UT Dallas Researcher, Oluwaseun Adeyemi, Explores Carbon Cycling in evolving environmental conditions

By Tosin Clegg

As global temperatures rise and ecosystems face mounting pressure from human activity, scientists around the world are racing to better understand the Earth’s carbon cycle—an essential system for climate stability.

One scientist making remarkable strides in this field is Oluwaseun Adeyemi, a Nigerian-born environmental geochemist whose research is helping to unravel the complexities of carbon biogeochemistry in terrestrial ecosystems.

Currently based in the United States, Adeyemi has carved out a space for himself at the intersection of geochemistry, ecology, and climate science. A researcher in Environmental Geochemistry at the University of Texas at Dallas, he focuses on how carbon is stored, transformed, and released in soils and sediments—key processes that underpin climate feedbacks and long-term ecosystem resilience.

“My research is centered on understanding carbon biogeochemical processes in terrestrial systems, particularly how environmental shifts influence the behavior of organic and inorganic carbon in soil matrices,” Adeyemi explained. His work sheds light on how land use, mineral interactions, and microbial activity collectively drive carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions—an area of immense importance for climate mitigation and sustainable land management.

Adeyemi’s path to this cutting-edge research has been both rigorous and inspiring. After earning his Master’s degree in Geology from the University of Georgia, USA in 2023, where he contributed to geochemical and mineralogical studies as a Graduate Research Assistant, he further refined his skills in mineral surface chemistry, spectroscopy, and carbon dynamics. His undergraduate journey began at the Federal University Lokoja in Nigeria, graduating with top honors in 2019.

On his doctoral studies, Adeyemi is developing advanced technical proficiencies essential for biogeochemical research. He is skilled in X-ray diffraction (XRD), ICP-MS, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), soil carbon analysis, and data modeling using R. His work leverages tools such as TOPAS and Diffrac.Eva to decode mineral-organic interactions, offering insights into how soils sequester or release carbon under variable environmental conditions.

Before his current position at the university of Texas at Dallas, Adeyemi contributed to the University of Georgia’s clay mineralogy analysis team and played a vital role in the prestigious Reynolds Cup competition. His early exposure to field-based geochemical surveys in Nigeria—working with agencies such as the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency and the Oyo State Mineral Development Agency—provided him with a strong foundation in practical environmental assessment and mineral mapping.

In addition to his scientific pursuits, Adeyemi is a committed academic leader and community builder. He has served in leadership roles such as General Secretary of the African Graduate Students’ Forum at UGA and was actively involved in mentoring initiatives and science diplomacy efforts like the Friends of Mandela Washington Fellows project.

His scholarly excellence has been recognized with numerous awards, including the UT Dallas Merit Tuition Waiver and the Department of Sustainable Earth System Sciences Scholarship in 2024, amongst others. He has presented some of his research at prestigious international conferences such as the Geological Society of America and the Clay Mineral Society.

“Understanding carbon cycling in the Earth’s critical zone is more than an academic endeavor—it’s a vital part of addressing environmental change and protecting our shared future,” Adeyemi emphasized.

This ethos continues to drive his dedication to research, teaching, and international scientific engagement.

As a member of the Geological Society of America, the Clay Minerals Society, and the National Association of Black Geoscientists, Adeyemi remains a prominent advocate for inclusive, data-driven environmental research.