GEOPHYSICS DEPARTMENT

The Geophysics Department is organized into five scientific core capabilities. The primary purpose of these research areas is to advance the science that will enable new high-resolution methods for extracting subsurface properties and process-related information from geophysical, geomechanical, fluid-flow, and satellite data.

Bachmann, Corinne - Postdoc fellow with research interests in induced Seismicity; Numerical Modeling; Seismic Instruments and Networks; and Seismic Modeling

Commer,Michael - Dr. Commer is a Career Geological Research Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Energy Geosciences Division. His interests include large-scale, multi-dimensional, inverse and forward modeling problems arising in exploration and environmental geophysics, numerical methods on distributed computing platforms, accelerated hardware computing, and electromagnetic geophysics. He has over 10 years of experience in numerical programming, geophysical (joint) imaging and modeling methods.

Dafflon,Baptiste - Dr. Dafflon received his MSc (2004) in geophysics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Zurich (ETHZ) and his PhD (2009) in geophysics from the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). He has worked as a Postdoctoral researcher at the Center of Geophysical Investigation of the Shallow Subsurface (CGISS) at Boise State University (due to a one and a half year fellowship grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation) and in Earth Sciences Divisioin at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Currently Baptiste is a Research Scientist at LBNL.

Gasperikova,Erika - Dr. Gaspierkova's research is primarily in electrical and electromagnetic methods (EM), potential-field methods, and joint seismic and EM interpretations with applications to environmental and groundwater exploration, carbon dioxide sequestration, and natural resources exploration.

Guglielmi,Yves - Yves Guglielmi is a Geological Staff Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His principal interests cover fundamental research in the hydromechanics of fractured and faulted rock. He focuses on the in situ understanding of the relationships between hydraulic, elastic and strength properties, rheology and induced seismicity of faults and fractures through field observation. Applications of his research concern giant rock landslides, and geo-energy (nuclear waste disposal, reservoir seal integrity and deep geothermal energy). He has been the Principal Investigator of several national and international programs on CO2 storage in deep reservoirs and on giant landslides in the European Alps

Hubbard,Susan S - As the Associate Lab Director for Earth & Environmental Sciences Area at Berkeley Laboratory, Dr. Susan Hubbard leads a premier group of ~500 staff that has a significant research portfolio in climate science, terrestrial ecosystem science, environmental and biological system science, fundamental geoscience, and subsurface energy resources. Research within this Area of Berkeley Lab is tackling some of the most pressing environmental and subsurface energy challenges of the 21st Century. Dr. Hubbard is also an Adjunct Professor at UC Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. Dr. Hubbard earned her PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley, and prior to joining Berkeley Lab, she was a geologist at the US Geological Survey and a geophysicist in industry.

Marchesini, Pierpaolo - Postdoc researcher focusing on the acquisition, processing, and analysis of cross-well seismic data from field scale experiments. The project I work on addresses continuous travel time monitoring to detect stress changes, monitoring geologic storage of CO2, and enhanced hydrocarbon recovery.

Mccallen,David - David McCallen currently leads the Critical Infrastructure Initiative for the Energy Geosciences Division’s Resilient Energy, Water and Infrastructure Program Domain at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.

Nakagawa,Seiji - Seiji Nakagawa is a Research Scientist in the Energy Geosciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His research expertise is in the areas of coupled processes; fracture and flow; fractures and faults; geomechanics; induced seismicity; rock physics and coupled dynamics; rocks: physical properties; subsurface characterization and monitoring; laboratory geomechanical measurement; and laboratory geophysical measurement.

Pride,Steven R - Pride joined LBNL as a Staff Scientist in 2003. In 2004, he also received an Adjunct Professor position in the Earth and Planetary Sciences Department at UC Berkeley where he advises doctoral students and teaches the class Mathematical Methods for Geophysicists. Prior to Berkeley, Pride was a professor of geophysics for 10 years in France both at the University of Paris and the University of Rennes. He received his PhD in geophysics from Texas A&M in 1990 and then spent two years as a post-doc at MIT before accepting a faculty position at the University of Paris. In addition to doing science, Pride also owns and manages a winery.

Robertson,Michelle - Michelle is a Program Manager and in the Geophysics Department in the Energy Geosciences Division at Berkeley Laboratory. She leads and manages the Geosciences Measurement Facility (GMF), a DOE-supported facility designed to develop and maintain a variety of geophysical and geoscience instrumentation and measurement equipment, includes electronic and mechanical technicians and shop facilities, field support vehicles, (including wireline and recording trucks), and a borehole test facility.

Rodgriguez-Tribaldos, Veronica - Dr. Rogriguez-Tribaldos is a postdoc whose research focuses on developing and using seismic techniques for near-surface imaging aimed at understanding the dynamics of subsurface processes for environmental and energy-related applications. My expertise lies in the application of fiber-optics based sensing (mostly distributed acoustic sensing, DAS) to these problems.

Schoenball,Martin - Dr. Schoenball's research is focused on induced seismicity from hydrothermal and enhanced geothermal systems, from hydrocarbon extraction or deep waste water disposal. He uses data from seismic observations and borehole monitoring for his research. Additionally, he uses numerical modelling techniques to study the elastic, poroelastic and inelastic changes of the tectonic stress field due to forced fluid flow and seismic and aseismic deformations in reservoirs. Further interests are on the tectonic stress field, borehole stability and the time-dependent behaviors in rock mechanics from the laboratory to the fault zone scale.

Ulrich,Craig - Craig Ulrich received his BS in Geology from Northwest Missouri State University and his MSc in Environmental Geology (emphasis in Geophysics) from Rutgers the State University of New Jersey. He worked in the private sector as Geologist and Geophysicist for environmental and geophysics firms. Currently Craig is a Scientific Engineering Associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

Vasco,Donald W - Don W. Vasco is a Senior Scientist at Berkeley Laboratory developing and implementing algorithms for geophysical and hydrologic modeling and inversion. Current research interests are inverse theory, asymptotic techniques for modeling flow and transport, modeling coupled processes, the analysis of surface deformation, and techniques for imaging reservoir heterogeneity.

Williams,Kenneth H - Dr. Kenneth H. Williams is a Staff Geological Scientist and Program Lead for Environmental Remediation and Water Resources Program in the Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California. He is a pioneer in the field of biogeophysics, with a particular emphasis on the development of minimally invasive techniques for characterizing the subsurface activity of microbial communities and the end products of their metabolism. His current research interests include seasonal variations in redox-sensitive elements, such as C, N, S, Fe, and Mn, issues impacting the long-term mobility of contaminant metals in the subsurface, and the coupling of hydrological and biogeochemical processes that impact both. He currently serves as the Deputy Lead and Chief Field Scientist of Berkeley Lab’s Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area based near Crested Butte, Colorado (USA), which addresses questions pertaining to the ability of mountains watersheds to retain and release water, nutrients, carbon, and metals in the face of climate perturbation and climate extremes.

Wood,Todd J - Todd Wood is a principal scientific engineering associate at Lawrence Berkeley Labaratory.

Wu,Yuxin - Dr. Yuxin Wu is a Research Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His research focuses on the application of geophysical methods to energy and environment related topics. His current research topics include (1) hydro- and bio- geophysical monitoring of subsurface hydro-biogeochemical processes (2) geophysical monitoring of fracture and flow related to energy production and waste storage; (3) enhanced fracture imaging using geophysical contrasting agents; and (4) the development of novel imaging approaches for plant root and root-soil interactions.