Title: Geophysical Properties of Geomaterials: Complementary Multiphysics Characterization
Abstract:
The behavior of sediments and fractured rocks remains a central challenge in geoscience and engineering. Their mechanical and transport properties are controlled by texture, formation history, effective stress, interconnected porosity, and pore-fluid characteristics. Geophysical characterization methods -including elastic and electromagnetic waves, nuclear magnetic resonance, thermal conductivity, and X-ray techniques- provide small-perturbation, complementary insights into both the mineral skeleton and pore fluids. These multiphysics approaches enable monitoring of key processes such as burial, diagenesis, liquefaction, freezing, mixed-fluid interactions, and gas adsorption/desorption. Geophysical methods support innovative laboratory and field investigations, with applications spanning geotechnical engineering, mining, and energy geotechnology. Emphasis is placed on integrating multiphysical signals to improve the understanding and prediction of material behavior.
Biography: J. Carlos Santamarina is Professor and Clough Chair at Georgia Tech. He earned his undergraduate degree from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and completed graduate studies at the University of Maryland and Purdue University. He has held faculty positions at NYU-Poly, the University of Waterloo (Canada), KAUST (Saudi Arabia), and Georgia Tech. Santamarina’s research integrates experimental and numerical approaches to study the behavior of geomaterials, including sediments, fractured rocks, and complex fluids.
Contact: jcs@gatech.edu