Work with us! We have a PhD and a post-doc position open at the moment.
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Wenqiao Jiao (PhD student)
My current research focus mainly on understanding the relationship between a porous medium structure and its permeability (its ability to host fluid transfer). I use numerical simulations, microfluidics experiments based on time-lapse video-microscopy to study the impact of the spatial variability of the medium pore size on the overall flow to pressure relationship. I am doing a dual PhD between UNIL and the Politecnico di Milano under the joint supervision of prof. Pietro de Anna at UNIL and prof. Alberto Guadagnini at POLIMI (https://www.mipore.polimi.it).
Chiara Recalcati (PhD student)
My research activity is keyed to the characterization of reactive processes taking place at the interface between natural porous media and fluids, including dissolution and filtration reactions. In this context, I am performing laboratory-scale experimental activities as well as theoretical/modeling analyses and characterization of the observed processes. I am doing a dual PhD between UNIL and the Politecnico di Milano under the joint supervision of prof. Pietro de Anna at UNIL and prof. Alberto Guadagnini at POLIMI (https://www.mipore.polimi.it).
David Scheidweiler (Post-doc)
With a background in chemistry, I moved towards questions in ecology, specifically how physical constraints impact microbial life in porous media. During my PhD at EPFL, I explored how fluid flow drives the morphogenesis and composition of multispecies biofilms in porous media. Currently, I investigate the implications that flow and resources gradients have on microbial spatial distribution in complex landscapes, and how this organization may influence the overall system functioning. My publications:
Overlooked implications of sediment transport at low flow. WRR 57 (3), (2021)
Trait-specific dispersal of bacteria in heterogeneous porous environments. J. R. Soc. Interface 17 (2020)
Combining fluidic devices with microscopy and flow cytometry. JOVE 165 (2020)
Unraveling the biophysical underpinnings to the success of multispecies biofilms in porous environments. The ISME Journal 13 (7), 1700-1710 (2019)
For more information concerning my research check my website.
Ankur D. Bordoloi (Post-doc)
I did my PhD in Aerospace Engineering & Mechanics (specialised in Fluid Mechanics) at the University of Minnesota. Prior to my PhD, I had a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Through my academic and professional career, I have worked in multiple research areas, including microfluidics (colloidal/microbial transport in porous media), droplet dynamics (coalescence, impact, constricted motion, wettability) particle-turbulence interactions (how particles of various shapes and size move in turbulence), shock wave in multiphase medium (shock-particle interactions, unsteady drag estimation) etc. that have applications in microbiology, biomedical design, geophysical flows, marine biology, environmental science, and aerospace engineering. The full list of my publication is here.
Please visit my research page to know more about my work.
Giulia Ceriotti (Post-doc)
I spent one year (2019-2020) within the EFM lab before moving to the MinerV group led by prof. Jasmine Berg in late 2021: since then, I collaborate with EFM laboratory. I am an environmental engineer by training, specialized in remediation techniques. During my PhD, I focused on modeling of complex biogeochemical processes in subsurface systems. I am now interested in exploring the spatial and temporal evolution of physical and chemical quantities such as pH and oxygen in confined porous media, such as soils. By using microfluidics and optical sensors, I aim to visualize and understand the impact of pH and oxygen heterogeneous distribution within pores on bacterial growth and distribution in confined environments.
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Former lab members
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Takuya Sugimoto (former visiting post-doc for 1 year)
I am studying about aggregation and transport phenomena of colloids related to environment issues and I am now an assistant professor at the Colloid Laboratory in Aquatic and Soil Environment, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba.
Filippo Miele (former PhD student)
I have got a Master on Theoretical Physics, University of Florence. During my master’s thesis work I inspected the fundamental mechanisms driving self-organizing behaviors in non-linear dynamics (pattern formation) related to reaction-diffusion based systems hosted on networks. I am currently a PhD student at the Institute of IDAEA, Environmental Assessment and Water Research of CSIC (Barcelona). Under the supervision of Marco Dentz and Pietro de Anna, my research focuses on understanding the role of heterogeneity on transport and filtration of colloidal particles and microbes in porous media flows.
