Opdyke earned his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign studying the connection between stream geomorphology and nitrogen cycling in steams impacted by agriculture. He then pursued a postdoctoral research position at Michigan State University in East Lansing where his research focused on novel, stable isotope techniques to differentiate among sources of nitrous oxide in soils. As a professor at Point Park, Opdyke received external research grants to fund his research with students and send them to international conferences.