Professor, Environmental and Ocean Sciences
- Postdoctoral Scholar, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
- PhD, University of New South Wales Sydney Australia, Geology
- MPH, Griffith University Queensland Australia, Environmental Health
- BS (Honours 1), University of New South Wales Sydney Australia, Earth and Environmental Science
Bethany O'Shea, PhD, teaches courses in introductory earth science, environmental health, and environmental geochemistry. All of these courses use the environment as a natural laboratory and include active learning and hands-on problem solving. Dr. O'Shea is interested in the health and environmental impacts of contaminants in waters, soil, dust, and marine sediment; with a particular emphasis on geogenic (naturally occurring) contaminants such as arsenic. As a first-generation female professor in STEM she welcomes the opportunity to work with students from a range of different backgrounds.
Scholarly Work
Beth O'Shea began her education in earth and environmental science, studying the impact of groundwater evolution on irrigation water quality in semi-arid Australia before moving into the field of arsenic geochemistry. Initially focusing on geomorphology and hydrogeology to determine arsenic sources in drinking water aquifers of coastal Australia, she then moved to the eastern United States to study water-mineral-arsenic interactions in the metamorphic bedrock of New England, completing a postdoc in the Geochemistry Division at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. At USD, Dr. O’Shea has completed projects investigating metal contamination from a cannery in Mexico, assessing the transport of arsenic from an abandoned mine in San Diego, as well as working on interdisciplinary teams to provide a geologic lens for the humanities (e.g., geology and rhetoric) and other sciences (e.g., geology and botany).
Areas of Interest
An avid educator, Dr. O'Shea was recruited into the prestigious Frontiers of Science teaching program at Columbia University, a program designed to train the next generation of educators in STEM. This led to her interest in teaching and learning, which later directed her career towards university administration. Between 2017-2021 she led USD through the largest curricular revision ever achieved on campus, by implementing and assessing the University of San Diego's new Core Curriculum. This resulted in several conference and workshop presentations on student learning in general education programs, particularly emphasizing the implementation success of integrative learning in the first year Living and Learning Communities at USD. Having recently returned to full-time faculty Dr. O'Shea is revitalizing her research interests with work on the bioaccessibility, geochemistry, and health impacts of pollutants in the environment and currently supervises graduate and undergraduate students working on projects related to wildfire impacts on drinking water and local geochemical pollution problems.