After receiving his B.S. and M.S. at the University of Arkansas, he completed a Ph.D. in soil science from Texas A & M University in 2001. After completing his Ph.D., he worked in the office of U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln member societies as Tri -Societies Congressional Science Fellow and then as Research Soil Scientist with USDA-ARS at Mississippi State University. Dr. Owens research interests include soil and landscape processes, hydropedology and digital soil mapping. He is the past Chair of the Pedology Division of the Soil Science Society of America, Associate Editor of Soil Science Society of America Journal, Co-Chair of New Technologies in Soil Survey Committee, Facilitator of the IUSS Universal Soil Classification System Committee, GlobalSoilMap.net team member and as a member of the National Soil Survey Advisory Board.