on transdisciplinary methods and collaboration opportunities across disciplines and with stakeholders to foster a scientific community that values transdisciplinary science alongside physical science. Here, we build on existing transdisciplinary research frameworks by highlighting the need for institutional support to include and educate graduate students throughout the research processes. We also call for graduate‐student‐led initiatives to increase their own exposure to transdisciplinary science through activities such as transdisciplinary‐focused seminars and symposiums, volunteering with local conservation groups, and participating in internships outside academia. Plain Language Summary Critical Zone (CZ) science focuses on understanding the surface of the Earth. This zone stores and transfers water and nutrients that are vital to life for flora, fauna, and humans. However, processes that control water and nutrients in the CZ are evolving under increased human and climate pressures. Asking questions about how humans alter, and are impacted by, changes to the CZ has potential to advance CZ science and benefit society. A significant portion of CZ science is conducted by graduate students who are often not trained to do transdisciplinary research. For a sustained shift toward societally relevant CZ research, increased training and collaboration should occur at the graduate student level. In this commentary, we synthesize perspectives from early career CZ scientists to share an idealized vision for the future of CZ science and ideas for improving graduate student training. Key Points Transdisciplinary science provides a framework for Critical Zone science to broaden toward environmental problems that impact humans Graduate students need transdisciplinary training to facilitate a sustained shift toward societally relevant Critical Zone research Graduate students can also take individual initiative to facilitate learning and engagement with transdisciplinary literature and research

Although conservation is an inherently transdisciplinary issue, there is much to be gained from examining the problem through an economics lens. Three benefits of such an approach are laid out in this paper. First, many of the drivers of environmental degradation are economic in origin, and the better we understand them, the better we can conserve ecosystems by reducing degradation. Second, economics offers us a when-to-stop rule, which is equivalent to a when-to-conserve rule. All economic production is based on the transformation of raw materials provided by nature. As the economic system grows in physical size, it necessarily displaces and degrades ecosystems. The marginal benefits of economic growth are diminishing, and the marginal costs of ecological degradation are increasing. Conceptually, we should stop economic growth and focus on conservation when the two are equal. Third, economics can help us understand how to efficiently and justly allocate resources toward conservation, and this paper lays out some basic principles for doing so. Unfortunately, the field of economics is dominated by neoclassical economics, which builds an analytical framework based on questionable assumptions and takes an excessively disciplinary and formalistic approach. Conservation is a complex problem, and analysis from individual disciplinary lenses can make important contributions to conservation only when the resulting insights are synthesized into a coherent vision of the whole. Fortunately, there are a number of emerging transdisciplines, such as ecological economics and environmental management, that are dedicated to this task.

In the United States, the health of a community is often times determined by poverty and race. As the nation becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, new directives and approaches must be taken to improve health outcomes of minority and underserved communities. Three leading experts in racial and ethnic health share their perspectives regarding where we are and where we need to be in addressing health disparities. Michael E. Bird, MSW, MPH, Reed Tuckson, MPH, and Marilyn Aguirre-Molina, EdD, offer transdisciplinary-focused recommendations that encompass disease prevention, health care, and community mobilization.