Research: Deep Underground Science and Engineering
Exploring science and engineering below the Earth’s surface.
- Neutrino, dark matter, and nuclear astrophysics research
- Carbon sequestration using microbes to capture carbon dioxide and turn it into rock
- Fluid flow and transport processes in hydraulic fracturing
- Next-generation mining: highly autonomous vehicles, extreme environments, in-situ recovery, and workforce creation
- Radon reduction for ultra-sensitive physics experiments
Research Projects:
Analysis of data collected with DUNE prototypes located at CERN
Constraints on Carbon Budget of Earth’s Mantle - Insights from Mineral-Hosted Melt
Inclusions from Globally Distributed International Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Samples
Crystals as Archieves of Magmatic Processes - Evidence from Plagioclase-Hosted Melt
Inclusions in Ocean Floor Basalts
Detecting Underground Facilities and Mining Excavations with Space-Borne Sensors and
Machine Learning
Development of the Water-based Liquid Scintillation technology with the ANNIE experiment
at Fermilab
Direct detection of dark matter with the LZ and XLZD experiments
Direct detection of dark matter with the SuperCDMS SNOLAB experiment
DUNE far detector calibration with the Pulsed Neutron Source
Enhanced Polyextremophile-Mediated Carbonate Mineralization in Mafic and Ultramafic
Rocks for Carbon Capture, Storage, and Sequestration
Examining the Physical Controls and Mitigation Strategies for Induced Seismicity During
Subsurface Fluid Injection Operations
Exploring Super-Hot Magmatic Geothermal Energy with Scientific Drilling
High-energy astroparticle physics and multi-messenger astronomy with the IceCube and
IceCube-Gen2 at the South Pole
Holistic underground production schedule optimization with inclusion of ventilation
and reduction of diesel particulate matter
Implementing Carbon Capture, Storage, and Sequestration with Extremophiles
In-situ Capture of CO2 and CH4 Capture by Carbonate Mineralization using Natural Serpentine
and Zeolites
Integration of orepass design and location into underground production schedule optimization
Inverse Methods of Hydraulic Fracturing for Enhanced Geothermal Systems in a Deep
Mine
Measuring nuclear reaction cross-sections relevant for the understanding of astrophysical
sites
Measurement and simulation of radiological backgrounds from the cavern rock, cryostat
structure and detector components for the DUNE experiment
Measurement of charged current neutrino-induced kaon production on argon
Measurement of neutrino mass hierarchy, search for CP violation with neutrinos and
supernova neutrino detection with the DUNE experiment
Measurement of the neutron response at the ProtoDUNE Horizontal and Vertical Drift
detectors at CERN
Measurement of the neutrino-induced neutrons with the ANNIE experiment at Fermilab
Measurement of the neutron-argon cross sections at CERN and LANL
Power over fiber technology for the DUNE vertical drift photon detection system
Researching Methane dynamics in Deep Subsurface Environments to understand its behavior,
sources, and mitigation strategies for emissions reduction
Safer Design and Planning for Underground Mining under Uncertain, Adverse Conditions
Mining Engineering and Managment / Rudra Mitra, Andrea Brickey
Underground water leak detection using thermal imagery
Understanding biogeochemical cycling and microbial habitability in Earth’s subsurface
UV light calibration system for the DUNE horizontal drift photon detection system