Nigerian-born researcher Ayobami Oni has received the Blue Integrated Partnerships Extra Mile Award for his contributions to water and environmental research during a 2026 summer programme in the Caribbean.
The award recognised Oni’s performance during the Blue Integrated Partnerships Summer Institute, where researchers examined rainfall patterns, watershed conditions and surface-water changes across Puerto Rico and the United States and British Virgin Islands.
According to the announcement, the award acknowledged his “commitment, research contribution and performance” during the programme.
The research included an assessment of precipitation trends between 2000 and 2025, using historical rainfall records, geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial analysis to investigate seasonal and annual variations across the territories.
Oni also contributed to studies in Puerto Rico’s Río Grande de Loíza watershed, where satellite-derived indicators were used to assess surface-water conditions and examine signals associated with turbidity, suspended sediments and changes in chlorophyll.
The organisers said he was honoured for “going above and beyond expectations and delivering exceptional contributions to research carried out during the 2026 Blue Integrated Partnerships Summer Institute.”
Develops technology to monitor groundwater
The recognition follows Oni’s completion of a Master of Science degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University in the United States.
He previously studied Agricultural Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State.
His postgraduate research focused on developing a three-dimensional device designed to measure groundwater movement by estimating the speed and direction of underground water flow.
The device uses heat as a tracer to track water movement. A heating element generates a thermal signal, while temperature sensors detect how the moving groundwater transports the heat.
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. The device’s development also involved sensor calibration, circuit-board design and data acquisition.
Testing progressed from controlled laboratory conditions to groundwater wells, allowing the research to examine the technology’s potential applications and identify factors that could affect measurement accuracy.
Understanding groundwater movement is important in environmental investigations because it can help researchers determine how contaminants travel underground and whether they could reach nearby wells or other water sources.
The device could therefore support groundwater investigations, although its wider practical application will depend on its accuracy, reliability and performance under different field conditions.
Research interests extend to Nigeria’s water challenges
Oni’s research interests include hydrologic modelling, flood behaviour, environmental sensing and geospatial analysis.
He has also explored the use of machine learning and remote sensing to investigate groundwater pollution.
His work has potential relevance to Nigeria, where groundwater supplies many households and communities, making the protection and monitoring of underground water resources important to public health and water management.
Environmental monitoring can help identify changes in water quality, while rainfall analysis and hydrologic modelling can improve understanding of how changing precipitation patterns affect water availability and flooding.
Oni believes that environmental sensors, GIS, satellite remote sensing, hydrologic modelling and artificial intelligence could strengthen how water-related problems are monitored, predicted and managed.
Artificial intelligence can help researchers analyse large volumes of environmental data, identify patterns and support predictions. Such tools, however, must complement reliable field measurements and established engineering principles.
For groundwater research, understanding the physical processes that govern water movement remains essential to developing dependable models and interpreting monitoring results.
Oni has also emphasised that technologies intended to address water-management challenges must be affordable, maintainable and practical for the communities and institutions expected to use them.
The consideration is particularly important in settings where the cost of equipment, technical expertise and maintenance can determine whether research innovations are adopted outside academic and laboratory environments.
His award recognises his contributions to collaborative environmental research, while his groundwater-monitoring work highlights the potential of engineering and environmental sensing technologies to improve investigations into underground water movement.
