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Chin-Fu Tsang

Senior Scientist Emeritus

Affiliate

M/S 74R316C

Phone: 510-710-7859

Fax: 510-486-5686

cftsang@lbl.gov

Curriculum Vitae

  • Education
  • Experience
  • Patents
  • Projects and Contributions
  • Honors and Professional Activities (highlights)
  • Theses Directed

Biography

Chin-Fu Tsang is a Senior Scientist Emeritus in the Energy Geosciences Division and a former Head of the Hydrogeology Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California. He has a B.Sc. (First Class Honours) in Physics from the University of Manchester, UK, and a Ph.D. from University of California at Berkeley, USA. He is well known internationally for his research in flow and transport in heterogeneous and fractured media, coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in fractured rock, and advanced well tests analysis and borehole testing methods. He is the author or co-author of more than 400 scientific publications, including more than 200 articles in refereed scientific journals and about 120 invited papers and presentations. In addition, he is the co-author or co-editor of nine books and six Journal Special Issues. Dr. Tsang has been very active professionally worldwide. He was a reviewer for the FEBEX project, a joint Spanish-Swiss experiment at the Grimsel Underground Laboratory, funded by CEC, ENRESA and NAGRA. He was also an expert reviewer for STUK, the Finnish government agency overseeing the Finnish nuclear waste research programme. From 2002 to 2009, he was a member of INSITE core group to advice the Swedish government authority, SSM (formally SKI), in their review of the Swedish site characterization programme for evaluating sites for locating a nuclear waste repository in Sweden. From 1992 to 2007, Dr. Tsang was the founding Chairman of the DECOVALEX Project, a ten-nation cooperative research program on coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical processes in geological media. He was an invited and keynote speaker in many international conferences. From 2008 to 2010, he was a Visiting Professor of Hydrogeology at Imperial College London, UK. Since 2010, he is a Visiting Professor and Visiting Scholar at Uppsala University, Sweden.

Research Interests

  • Coupled hydro-mechanical and thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in fractured rocks
  • Fluid flow and solute transport in fractured media and heterogeneous porous media
  • Site characterization methods and analysis
  • Hydrological and tracer field test analysis, and hydrologic borehole logging
  • Site-specific modeling of hydrogeological systems and performance assessment
  • Injection of liquids and CO2 into deep underground formations

Education

  • Ph.D., Physics, University of California at Berkeley, USA, 1969
  • B.Sc. (First Class Honours), Physics, University of Manchester, England, 1964
  • Higgenbottom Exhibition Award (top of class), University of Manchester, England, 1962

Experience

  • Senior Scientist Emeritus, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2005 – Present
  • Visiting Professor and Visiting Scholar, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden, 2008 – Present
  • Visiting Professor of Hydrogeology, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, UK, 2008 – 2011
  • Founding Chairman of Steering Committee of DECOVALEX project, an international cooperative research program (involving about ten countries) on coupled thermomechancial-hydrochemical (THMC) processes in geological systems, 1992 – 2007
  • Senior Scientist (highest level in Earth Sciences Division), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1981 – 2005
  • Head, Department of Hydrogeology and Reservoir Dynamics, Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1998 – 2002
  • Director, LBL Russian-American Center for Contaminant Transport Studies, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1993 – 1998
  • Head, Department of Environmental Remediation Technology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1993 – 1996
  • Group Leader, Reservoir Engineering and Hydrogeology Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1991 – 1993
  • Deputy Group Leader, Reservoir Engineering and Hydrogeology Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1982 – 1987
  • Deputy Group Leader, Geophysics and Reservoir Engineering Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1979 – 1982
  • Scientist and Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1969 – 1981

Patents

  • Patent on Thermal Well Test Method, approved December 24, 1985., 4,559,818
  • Copyright on Computer Code “BOREXT,” a borehole fluid logging analysis procedure, 1995 (updated to BOREII code, 2000), n/a

Projects and Contributions

  • Dr. Tsang is principal investigator and project manager for a large number of projects at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. These include projects on groundwater contaminant transport; underground thermal energy storage; geothermal reservoir modeling; deep injection disposal of hazardous wastes; basic study of reservoir dynamics; technical issues and advanced modeling in geologic disposal of nuclear wastes, and CO2 geosequestration regional studies and site characterization issues. He initiated a number of new research areas for the Berkeley Laboratory, such as underground thermal energy storage, borehole fluid logging methods, and coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in fractured rocks.