Mayumi Hamada (former PhD student)
I studied environmental engineering and I am currently investigating the impact of physical heterogeneity on transport of a scalar field and on the reaction rate between two chemicals in a confined structure such as porous material. To do so I am using microfluidics, millifluidics, photography and video-microscopy to visualize processes at the pore scale.
Nolwenn Delouche (former Master student)
I am a student in Physics at the University of Rennes 1 (France): I am doing my master thesis under Pietro de Anna supervision at the University of Lausanne. I use microfluidics devices and time-lapse video-microscopy to study the coupling between the Manganese (Mn) mineralization induced by Pseudomonas Putida on transport and sedimentation of the bacteria themselves. The Mn oxidation, the transition of aqueous Mn(II) to Mn(IV) and subsequent precipitation of MnO2 is a central reaction in the biogeochemical cycle of manganese and in large part it occurs in soil-like environments.
Camille Kerboas (former Master student)
In 2015 I got a Bachelor in Geosciences and Environment from the University of Lausanne (UNIL). I’m actually a Master student, in my second year of the Science in Environmental Geosciences program. In 2016, I worked as a research assistant investigating the impact of Mn bio-mineralization mediated by P. putida on the microbes sedimentation with Jasquelin Pena and Pietro de Anna. Since February 2017, I’m working on my Master Thesis that examines the hydraulic properties of flowing system while biofilm grows. I am also working on the growth of microbial consortia biofilm under flow conditions as research assistant under the supervision of Sara Mitri and Pietro de Anna.
Noud Kuilder (former Master student)
After my Bachelor in Soil, Water, Atmosphere at Wageningen University and Research Center I started my Master program in Engineering Geology at ETH Zurich. My scientific interests lie in Fluid Mechanics and Computational Modeling, exactly where the fields of my Bachelors and Masters intersect. Currently I am working in cooperation with Pietro de Anna of UNIL Lausanne and Clément Roques or ETH Zurich on my Master Thesis in the field of Microfluidics where I track the flow of a shear-thinning non-Newtonian fluid through clear 2D synthetic porous media and link the observed flow behavior with the geometry of the samples.
Katayoon Shahroozi (former assistant)
I am a master student in environmental geosciences at the university of Lausanne( UNIL). I finished my bachelor in 2015. For my bachelor project I worked on the relation between angular momentum and erosion at braided river confluences. Currently, I am working on my master thesis in the stable isotope lab under the supervision of Professor Torsten Vennemann and Professor Jasquelin Pena . The subject of my thesis is the study of nitrate behavior in the groundwater. In addition, I work as an assistant on a Fond d’innovation Pedagogique (FIP) project with Pietro de Anna. I assist in the preparation of a series of experiments on fluid flow and the development of a virtual lab on the website.
Stephane Mahe (Post-doc)
My current studies focus mainly on the transfer of Mobile Genetic Elements (MGE) between the environment and living cells in confined structures such as soil aggregates. Fluid flow (e.g. water) passing through media characterized by confined micro-structures where abundant microorganisms are thriving, acts as a factor of spatial and temporal heterogeneity and could represents a source of biodiversity. Indeed, being itself heterogeneous and by contributing to the dispersion of free DNA, the flow may also influence natural transformation, i.e. bacterial cells up-taking exogenous DNA they can express subsequently. While traditionally this mechanism is studied experimentally on static media, I use microfluidics to investigate the gene transfer between the environment and microbes exposed to fluid flow and the associated mechanical stress.
Baptiste Englert (former Bachelor student)
I’m a student in third year of bachelor degree in Geology at the University of Lausanne. I’m currently doing my bachelor project with Pietro de Anna and Beatriz Quintal. The work is about observing fluid-soild displacement in a porous environment by realizing laboratory experiments with a Hell-Shaw cells.