Reading hidden structure in heterogeneous media through flow and transport dynamics

I am a Tenure-Track Researcher in Hydraulics at the University of Bologna, a tenure-track academic appointment broadly corresponding to an Assistant Professor position in many international systems.

My research focuses on flow and transport processes in heterogeneous porous and fractured systems. I combine fluid mechanics, complex fluids, stochastic modeling, upscaling, and inverse problems to understand how geological heterogeneity controls observable transport dynamics. A central theme of my work is the connection between small-scale physical mechanisms and large-scale effective behavior, with particular attention to fracture roughness, nonlinear flow, rheology-dependent transport, and fracture–matrix exchange.

I am especially interested in how hidden structural information in geological media can be inferred from flow and transport signatures. In this perspective, breakthrough curves, thermal responses, velocity statistics, dispersion dynamics, and anomalous transport regimes are not only quantities to be predicted, but also diagnostic tools for probing the internal organization of heterogeneous systems.

My current research is supported by GEONEAT, an MSCA Global Fellowship focused on complex fluids in fractured geological media. The project investigates the coupling between fluid rheology, fracture-scale heterogeneity, and fracture–matrix interactions, with particular emphasis on anomalous transport, nonlocal effects, and the use of complex fluids as enhanced tracers. A central objective is to exploit the nonlinear rheology of complex fluids to improve heat-tracer tests and strengthen the inference of structural and transport properties from experimental and field-scale observations.

More broadly, my work aims to develop physically grounded and computationally efficient models for predicting flow, heat transfer, and solute transport in fractured and porous media. This includes stochastic Lagrangian approaches, reduced-order models, upscaling strategies, and inverse-modeling frameworks designed to link measurable transport responses to the underlying properties of geological systems.

My research is carried out in collaboration with Stanford University, Géosciences Rennes, and IDAEA-CSIC in Barcelona.