Assistant Professor of Environmental Science

Christie Pondell

Christie Pondell

Christina Pondell is an Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Utah Tech University. She brings a broad interest in environmental science to her teaching, emphasizing hands-on field experience and data analysis to help students build confidence with both sample collection and large-scale data exploration. Pondell’s research has included studies on the impact of dams on biogeochemical cycles, environmental restoration, microplastic pollution and advances in environmental monitoring.

Education

Ph.D., Marine Science and Organic Geochemistry

  • William & Mary

B.S., Marine Science

  • Texas A&M University–Galveston

Courses

  • ENVS 1010 - Introduction to Environmental Science
  • ENVS 1099 - Recitation for Majors
  • ENVS 1215 - Principles of Environmental Science (Lab)
  • ENVS 3210 - Soil Science
  • ENVS 4080 - Environmental Monitoring and Characterization
  • ENVS 4090 - Senior Seminar
  • ENVS 4310 - Energy Sustainability
  • ENVS 4800R - Independent Research
  • ENER 4310 - Energy Technology and Sustainability
  • GEO 1080 - Intro to Oceanography
  • GEOG 1000 - Physical Geography
  • GEOG 3410 - Paleoclimatology

PREVIOUS TEACHING

  • Before coming to Utah Tech, Pondell was a professorial lecturer at American University and at Towson University.

EXPERIENCE

  • 11 years of teaching experience

RESEARCH & INTERESTS

  • Aquatic geochemistry
  • Long-term environmental monitoring
  • Water quality analysis
  • Microplastic pollution in water, soil and air

PUBLICATIONS & PROJECTS

  • “Composition of organic matter in soils from tidal marshes around the Chesapeake Bay, USA,” Estuarine
  • “Multi-Biomarker Analysis for Identifying Organic Matter Sources in Small Mountainous River Watersheds,” San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science
  • “Dissolved Organic Carbon Sorption Dynamics in Tidal Marsh Soils,” Limnology and Oceanography
  • Pondell, C.R. and E.A. Canuel (2017). “The role of hydrodynamic sorting on the accumulation and distribution of organic carbon in an impoundment: Englebright Lake, California, USA.” Biogeochemistry 133: 129–145. DOI:10.007/s10533-017-0319-8
  • Pondell, C.R., E.A. Canuel, A.J. Beck, and S.A. Kuehl (2015). “Using plutonium isotopes to date sediment horizons in coarse sediments from Englebright Lake, California (USA).” Aquatic Geochemistry 22: 97–115.

PRESENTATIONS

  • “Assessment of organic carbon and food resources across five dominant sub-habitats in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA.” 11th Biennial Bay-Delta Science Conference, April 2021.
  • “Recent changes in organic carbon and food resources in response to environmental change in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, USA.” AGU Fall Meeting, December 2020.
  • “Exploring the influence of marsh soils on the biochemical composition of dissolved organic carbon in pore water.” Global Change Research Wetland Symposium, March 2019.

AWARDS & HONORS

  • Trailblazer Rising Star Award Finalist, Utah Tech University, 2024