ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
AU COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS, DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES
Tell us about your background and current position.
I am an Arkansas native and grew up in a family that valued discovery, adventure, and the outdoors. We camped, hiked, made mud pies, and kept pet snakes and turtles that we found in our backyard. I learned quickly how to spot and avoid a cottonmouth.
I went to a small liberal arts college to study Chemistry and play volleyball. After that, I spent time in Texas, Oklahoma, and Canada as a graduate student and post-doc before heading to The Loveliest Village on the Plains in 2019. I am now an environmental geologist and Assistant Professor in the Geoscience Department, where I am fortunate to embrace a sense of discovery and use tools that I have learned along the way. I even teach students how to spot cottonmouths on field trips (but we do not keep them as pets).
Sidney (M.S. 2024) sampling well water in Baldwin County, AL.
What are your current research projects?
I study how water resources, particularly groundwater, connects the geosphere and humans. My research is framed within a social-environmental lens, acknowledging the powerful impact that social and political considerations have in managing freshwater resources.
Over the past several years, I have focused on private well users in the Gulf Coast to understand how local geology and land-use influence groundwater quality and how well usage influences the health of well users. I also study how microbial processes impact water quality and remediation of groundwater. Most of my projects are in partnership with communities, Extension, or industry.
Students Ella (M.S. 2023) and Sidney (M.S. 2024) sampling surface water at Lake Logan Martin, AL.
Megan (current M.S. student) scouting out field sites for sampling in Baldwin County, AL.
What aspects of your work are you most excited about in upcoming years?
On the research front, I see great potential in connecting environmental quality and health over space and time. Over 50% of the rivers and streams (over 18,000 miles of waterways) that feed the Gulf of Mexico do not meet recreational water quality standards set by the EPA. Additionally, about 1 million people in the coastal Gulf counties use un- or under-treated drinking water from private wells. Along the coast, bottom-up flooding causes septic systems to float and sanitary sewers to overflow, exposing people and the environment to harmful pathogens and chemicals. The traditional way to assess these environmental impacts is to take a few samples at one time. The project usually has a narrow focus on one or a couple of constituents of interest, and the data can be disconnected from project to project. Rarely are these types of environmental projects connected to the health of the community or individuals. Looking forward, I hope to better integrate these water-related datasets and our understanding of physical and mental health so we can see how they vary together over space and time.
Also, I am deeply passionate about the land-grant mission of the University. We have a fantastic opportunity to do good science and to do good. I am excited to see the emphasis on team science at the University and across federal funding agencies. I am also excited about the momentum in the Rural Health Initiative, and together with our Extension partners, we are trying to build a water security perspective on health.
AU Well Water Team at the 2023 Alabama Water Resources Conference & Symposium. We had a special “Well Water” session!
In your career, what’s the best advice you’ve been given?
The best advice I’ve received is to establish a professional compass. As a researcher, teacher, wife, mother, daughter, gardener, and general lover of nature and learning, my time (and I’m sure your time!) gets filled quickly. When was the last time you had nothing to do? When you are lost in chaos, a professional compass reminds you of your motivation and the big picture. It helps orient you in the right direction so that the day-to-day choices move you in the right direction.
If you’d like to get in touch with Dr. Ojeda, visit the AU Geosciences Faculty Directory!