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Haruko Murakami Wainwright

Affiliate Scientist

Building 085B, Room 0104H

M/S 74R316C

Phone: 510-495-2038

hmwainwright@lbl.gov

Curriculum Vitae

  • Education
  • Experience
  • Awards

Biography

Haruko Wainwright is an Affiliate Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Environmental Geophysics Group. She is also an Assistant Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on environmental informatics, aiming to improve understanding and predictions in Earth and environmental systems through mechanistic modeling and machine learning. She has been working on Bayesian geostatical methods and zonation-based data integration methods to integrate multi-type and multiscale datasets (e.g., point measurements, geophysical data, and drone/airborne/satellite remote sensing data) for estimating spatially heterogeneous subsurface and ecosystem properties. In addition, she has been developing real-time model-data integration approaches to improve environmental monitoring, including radiation, groundwater contamination and soil moisture. In parallel, she has been developing and applying global sensitivity analysis methods and reduced-order modeling (i.e., emulators) to efficiently predict the environmental impacts of environmental contamination, nuclear waste disposal and geological CO2 storage.

She works on broader topics, including watershed science, Arctic ecosystem science, agricultural ecosystem science, environmental monitoring and remediation, radiation monitoring and restoration after the Fukushima accident, nuclear waste disposal and CO2 storage. Her recent focus is the use of AI and machine learning for environmental monitoring; particularly for real-time spatiotemporal estimation and monitoring network optimization. In addition, her research aims for establishing sustainable remediation methodology, and exploring sustainable solutions of nuclear waste.

She is the Environmental Resilience program lead in EESA. She leads multiple projects; Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (Thrust lead), Advanced Long-term Monitoring Systems (Co-PI), AR1K (Co-PI) and others. She has served in the International Atomic Energy Agency Modelling and Data for Radiological Impact Assessments (MODARIA II) working group as well as the Federal Remediation Roundtable (FRTR) committee. She is also a co-lead of the “AI for Earth Systems Predictability” (AI4ESP) working group in the Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological Environmental Science, Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division. She was featured in Women Killin’ it in STEM Fields.

She earned her PhD in nuclear engineering, MS in nuclear engineering and MA in statistics from University of California, Berkeley. She earned her B. Eng. in engineering physics from Kyoto University in Japan. Her expertise includes stochastic and computational hydrology, spatial statistics, machine learning, data integration, and uncertainty quantification.

Research Interests

My research aims to improve understanding and predictions in Earth and environmental systems through mechanistic modeling and statistical data analysis. I have been developing a Bayesian hierarchical model and other statistical methods to integrate multi-type and multiscale datasets (including point measurements, geophysical techniques, and remote sensing data) for estimating spatially heterogeneous subsurface and ecosystem properties. In parallel, I have been developing large-scale numerical models to predict future risks of environmental contamination and geological CO2 storage, and also to develop effective remediation and monitoring strategies.

I also work extensively at the interface of modeling and data analysis to better integrate complex models and datasets. I have developed and applied various mathematical methods for the data-model integration including inverse modeling, and sensitivity/uncertainty analysis methods. I implemented the global sensitivity analysis module within environmental software (iTOUGH2), and wrote a manual and introductory paper.

My research goal is to develop a framework to connect data and models in a seamless manner, and to create a feedback loop so that we can iteratively improve our system understanding and reduce the uncertainty in overall predictions. My current research covers various topics in Earth and environmental sciences:

  1. Groundwater contamination and remediation: I am leading an effort to develop a three-dimensional flow and reactive transport model at the Savannah River Site F-Area, which is contaminated by low-level nuclear waste solutions. We are performing parameter estimation, and uncertainty/sensitivity analysis to better understand the system and quantify the uncertainty in predictions. The goal is to design effective remediation and cost-effective long-term monitoring strategies. Here is my video (Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management
  2. Arctic ecosystem science: I have been characterizing various spatially heterogeneous properties critical to predict terrestrial feedbacks to climate change, including soil moisture, thaw depth, snow depth, vegetation dynamics, metal concentrations, and carbon fluxes. I have developed a Bayesian-based method and a cluster analysis-based method to integrate various datasets including point measurements, geophysics, and remote sensing data. Here is the highlight of the paper (Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment-Arctic)
  3. Biogeochemical cycling: I have developed a Bayesian hierarchical model to integrate geophysical (induced polarization) and wellbore data for estimating spatially heterogeneous biogeochemical properties and identifying biogeochemical hotspots in a minimally invasive manner (Sustainable Systems Scientific Focus Area/Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area)
  4. Radionuclide contamination after the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident: I have been developing a Bayesian geostatistical method to integrate multiscale datasets of radiation dose rates, including hand-held, car-borne and airborne surveys.
  5. Geological CO2 storage: Using a three-dimensional multiphase flow model, I have simulated the regional pressure increase and CO2 plume migration at Southern San Joaquin Basin in California, USA (hypothetical scenarios). The simulation results are also being used to evaluate various risks, including leakage through faults and induced seismicity (National Risk Assessment Partnership)

Education

  • Ph.D. Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2010
  • M.A. Statistics, University of California, Berkeley, 2010
  • M.S. Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 2006
  • B.Eng. Engineering Physics, University of Kyoto, Japan, 2003

Experience

  • Affiliate Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2022-Present
  • Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2022-Present
  • Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2021-2022
  • Research Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2014-2021
  • Postdoctoral fellow, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2011-2014
  • Research Assistant, University of California, Berkeley, 2005-2010
  • Teaching assistant, University of California, Berkeley, 2009-2009
  • Visiting graduate student program, Argonne National Laboratory, 2004-2005
  • Japan Atomic Energy Society international student exchange program, Argonne National Laboratory, 2004-2004
  • Graduate student traineeship, Japanese Atomic Energy Research Institute, 2003-2003
  • Summer internship, Schlumberger-Doll Research, 2002-2002

Awards

  • 2021 RemPlex Summit, Best Presentation Award, 2021
  • 2021 Waste Management Symposium, “Papers of Notes” Award, 2021
  • 2021 Waste Management Symposium, Superior Paper Award, 2021
  • 2019 LBNL Best Mentor Award, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2019
  • 2019 Waste Management Symposium, Superior Paper Award, 2019
  • 2017 R&D 100 Award, National Risk Assessment Partnership Toolset, 2017
  • 2017 Waste Management Symposium, Superior Paper Award, 2017
  • 2016 LBNL Early Career Achievement Award, 2016
  • 2012 Director's Achievement Awards for Exceptional Tech Transfer Achievement (as a part of the TOUGH2 development team), 2012
  • TICOP young researcher travel grant award, 2012
  • TICOP NSF travel grant award, 2012
  • Student travel fellowship for the U.S. Department of Energy, Subsurface Biogeochemical Research 5th Annual PI Meeting, 2010
  • Student travel fellowship for the U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Remediation Science Program 4th Annual PI Meeting, 2009
  • Roy G. