Staff

Function and Responsibilities:

Professor of Geophysics and Rock Mechanics

Research Interests:

• Fracture Mechanics and Rock Physics
• Geothermal Energy and Geologic Repositories
  
• Stress Field of the Earth’s Crust and Underground Experiments
  
• Scaling Problems in Earth’s Sciences

Career:

• 2016 - Professor of Geophysics and Rock Mechanics at Potsdam University, Institute of Geosciences
  
• 2010 - GFZ, Section "Seismic Hazard and Risk Dynamics", responsible for fracture mechanical applications in stressed rock mass, geothermal and geologic reservoirs. In-situ experiments at underground research laboratories
  
• 1993-2010 German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Section "Geomechanics and Rheology", responsible for Rock Physics laboratory, uniaxial and tri-axial core testing with acoustic emission and deformation monitoring
  
• 1992-1993 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Rock Mechanics, State University of New York, Stony Brook, USA responsible for investigating the effect of cementing agents on elastic and transport properties of sandstones
  
• 1987-1992 Geophysicist, Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main, German Continental Deep Drilling Program (KTB), responsible for stress measurement from ultra-deep drill cores
  

PhD students

2023 Alireza Kalantar, MSc Polytechnico Torino (Italy), Impact of geology on successful hydraulic stimulation treatment. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JB031938

2020 Gergö Hutka. MSc Etvös University (Hungary), Numerical investigation of induced seismicity in geothermal reservoirs and recommendation for risk mitigation. https://doi.org/10.1017/njg.2023.7

2017 Peter Niemz, Dipl.-Geophys., Imaging and modeling of hydraulic fractures in crystalline rock via induced seismic activity. https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-55659 PhD defended 2022-06-09

2015 Marton Pal Farkas, MSc, Hydraulic fracturing in hard rock: numerical studies from laboratory to reservoir scale. https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-54934 PhD defended 2022-05-02

2014 Moritz Ziegler, MSc, The 3D in situ stress field and its changes in geothermal reservoirs. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073598 PhD defended 2017-10-10

2013 Julia Wolf, Dipl.-Geophys., Detection of crack propagation in concrete with embedded ultrasonic sensors. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2015.07.058 PhD defended 2017-03-31

Scholarship students

2025 – 2028 Dehao MENG (CSC PhD), Injection-induced fracture stability and permeability changes in laboratory sheard crystalline rock. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.116665

2022 – 2025 Dr Shuting MIAO (Alexander von Humboldt postdoc scholarship), Fluid infiltration and fracture process zone of granites for geothermal purposes.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-024-03780-2

2021 – 2022 Yongfa ZHANG (CSC PhD), Propagation and intersection mechanism of hydraulic fracture driven by nonuniform fluid pressure. doi.org/10.1007/s00603-023-03586-8
2021 – 2022 Haimeng SHEN (CSC PhD), Injection-induced seismicity in development of unconventional reservoirs. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2024.05.017
2019 – 2020 Dr. Zhandong SU (CSC postdoc), Stress reorientation by earthquakes near the Ganzi-Yushu strike-slip fault and interpretation with discrete element modelling. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00603-021-02443-w
2015 – 2016 Xingping HU (CSC PhD), Crustal stress pattern in China and its adjacent areas. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.07.005

Education:

• 1998 Habilitation Geophysics, Dr. rer. nat. habil., Potsdam University
• 1991 Dissertation Geophysics, Dr. phil. nat., J.W.Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main
• 1987 Diploma Geophysics, Dipl.-Geophys., J.W.Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main

Projects:

• 2024-2027, SMART-EGS, bmbf Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, 1 PostDoc
• 2020-2022, KEM15, Risk of Seismicity due to Cooling Effects in Geothermal Systems, Ministrie van ekonomische Zachen en Klimaat NL, 1 PhD
• 2017-2020, SECURE, Bmbf Verbundprojekt Nachhaltige und umweltfreundliche Verwendung und Erhaltung von Untergrund Reservoiren, 1 PhD
  
• 2017-2020, DESTRESS Demonstartion of soft stimulation treatments of geothermal reservoirs. EU project Horizon 2020, 1 PostDoc, 1 PhD
  
• 2014-2016, The Geothermic Fatigue Hydraulic Fracturing Experiment at Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory Sweden, funded by GFZ, KIT and Nova FoU
  
• 2014-2017, SSM 2014-3668 Swedish Radiation Saftey Authority, 3D Thermo-mechanical modeling of seismicity related to the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in hard rock, 1 Postdoc
  
• 2014-2017, IMAGE European Union ENERGY.2013.2.4.1, Integrated Methods for Advanced Geothermal Exploration, 1 PhD
  
• 2012-2014, BMU 032 5451C, Exploitation of petrothermal reservoirs (together with Prof. G. Zimmermann, GFZ Section 4.8), 1 Postdoc
  
• 2010-2013, GEISER European Union (FP7-Energy-2009-1), Geothermal Engineering Integrating Mitigation of Induced Seismicity in Reservoirs, Work package leader WP3: Analysis of induced seismicity in geothermal reservoirs, 1 Postdoc

Research Boards and Committees:

Awards:

• 2014 Most cited and published author in Geothermics (https://exaly.com/)
  
• 2012 Most cited paper in Rock Mechanics Rock Engineering (https://exaly.com/)
• 2012 Visiting Associate Professor at Kumamoto University, Japan
• 1993 German Geophysical Society (DGG), 1. Price presentation Leipzig
• 1992 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), postdoctoral scholarship, Stony Brook, New York, USA
• 1987 Herrmann-Willkomm-Stiftung, Scholarship CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA