Dr. Sina Saneiyan

Sina Saneiyan is a geophysicist whose research mainly focuses on near-surface environmental and engineering problems. Sina began his professional geophysical work as an ore exploration engineer right after finishing his B.Sc. but soon after, he realized there is much more to learn and study in his field. He started his Ph.D. in 2015, working on the novel and interesting idea of bridging geophysics and engineering. Sina chose the environmentally friendly microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) soil stabilization (a process to reinforce the soil for building purposes) method as his primary research focus and aimed to study this relatively new engineering ground improvement approach with geophysics. By the end of his Ph.D., he successfully showed geophysical methods (particularly induced polarization) are excellent in monitoring MICP in a non-invasive manner and can provide much more details compared to the old-fashioned direct monitoring techniques (such as soil sampling). 

Sina’s current research builds upon his initial goal of bridging geophysics and engineering. He is now trying to find the geophysical signatures of soils under dynamic forces (heavy rain, landslides, earthquakes, etc.). We, humans, depend on the stability of the soil that we live upon and understanding the mechanical properties of soils play a crucial role in site assessment for construction and infrastructure. Soils with low shear strength can become unstable as a result of natural and/or anthropogenic induced forces, therefore knowing their state under such forces is vital. Geophysical methods have proven to be sensitive to changes in the soils caused by dynamic forces. In his future research, Sina is aiming to show that geophysical methods (particularly electrical methods, such as spectral induced polarization and electrical resistivity) can be used as reliable and permanent site characterization tools for monitoring areas prone to soil failure, such as active landslide zones. Although this would require developing new tools and software capable of conducting large-scale surveys and analyzing data fast and intelligently, ultimately such monitoring methods can be used as effective geo-hazard mitigation tools in the future. 

Sina is currently an assistant professor of environmental geophysics at the School of Geosciences at the University of Oklahoma. He holds a B.Sc. in Mining Engineering from the University of Tehran, an M.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering from Shahrood University of Technology, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Rutgers University. His postdoctoral research was on the assessment of soil deformation and failure with complex electrical methods. Sina is an experienced geophysicist and knows a wide range of geophysical techniques. He has research experience from his small laboratory to surveying Lake Michigan. He also is a skilled programmer. Sina is a core developer of ResIPy (2D/3D modeling and inversion of geoelectrical data), SIPy Studio (1D spectral induced polarization data analysis), and has contributed to developing EMagPy (modeling and inversion of electromagnetic data). Sina has an extensive teaching portfolio and believes that a diverse and inclusive environment is vital for preparing students for a successful future, therefore he is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion at the University of Oklahoma. Aside from work, Sina is an avid cyclist with thousands of miles ridden on his bike, Red! He also loves photography and backpacking, because there is nothing more fascinating than nature.