Joel Hayworth is an Associate Research Professor in the Auburn University Civil Engineering Department. He has a B.S. in Geophysics from the University of California, Santa Barbara; an M.S. in Hydrogeology from the University of Nevada; and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Auburn University. Hayworth has worked as a research scientist at the TVA Engineering Laboratory, US Air Force Research Laboratory, and later as a consulting engineer. Hayworth’s current research program is focused on the environmental fate of oil released as a result of the Deepwater Horizon accident, specifically focusing on near-shore and sandy beach impacts along Alabama’s coastline.