Noah’s Ph.D. research has focused on characterizing geochemical controls on microbial metabolism rates in sediment and riverbed environments. The hyporheic zone is the area just below a river where constant mixing of groundwater and river water occurs. At this intersection between two sources of water, with different organic carbon and nutrient contents, complimentary pairing of electron donors and acceptors leading to highly elevated rates of microbial metabolism. His experiments investigated how different sources and forms of organic carbon found in freshwater river and groundwater systems effects hyporheic zone microbial metabolism rates and microbial community structure.

His postdoc research with the Department of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and in collaboration with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center Noah focused on bioengineering of model organisms for I) increased production of bioproducts through the methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway and II) Use of recalcitrant carbon sources for bioproducts generation.