Faculty Directory

  • Chair, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Affiliated Professor, Physics

Links of Interest

Research Interests

  • The long-term evolution of the Earth's magnetic field (especially in relation to the geodynamo mechanisms and the early history of the field) and its geological and geodynamical implications
  • Geodynamics and global plate tectonics (eg., large igneous province formation and true polar wander)
  • Magnetism of rocks, minerals, and synthetic materials
  • Environmental magnetism (eg., biomineralization and the relationships between physical, chemical and magnetic properties of minerals)
  • Development of new techniques and instruments for paleomagnetic and rock magnetic research
  • Associate Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Research Interests

  • Environmental Geophysics
  • Fracture Dynamics and its Induced Seismicity
  • Characterization of Heat and Fluid Transport in Porous Media
  • Assistant Teaching Professor Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Recruiting Coordinator
  • Curriculum Development Assistant
  • Distinguished Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Research Interests

  • Using satellite measurements to constrain global volcanic SO2 production and emissions from individual volcanoes
  • Validation of OMI SO2 retrievals using correlative data from ground-based, airborne and space-borne instruments
  • Tracking volcanic SO2 and ash clouds operationally for aviation hazard mitigation
  • Remote sensing of tropospheric volcanic plumes using DOAS and FTIR
  • Quantifying anthropogenic emissions of SO2 from sources such as copper smelters and oil and gas fields
  • Mitigation of the environmental and health impacts of volcanic degassing using satellite data
  • Comparisons between satellite observations and chemical transport model simulations of volcanic clouds and plumes
  • Associate Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Witte Family Endowed Faculty Fellow in Mining Engineering

Research Interests

  • Generative AI for mine safety
  • Remote sensing for critical mineral exploration
  • InSAR for mining hazards
  • Geophysical inversion using deep learning
  • Stochastic resource modeling and stochastic optimization in mining

Teaching Interests

  • Mine Planning and Design
  • Mineral Resource Estimation
  • Mining System Reliability and Optimization
  • Geostatistics and Data Analysis
  • Associate Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Links of Interest

Specialties

  • Source to surface transport of magmatic volatiles and fluid evolution in geothermal systems
  • Evolution of the upper continental crust: generation and maintenance of large, silicic magma reservoirs
  • Magma reservoir dynamics by quantifying textural fabrics and intracrystalline deformation formed during hindered settling and compaction
  • Relationship between resurgent plutons and large, silicic ignimbrites in exhumed caldera-forming eruptive sequences
  • Excess or cryptic degassing in volcanic systems
  • Quantification of CO2 from diffuse degassing at large, caldera-forming volcanoes
  • Research Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Research Interests

  • Structure and tectonics of the Midcontinent Rift System
  • Structural discontinuity formation in the shallow crust
  • Relative and absolute timing of rock deformation events
  • Fractured reservoir characterization, analysis, and modeling
  • Fluid flow through single fractures and fracture networks
  • Automated acquisition and analysis of geologic data from the Earth’s surface and drill core
  • Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Affiliated Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Links of Interest

Teaching Interests

  • Hydrogeology
  • Ground water Engineering
  • Contaminant Transport
  • Subsurface Remediation

Research Interests

  • Field performance of air sparging for removing volatile organic chemicals from ground water
  • Volatile organic vapor transport in unsaturated soils
  • Sulfur dioxide interactions with volcanic ash
  • Research Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Research Interests

  • Periglacial and process geomorphology
  • Computer applications in statistical, numerical and cartographic techniques in the earth sciences
  • Surface energy exchange as it relates to microclimatology
  • Physics, mechanics and petrology of naturally occurring ice formations
  • Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering Sciences
  • Affiliated Professor, Psychology and Human Factors

Specialties

  • Geoscience
  • Teacher Education
  • Evaluation and Assessment
  • Assistant Professor, Geological Engineering
  • Professor of Practice, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Faculty Advisor, Innovative Global Solutions Enterprise

Teaching Interests

  • Engineering Problem Solving and Analysis
  • Systems Modeling
  • Engineering Design Process
  • Wastewater Treatment
  • Mining Methods and Materials Handling 

Research Interests

  • Biotechnology Resource Recovery
  • Environmental Consequences of Mining Waste
  • Engineering Education 
  • Teaching Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Carl G. Schwenk Endowed Faculty Fellow in Applied Geophysics

Links of Interest

  • Research Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Links of Interest

Research Interests

  • Seismic source mechanisms of tectonic and volcanic earthquakes
  • Mantle and crustal-scale seismic tomography
  • The relationship of seismic anisotropy to fluids and strain
  • Active-source investigations of magmatic systems
  • Triggering of earthquakes by magmatic and hydrous fluid migration
  • Relationship between shallow syneruptive volcanic earthquakes and degassing
Rudiger Wolf

Rudiger Escobar Wolf

  • Research Assistant Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
  • Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

Links of Interest

Research Interests

  • Interactions among climate, atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and land use/land cover
  • Impacts of global change on atmospheric chemistry and long-range transport of air pollution
  • Anthropogenic perturbations to the atmosphere and implications for environmental sustainability
  • Atmosphere-biosphere interactions, especially in the context of global change
  • Impacts of aerosols on the global hydrological cycle
  • Assistant Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Research Interests

  • Process-based modeling of the sources, transformation, transport, and sinks of atmospheric particulate matter and gases, and their impact on climate and air quality

  • Interactions between changes in land-cover/land-use and atmospheric compositions

  • Remote sensing science and applications in environmental mapping, modeling, and monitoring

  • Synergy between physically-based modeling and machine learning in climate and air quality research