Jay F. Martin

Jay Martin is a professor of ecological engineering who analyzes and integrates human and natural systems. As a faculty member in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering and a Faculty co-lead for the OSU Sustainability Institute, he seeks to use natural systems to improve water quality and increase sustainability. His interdisciplinary research links field studies, watershed models, and socio-economic analyses with stakeholder groups to investigate connections between downstream water quality and management practices in upstream watersheds.

Currently, Dr. Martin is leading the following research and outreach projects 1) $18M USDA-NRCS study to evaluate the ability of high adoption rates of agricultural conservation practices in a 6,000-acre watershed to reduce nutrient runoff to meet Great Lakes water quality targets, 2) $5M USDA-NIFA project to establish a Public-Private Partnership with crop consultants and farmers, to identify fields with elevated nutrient levels where management practices will be installed and monitored in an effort to reduce nutrient runoff, and 3) an interdisciplinary research team to evaluate the impacts of a large green infrastructure project, “Blueprint Columbus,” on water, communities, ecosystems, economics and public health within the City of Columbus. Outside of Ohio, Dr. Martin’s research has included Mayan agroecosystems in southern Mexico, biodigesters in Costa Rica, Andes wetlands in Colombia, and the use of algae as a soil amendment by Oʻahu farmers in Hawaii. As of 2022, he has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles, successfully advised over 38 Graduate Students and Post Docs, and been awarded more than $36M to support his research program. He is certified as a Senior Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America and a Professional Engineer in Ohio. 

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