ARMA HFC: Understanding Coupled Processes in Geological Systems, Prof. Pania Newell, Dec 11, 2025

Understanding Coupled Processes in Geological Systems: Experimental and Numerical Perspectives

Abstract
Understanding coupled thermo–hydro–chemo-mechanical (THCM) processes in geological materials is essential for predicting their long-term behavior under subsurface conditions. This talk highlights the critical role of coupled processes in subsurface environments and emphasizes how both numerical and experimental tools are essential for probing these complex systems across multiple scales. To illustrate the challenges and importance of these processes, the talk presents two examples. The first focuses on phase-field modeling of chemo-mechanical interactions, demonstrating how numerical approaches can capture complex coupling phenomena in porous materials. The second example highlights nanoindentation experiments on shale under complex multi-physics environment, which provide insights into hydro-thermo-mechanical behavior at the micron scale. These examples demonstrate the need for integrated approaches to understand and predict the behavior of geological materials under subsurface conditions.



Biography
Pania Newell is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and an elected affiliate of Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute at the University of Utah (UoU). Before joining the UoU, she was a senior member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories. Her research interest lies at the interface of mechanics and material sciences. In particular, she is interested in multi-scale, multi-physics phenomena in heterogeneous porous materials through developing theoretical, computational, and experimental frameworks combined with scientific machine learning and quantum computing. She is also a co-founder and co-host of a podcast called “This Academic Life”.