Dr. Jesse Radolinski

Assistant Professor of Soil Hydrology

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Education

• B.S. in Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Mary Washington
• Ph.D. in Crop and Soil Environmental Science, Virginia Tech

Professional Credentials

I am a hydrologist and soil scientist by training specializing in water and solute transport in the unsaturated or vadose zone. My research has sought to understand how a spectrum of flow heterogeneity affects contaminant mobility in soils and gives rise to (eco)hydrological separation between fast flowing drainage recharging streams versus less mobile water that supplies transpiration. My work addresses water research topics ranging from hydrological mixing controls in soils to quantifying the impact of various climatic trajectories on the storage and movement of water through ecosystems. I am generally fascinated by the complexity of water and solute movement through soils and the dynamic hydrological relationship between plants and soils in Earth’s rapidly changing near-surface. My work involves the use of field and laboratory experimentation, as well as tracer and numerical modeling techniques. 

 My post-PhD work has included:  1) postdoctoral researcher at University of Innsbruck in Austria where I coordinated experimentation for an international climate manipulation and global change project (ClimGrass and/or ClimGrassHydro), 2) postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland where I worked to refine hydrological controls on phosphorus transport from agricultural soils, and 3) research scientist with USDA-ARS in Pullman, Washington focused on sustainable agricultural water use and conservation research.

Teaching Specialties

Interests: I am generally interested in equipping students with the knowledge and skillset to navigate complex soil water use problems—particularly in agroecosystems.

 Instructed or Co-instructed:

-Data Analysis for Environmental Science (graduate course, University of Innsbruck)

- Project Study: Field methods in ecohydrology (undergraduate and graduate course, University of Innsbruck)

-Soil Physical and Hydrological Properties (graduate course, University of Innsbruck)

-Special Topics in Functional Ecology: Scientific Literature Discussions (graduate course, University of Innsbruck)

-Scientific Presentation (graduate course, University of Innsbruck)

 -Assisted teaching:

-Physics of Pollution (undergraduate course, Virginia Tech)

-Fundamentals of Environmental Science (undergraduate course, Virginia Tech)

-Wetland Soils (undergraduate course, Virginia Tech)

Research Interests

-Graduate Research Assistant, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA (2015-2019)

-Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria (2020-2023)

-Lecturer, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria (2021-2023)

-Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA (2023-2024)

-Research Scientist, Northwest Sustainable Agroecosystems Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Pullman, WA, USA (2025)

Publications

PUBLICATIONS:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jesse-Radolinski

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7s9DyxMAAAAJ&hl=en

 Selected publications:

Radolinski, J.; Vremec, M. Wachter, H.; Birk, S.; Brüggemann, N.; Herndl, M.; Kahmen, A.; Nelson, D. B.; Kübert, A.; Schaumberger, A.; Bahn, M. Drought in a warmer, CO2-rich climate restricts grassland water use and soil water mixing. Science 2025, 387 (6731), 290–296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado0734.

 

Radolinski, J.; Le, H.; Hilaire, S. S.; Xia, K.; Scott, D.; Stewart, R. D. A spectrum of preferential flow alters solute mobility in soils. Scientific Reports 2022, 12 (1), 1–11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08241-w.

 

Radolinski, J.; Pangle, L.; Klaus, J.; Stewart, R. D. Testing the ‘two water worlds’ hypothesis under variable preferential flow conditions. Hydrological Processes 2021, 35 (6), 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14252.

 

Radolinski, J.; Wu, J.; Xia, K.; Hession, W. C.; Stewart, R. D. Plants mediate precipitation-driven transport of a neonicotinoid pesticide. Chemosphere 2019, 222, 445–452. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.01.150.

 

Radolinski, J.; Wu, J.; Xia, K.; Stewart, R. Transport of a neonicotinoid pesticide, thiamethoxam, from artificial seed coatings. Sci. Total Environ. 2018, 618, 561–568. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.031.

Curriculum Vitae

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