Leah Oxenford

Biography

"Dr. Leah Oxenford is a dedicated member of the USAO faculty with a commitment to interdisciplinary education within the sciences since 2007. As the IDS Foundations of Science Laboratory Coordinator, she established her reputation of rigor and excellence via the development and execution of original laboratory content focused on critical thinking, problem-solving, and applications. Teaching both introductory and advanced content courses allows for continuity in skill building and refinement in reporting strategies to include writing, oral presentation, and posters. Dr. Oxenford shines as the 2013 recipient of the USAO Reagents Outstanding Teaching Award, which is a student-nominated award supported by a rigorous selection process. Outside of the classroom, Leah has been key in curriculum development redefining what a biology major means within the context of today's modern challenges as well as developing new course offerings such as Energy and the Environment, Introduction to Environmental Science, Forensic Science, Parasitology, Field Techniques 1 and a new Electrochemistry course coming soon! Dr. Oxenford is also an active contributor and supporter of USAO Study Abroad (Costa Rica, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Peru). Independent study activities like Wet and Wild in Northwestern Oklahoma, A Path Less Traveled featuring backpacking the Ozark Highland Trail in Arkansas, and partnering with Art Faculty to design and performance test ceramic water filters keep her busy in addition to her club and professional society responsibilities. She consults as a faculty mentor for BASC Biology and Associated Sciences Club and is a WITS Women in Science and Technology workshop leader. She leads students on field trips to the OAS Oklahoma Academy of Science Field and Technical Meetings and is an active contributor to CREW Center for the Restoration of Ecosystems and Watersheds (University of Oklahoma). Dr. Oxenford is committed to the application of passive treatment system technologies for mine reclamation projects and is an active member of the American Society of Mining and Reclamation. Presentations at the annual national conference include excerpts of chapters from her dissertation: Oxidative iron removal dynamics within the initial oxidation cell of a passive treatment system, Storm event-driven metal transport dynamics between the initial oxidation cells of a passive treatment system, Iron oxide accumulation profiling within the initial oxidation unit of a passive treatment system, Evaluation of rhodamine tracer methodologies to determine the hydraulic retention time for the oxidative unit of a passive treatment system. Dr. Oxenford’s publications and presentations in polymer sensor development include Swellable molecularly imprinted Poly-N-(N-prophy) acrylamide particles for the detection of emerging organic contaminants using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, Stationary phase solvation and selectivity in reverse phase liquid chromatography with short and medium chain alcohols, and Characterization of the pH properties of N-isopropyl acrylamide copolymers for sensor applications. Before coming to USAO, Dr. Oxenford was a teaching/research assistant at Oklahoma State University, an assistant application chemist at the Hach Company, worked in the chemistry stockroom at the University of Northern Colorado, and served as a volunteer firefighter for the Eaton Fire Protection District, Eaton Colorado. "

Research Interest

critical thinking, problem-solving, and applications