Subsurface Hydrophysics Lab

The Subsurface Hydrophysics Group is focused on gaining a fundamental mechanistic understanding of fluid, solute, and colloid transport processes in subsurface environments. Our approach often leverages experimental observations and in situ imaging—such as X-ray computed tomography, positron emission tomography, or optical imaging—combined with field observations and analytical, numerical, and data science methods to describe transport processes in complex geologic and environmental systems across temporal and spatial scales. Due to the fundamental nature of this approach, and the ubiquity of fluid transport in porous media, this work has important applications across a range of environmental and geological processes including contaminant migration in the vadose zone, solute transport in fractured aquifers, heat recovery in geothermal energy systems, bacteria transport in the subsurface, and carbon dioxide transport and immobilization in geologic carbon storage projects.

We are currently recruiting PhD students for Fall 2026 who are interested in research related to fluid flow in fractures at both the laboratory and field scales. Multi-year research assistantship funding is available on this NSF-funded project.