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.

Undergraduate research opportunities available in 1. Microfluidics laboratory experiments to visualize groundwater processes; 2. Fieldwork to characterize fractured aquifers.

Subsurface energy / Groundwater / Reactive transport / Porous Media

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Visit Peter K. Kang's Google Scholar page

Research Groups

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

Teaching Subjects

• Fluid Earth Dynamics (ESCI 3202)
• General Hydrogeology (ESCI 4702)
• Field Hydrogeology Field Camp (4971W/5971)
• Fractured Rock Hydrogeology (ESCI 5980)

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