The University of Toledo’s Dr. Kennedy Doro has been selected to share his research into the environmental applications of geophysics with students and scholars across the globe as an American Geophysical Union College of Fellows Distinguished Lecturer.
Doro is one of 20 scientists selected among a pool of the association’s honorees to participate in the 2026-27 Distinguished Lecture Series. Universities, community colleges and other institutions of education are encouraged to host free virtual or in-person lectures through the series, with each lecture synthesizing the lecturer’s area of research expertise for a general science audience with a focus on grand challenges and societal impacts.
Dr. Kennedy Doro, right, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, works alongside a graduate student at a Coastal Observations, Mechanisms and Predictions Across Systems and Scales: Field Measurements and Experiments (COMPASS-FME) site in the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in 2025.
Doro, an associate professor in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics’ Department of Environmental Sciences, will present a lecture on near-surface geophysics. More specifically, he will discuss how he uses non-invasive methods to understand how water, carbon and nutrients move below the soil surface and to ultimately predict ecosystem response to climate variability and environmental change.
Doro applies these methods in collaborative projects like Coastal Observations, Mechanisms and Predictions Across Systems and Scales (COMPASS), which the Department of Energy launched with $20 million investment in 2021.
“Near-surface geophysics allows us to see beneath our feet without disturbing the very systems we seek to understand. By translating subtle electrical signals into images of how water, carbon, nutrients and biological activity move through soils, we can better predict how ecosystems will respond to flooding, drought, salinization, contamination and other environmental changes,” Doro said. “Participating in the Distinguished Lecture Series is an extraordinary opportunity to share this science with audiences around the world. I hope these lectures will demonstrate how geophysics can help address urgent environmental challenges while inspiring students — particularly those who may have had limited exposure to the field to see themselves as future scientists and problem-solvers.”
The American Geophysical Union previously recognized Doro with its Near-Surface Geophysics Early Career Achievement Award in 2024.