Honors and Professional Activities (highlights)

2011-2020

  • 2020 Scott Sloan Best Paper Award: “The use of discrete fracture networks for modelling coupled geomechanical and hydrological behaviour of fractured rocks”, published in Computers and Geotechnics, 85: 151-176, 2017. was ranked as The Most Cited Paper between 2017 and 2020, and The Most Downloaded Paper since 2017 in the Journal; received the 2020 Scott Sloan Best Paper Award from the Journal; also listed as a Highly Cited Paper by Web of Science.
  • Invited FORWARD to Book: ”Modelling Rock Fracturing Processes Theories, Methods, and Applications, edited by Baotang Shen, Ove Stephansson and Mikael Rinne. Second Edition, 579 pp. Doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35525-8. Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2020
  • Invited Review Paper, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, 2019: Twenty-Five Years of DECOVALEX - Scientific Advances and Lessons Learned from an International Research Collaboration in Coupled Subsurface Processes, Int. Jour. Rock Mech Mining Sci., 122(2019) 103995. Doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrmms.2019.03.015, 2019.
  • In 2018, Dr. Tsang was honored with the establishment of an international scientific award in his name: the “Chin-Fu Tsang Coupled Processes Award” to recognize his pioneer work and continuing studies to open up and establish the research field of coupled thermos-hydro-chemical-mechanical processes in geological systems. The award is presented every two years to the most outstanding early-career scientist worldwide in this research field. It was awarded for the first time at the International CouFrac Conference held in Wuhan, China, in November 2018, and will thereafter be presented at subsequent bi-annual CouFrac Conferences to be held alternatively in Europe, Asia and America.
  • Editors’ Choice Article of 2017, Hydrogeology Journal: Flowing fluid electrical conductivity logging of a deep borehole during and following drilling: estimation of transmissivity, water salinity and hydraulic head of conductive zones. Hydrogeology Journal, 25(2): 501-517, 2017.
  • Top cited paper of 2015-2016, Journal of Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment: Polyaxial stress-induced variable aperture model for persistent 3D fracture networks. DOI:10.1002/2014JB011736. Geomechanics for Energy and the Environment 1, 34–47, 2015.
  • Highly cited paper of 2016, International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences: Modelling stress-dependent permeability in fractured rock including effects of propagating and bending fractures. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 57: 100-112, 2013.
  • Invited Opening Session Lecture, HydroFrame Summer School on Nuclear Waste Disposal. Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London, London, UK. 8-12 August, 2016.
  • Member of Scientific, Industry and Regulatory Advisory Board, EU-FracRisk Project coordinated by University of Edinburgh, UK, and University of Goettingen, Germany, 2015-2018.
  • Invited Review Paper for the Special 50th Anniversary Issue of Water Resources Research, on “Hydrologic issues associated with nuclear waste repositories,” 2015.
  • Invited Concluding Summary Talk of the EU-Panacea Project, Final Meeting of the EU-Panacea Project 2012-2014, Paris, France, 18-19 December, 2014.
  • Member of International Advisory Committee, National Geosphere Laboratory, Sweden, coordinated by Stockholm University, Sweden, 2013-2016.
  • Invited to be Hydrogeology Principal Investigator for the Swedish Scientific Deep Drilling Program, COSC project (with first fully cored deep borehole drilled at Are, Sweden, in 2014), 2012-present.
  • Co-Organizer, and Co-Chair of Scientific Committee, Deep Hydrogeology Workshop, Uppsala University, Sweden, September 20-22, 2011.
  • Faculty Opponent of Licentious Thesis on “Escherichia coli transport and fate in unsaturated porous media.” School of Land and Water Technology, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, 2011.

