Researcher wins US award for groundwater study

A Nigerian-born groundwater researcher, Ayobami Oni, has bagged the Blue Integrated Partnerships Extra Mile Award for contributions to water and environmental research during a 2026 summer programme in the Caribbean.

Oni received the award after participating in interdisciplinary research examining rainfall patterns, watershed conditions and surface-water changes in Puerto Rico and the United States and British Virgin Islands.

Oni, according to a statement on Friday, received the recognition for his “commitment, research contribution and performance” during the Blue Integrated Partnerships Summer Institute.

The programme involved studies of precipitation trends between 2000 and 2025 across Puerto Rico and the two island territories, using long-term rainfall records, geographic information systems and spatial analysis to examine seasonal and annual variations.

Oni also contributed to research in the Río Grande de Loíza watershed in Puerto Rico, where satellite-derived indicators were used to assess surface-water conditions and signals associated with turbidity, suspended sediments and changes in chlorophyll.

He was recognised for “going above and beyond expectations and delivering exceptional contributions to research carried out during the 2026 Blue Integrated Partnerships Summer Institute.”

The researcher recently completed a Master of Science degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University in the United States, having studied Agricultural Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State.

His postgraduate research focused on developing a three-dimensional device for monitoring groundwater movement by estimating its speed and direction.

The device uses heat as a tracer. A heater generates a thermal signal, while surrounding temperature sensors detect how groundwater carries the heat as it moves past the equipment.

The resulting temperature differences are analysed to estimate the velocity and direction of groundwater flow.

The project combined computational fluid dynamics, sensor technology, electronic systems, laboratory experiments and field testing.

Oni used ANSYS Fluent software to model groundwater movement and heat transfer through porous materials, while the device’s development involved sensor calibration, circuit-board design and data acquisition.

Testing progressed from controlled laboratory conditions to groundwater wells, with the research examining the technology’s potential for measuring groundwater movement and identifying factors that could affect the accuracy of its readings.

The ability to determine groundwater-flow direction and speed can support investigations into contamination by helping researchers establish how pollutants may move underground and potentially affect nearby wells and other water sources.

Oni’s research interests also include hydrologic modelling, flood behaviour, environmental sensing and geospatial analysis.

He has explored the use of machine learning and remote sensing to investigate groundwater pollution.