I joined Strathclyde in 2019 as a Chancellor’s Fellow, and am now a Reader in Geomaterials and imaging, jointly appointed across Civil & Environmental Engineering and Chemical & Process Engineering. I am a geologist by background, but my research routinely bridges disciplines. Having spent time in Geoscience, Materials Science and Engineering departments, I regularly bring methods across traditional subject and area boundaries, especially at the interfaces between geology, materials science, energy, environmental science and engineering. 
 

My main research interests lie in understanding the behaviour and evolution of both natural and man-made materials, and in how the microstructure of a material evolves through time, changing the properties and behaviour of the larger system. To do this, I use x-ray computed tomography to see inside materials and objects and quantify their internal structures, and a range of experimental and analytical methods to observe the physical, chemical and biological changes within the sample over time.

I apply x-ray tomography and other materials characterisation methods to investigate the textures and structures within natural and man-made materials. Similar to a medical CT but at higher resolution, the method is non-destructive, and can be applied to a wide range of samples and sample sizes. More importantly, it can be used on samples as they are heated, cooled, compressed, stretched, twisted, stirred or inundated by a range of different fluids.

My work focusses on the latest state-of-the-art 3D and real time 4D imaging techniques. In 4D studies, the ability to inside the sample as it undergoes a change allows us to collect a "movie", where each frame is a full 3D x-ray tomography image. In my own core research, the individual 3D images of the movie are each collected in under a second. For other studies it is enough to image every few seconds, few hours, or even every few months depending on the rate and magnitude of change you wish to observe. This allows me to track the location and interactions between particles or between bubbles, to quantify fracture propagation, to capture dissolution or precipitation as it occurs, to observe fluids passing through pore throats, or corrosion, or sintering, or root growth. The opportunities are almost endless.

Current interests include:

• Multi-phase flows and rheology in complex and concentrated fluids
• Understanding pore scale controls on slope stability to improve embankment and cutting resilience to climate change
• Diffusion and bubble growth in silicate classes
• In situ deformation of composite materials
• Damage accumulation in granular and non-granular systems
• Continuous manufacturing
• Sustainable resource management
• Environmental management and remediation
• Sintering and densification processes
• Permeability evolution in the subsurface
• Subsurface fluid flow and fluid-rock interactions
• Pore scale processes
• Soil mechanics
• The physical-chemical-biological interactions that control soil fertility