2006-2010

  • Keynote Lecture: “A discussion of Key Issues in Coupled THM Processes in Clays, Rock Salt and Crystalline Rock with Bentonite Buffer.” The Thirteenth International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management, Tsukuba, Japan. October 3-7, 2010.
  • Session Chair of the Session, Site Characterization and Modeling of Geological Environment.” The Thirteenth International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management, Tsukuba, Japan. October 3-7, 2010.
  • Faculty Opponent of Ph.D. thesis on “Numerical modeling of coupled Thermo-hydro-mechanical processes In geological porous media,” School of Land and Water Technology, Department of Engineering Geology, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, 2010.
  • Keynote Lecture and General Rapporteur, EU International Coupled THMC Conference on THERESA and TIMODAZ multiple-year and multi-organization research programmes, Luxembourg, September 30 – October 2, 2009
  • Keynote Lecture, Society of Core Analysis Conference and Workshop, 2009 Noordwijk, The Netherlands, September 27-29, 2009.
  • 2009 Applied Rock Mechanics Award, American Rock Mechanics Association. For contributions in fractured rock hydrogeomechanics with applications ranging from pressure testing, tracer transport to CO2 injection-storage, 2009.
  • Keynote Lecture, Rock Mechanics Analysis Workshop, Mont Terri Project, NAGRA, Unterageri, Switzerland, June 3-5, 2009.
  • Invited Speaker at Science Colloquium for celebration of 50th Anniversary of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR). Lecture title: Thermo-Hydro-Mechanics of Geological Systems: Advances, Challenges, and Limits. Hannover, Germany, November 25, 2008.
  • Visiting Professor of Hydrogeology, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, UK, September 2008 – July 2011 (in residence at Imperial College, September 2008 – July 2010).
  • Expert member of INSITE Core Group to advice the Swedish government authority, Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI) on Swedish site investigation program for siting nuclear waste repository in Sweden being conducted by Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB), 2002 – 2009.
  • Expert member of International Review Team to advice Finnish Government authority, STUK, in their review of TKS2006, “Posiva’s Research Programme for 2007-2009,” January-May, 2007.
  • Chairman of Steering Committee, DECOVALEX Project, a ten-nation international cooperative research program on Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) Process Model Development and Validation against Experiments, managed by Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, with Secretariat at Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 1992-2007.
  • Faculty Opponent of Ph.D. thesis on “Modelling long-term redox processes and oxygen scavenging in fractured crystalline rocks,” by Magnus Sidborn, School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, 2007.
  • Keynote Lecture, Coupled Hydromechanical Processes in Crystalline Rock and in Plastic and Indurated Clays – a Comparative Discussion. Second International Conference on Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical Processes in Geosystems, GeoProc2006, Nanjing, China, May 22-24, 2006.
  • 2006 Rock Mechanics Case History Award, American Rock Mechanics Association. Awarded for contributions to the field of rock mechanics as a co-investigator in coupled thermo-hydrological-mechanical analysis of the Yucca Mountain Drift Scale Heater Test, which was the largest heater test in geological formation to-date with four-year heating period followed by an equal period of cooling. 2006.

