Peter K. Kang

Associate Professor & Gibson Chair of Hydrogeology, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences

Contact

612-624-5779

pkkang@umn.edu

John T. Tate Hall
Room 375-02
116 Church Street Se
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Affiliations

*St. Anthony Falls Laboratory

*Institute on the Environment Associate (2019-2021 cohort)

*Water Resources Science Graduate Program, UofM-TC

Biographical Info

Education

PhD, 2014, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Professional Background

2015 - 2018: Researcher in the Center for Water Resources Cycle Research, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul, South Korea
2015 - 2018: Research Affiliate in the Subsurface Energy and Mechanics Lab, MIT, Cambridge, MA, US
2014 - 2015: Postdoctoral Associate in Earth Resources Laboratory, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA, US

Scientific & Professional Societies

American Geophysical Union (AGU)
InterPore
Minnesota Ground Water Association (MGWA)

Research & Teaching

Research Interests

I am a geoscientist whose research focuses on the physics of flow and reactive transport in porous and fractured media. My research group combines theory, high-performance numerical simulations, machine learning, and visual laboratory experiments to understand how coupled processes control mixing and reactive transport across spatial scales (from pore to field scale). Based on the improved understanding, we develop predictive models for groundwater, subsurface energy, and environmental applications.

Teaching Subjects

Fluid Earth Dynamics (ESCI 3202)

General Hydrogeology (ESCI 4702)

Field Hydrogeology Field Camp (4971W/5971)

Fractured Rock Hydrogeology (ESCI 5980)

Publications & Awards

Honors and Awards

McKnight Presidential Fellow, University of Minnesota, 2023
George Taylor Career Development Award, University of Minnesota, 2023
Chin-Fu Tsang Coupled Processes Award, CouFrac, 2022
NSF CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2021
McKnight Land-Grant Professorship, University of Minnesota, 2021
ACS PRF Doctoral New Investigator (DNI) Award, American Chemical Society, 2021
3M Non-tenured Faculty Award (NTFA), The 3M Company, 2019
Best paper award from Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment, 2016
MIT Carroll L. Wilson Award for a biosand filter project in Tanzania and Nigeria, 2014
MIT Martin Family Society of Fellows for Sustainability, 2013
New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) scholarship award, 2013
Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE SCGF) award, 2010-2013
Outstanding Student Presentation Awards (OSPA) from AGU Fall meeting, 2010, 2011

Selected Publications

* Visit my google scholar profile for the complete publication information

S. Yoon, M. Dentz, and P. K. Kang. Optimal Fluid Stretching for Mixing-limited Reactions in Rough Channel Flows. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 2021.
S. Yoon and P. K. Kang. Roughness, inertia, and diffusion effects on anomalous transport in rough channel flows. Physical Review Fluids, 2021.
P. K. Kang, J. D. Hyman, W. S. Han, and M. Dentz. Anomalous Transport in Three-Dimensional Discrete Fracture Networks: Interplay between Aperture Heterogeneity and Particle Injection Modes. Water Resources Research, 2020.
S. H. Lee and P. K. Kang. Three-dimensional Vortex-induced Reaction Hotspots at Flow Intersections. Physical Review Letters, 2020.
P. K. Kang, Q. Lei, M. Dentz, and R. Juanes, Stress-induced anomalous transport in natural fracture networks. Water Resources Research, 2019.
P. K. Kang, J. Lee, X. Fu, S. Lee, P. K. Kitanidis, and R. Juanes, Improved characterization of heterogeneous permeability in saline aquifers from transient pressure data during freshwater injection. Water Resources Research, 2017.
P. K. Kang, S. Brown, and R. Juanes, Emergence of anomalous transport in stressed rough fractures. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2016.
P. K. Kang, T. Le Borgne, M. Dentz, O. Bour, and R. Juanes, Impact of velocity correlation and distribution on transport in fractured media: field evidence and theoretical model. Water Resources Research, 2015.
P. K. Kang, P. de Anna, J. P. Nunes, B. Bijeljic, M. J. Blunt, and R. Juanes. Pore-scale intermittent velocity structure underpinning anomalous transport through 3D porous media. Geophysical Research Letters, 2014.
P. K. Kang, M. Dentz, T. Le Borgne, and R. Juanes. Spatial Markov Model of Anomalous Transport Through Random Lattice Networks. Physical Review Letters, 201