Grad Profile: Bre Waterman, G'25

For Bre Waterman, G’25, the road to environmental engineering wasn’t a straight path. Originally, Waterman intended to major in business during her undergraduate career at Oklahoma State University (OSU), but a geology class in her freshman year shifted her trajectory.

“In this class, I had to do an extra project,” she said. “I think it was on how the volcanoes in Iceland or Greenland affected global trade, but I was much more interested in the geology impact.”

That interest led her to switch majors during her sophomore year. She graduated from OSU in 2018, with a degree in geology. Following graduation, she continued to Kansas State University - just a short drive from her hometown of Junction City, KS - where she continued her geological work completing a masters.

“My dad was an ROTC instructor at K-State, so I always grew up a K-Stater,” Waterman said with a laugh. “KU was the enemy for a long time.”

While at K-State, Waterman got the amazing opportunity to take part in a National Science Foundation (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) project within the state. As part of this interdisciplinary initiative, she worked on microbiomes of aquatic plants alongside researchers from institutions across Kansas, including CEAE professor Justin Hutchison. Her connections within this project, as well as a connection her advisor had with CEAE professor Amy Hansen, led Waterman to KU for the next step in her educational journey.

“I sat down with Amy, and she told me about a project she was doing involving hydrology and biochemistry,” Waterman said. “I thought it sounded amazing.”

Waterman began her doctoral studies at KU in 2020, amid the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research focuses on water quality in agricultural landscapes, particularly how nitrate – commonly used in fertilizers – is transported and removed across different systems.

“I’m interested in how landscapes are set up to determine water quality,” she said. “My main interest has been how to expand corn and soybean cultivation from the traditional Corn Belt into the Great Plains.”

Waterman defended her dissertation titled, “From Mesocosms to Watersheds: Investigating Nitrate Transport and Removal in Agricultural Watersheds” in April 2025.

Beyond her research, Waterman has found surprising fulfillment in teaching in unexpected places.

“I taught fluid mechanics, which is a required class for civil and environmental engineers – and a class I had never taken myself,” she said with a laugh. “It was a challenge, but also really rewarding. As a hands-on lab the students get excited, and I learned a lot alongside them.”

Waterman has also been active in CEAE’s outreach efforts, participating in summer engineering camps, the Arise Project’s STEM night at the Kansas City Community College and other events designed to get K-12 students excited about science.

“I think those events are always really rewarding because you get to see people get excited,” she said. “There are always moments where I think, ‘Why did I sign up for this?’ But the kids get so excited, and it makes me very thankful for the opportunity.”

Reflecting on her academic journey, Waterman highlighted several KU courses that shaped her perspective, including Amy Hansen’s wetlands class and Josh Roundy’s statistical hydrology class.

“They both challenged me in different ways and helped me see my research from new angles,” she said.

As she looks ahead, Waterman is already making plans to continue her research even after her graduation. In January, she submitted a proposal for an NSF Earth Science postdoc to continue working with Amy Hansen, while also collaborating with a Spanish researcher focused on biogeochemistry in diverse ecosystems.

“If funded, we’ll explore how carbon quality influences nitrate removal or nitrogen processing,” said Waterman.

If the proposal is successful, she plans to stay in Lawrence. If not, Waterman is already building relationships with the Kansas Geological and Biological Surveys, exploring applied research opportunities focused on lakes and groundwater.

“My family and I would like to stay here for the foreseeable future,” said Waterman. “There are a lot of opportunities for research here.”

For incoming graduate students, Waterman offers some advice:

“Find your comfort – whether that’s a community or a hobby,” she said. “The first two years can feel like a whirlwind. Don’t lose yourself in the chaos. When you give yourself space to recharge, your research will move along faster.”