2000-2005

  • Opening Keynote Speaker, Studies in Fractured Rock Hydromechanics: from Borehole Testing, Solute Transport, to CO2 Storage. Euro-Conference 2005 on Rock Physics and Geomechanics, Saint-Pierre d’Oléron, France, 18-22 September, 2005.
  • Invited Speaker, International Workshop on: “Practical Experience and Results of Research for Deep Well Injection,” Dimitrovgrad, Ylianovk Region, Russia Federation, August 23-25, 2005.
  • Issue Paper: Is Current Hydrogeologic Research Addressing Long-Term Predictions? Journal of Ground Water, 43, No. 3: 296–300, June, 2005.
  • 2005 Applied Rock Mechanics Award, American Rock Mechanics Association. Awarded for seminal contributions in the field of rock mechanics by conducting a comparative evaluation of geohydromechanical processes in the excavation damaged zone in crystalline rock, rock salt, and indurated and plastic clays – in the context of radioactive waste disposal, 2005.
  • Chairman of Steering Committee, DECOVALEX-THMC Project, a ten-nation international cooperative research program on Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) Process Model Development and Validation against Experiments, managed by Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, with Secretariat at Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, 2004‑2007.
  • Expert member of INSITE Core Group to advice the Swedish government regulatory agency, Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI) on Swedish site investigation program for siting nuclear waste repository in Sweden, being conducted by Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB), 2002 - present
  • Chairman of Steering Committee, DECOVALEX Project, a ten-nation international cooperative research program on Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical (THM) Process Model Development and Validation against Experiments, managed by Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, with Secretariat at Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Phase I, 1992–1995; Phase II, 1995–1999; Phase III, 2000–2003.
  • Expert member of International Expert Review Group of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland (STUK) to review Finnish programme TKS2003 for research, development and technical design for 2004–2006, being conducted by Finnish nuclear waste management company, POSIVA, September 2004.
  • General Rapporteur, European Commission CLUSTER Conference on Impact of the Excavation Disturbed or Damaged Zone (EDZ) on the Performance of Radioactive Waste Geological Repositories, Luxembourg, 3–5 November 2003
  • Keynote Speaker, International Conference on Coupled THMC Processes in Geo-systems: GeoProc2003, organized by Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Sweden, October, 2003
  • Invited Expert Speaker, Underground Injection and Control Technology for Waste Disposal Workshop, organized by Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences and Du Pont Chemical Company, Beijing, China, 20-22 August 2003
  • Foreign Member of Review Committee to evaluate and promote a candidate to full professorship at the Swedish Agricultural University, Uppsala, Sweden, 2003
  • Organizer of Second International Symposium on Underground Injection Science and Technology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, October 2003.
  • Scientific Advisory Committee, International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) Conference on “GROUNDWATER IN FRACTURED ROCKS“. Prague, Czech Republic, September 2003.
  • Reviewer and Collaborator on International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC) project on mining waste disposal, with VNINIPT, Ministry of Atomic Energy, Moscow, 2000 to 2004
  • Reviewer for Finnish Center for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, STUK, to evaluate hydrogeology aspect of Posiva’s site characterization program of the Finnish potential radioactive waste repository site, 2002
  • Invited Paper, “Near-field THM processes in Bentonite-Rock System,” at the EBS Workshop, organized by Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI), Kraggard, Sweden, Nov., 2002
  • After-Dinner Speech: “Nuclear Waste Issues in the 1950s” at at the EBS Workshop, organized by Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI), Kraggard, Sweden, Nov., 2002
  • Keynote Paper, “Issues and Strategies in Hydrogeolgoy Research,” International Symposium on Hydrogeology Research in the 21st Century, organized by National Natural Science Foundation of China, Wuhan, China, November 2002.
  • Co-chair of Organization Committee, IAHR Symposium on Groundwater: Bridging the Gap between Measurements and Modeling in Heterogeneous Media, Berkeley, California, March 25–29, 2002.
  • Invited Speaker, International Conference on Fractured Rocks 2001, organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Smithville Phase IV Program, Canada, March 26–28, 2001, Toronto, Canada. Invited paper title: “Flow Channeling in Fractured Rock and Tracer Breakthrough Analysis,” published in Proceedings of Fractured Rock 2001.
  • Adjunct Professor, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China, 2000 – 2004.
  • Keynote Speaker, International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) XXX Congress 2000 in Cape Town, South Africa, 26 November – 1 December, 2000. Keynote paper title: “Modeling Groundwater Flow and Mass Transport in Heterogeneous Media – Issues and Challenges," (LBNL-45640), published in Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrogeologists XXX Congress 2000, Cape Town, South Africa, A.A. Balkema Publishers, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2000.
  • Keynote Speaker, International Conference on Hydrogeology and the Environment, organized by the China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China, October 17–20, 2000. Keynote paper title: “Overview of Coupled THM Processes Affecting Flow and Transport in Fractured Rock,” published in Conference Proceedings.

Theses Directed

  • Dr. Tsang served on the thesis committees of a number of Ph.D. and M.S. students in Geological Engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Mining Engineering of the University of California at Berkeley. He also directed Ph.D. students on two-month to one-year visits to the Berkeley Laboratory from Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, Aachen University of Technology, Aachen, Germany, and Chalmers University, Goteborg, Sweden.
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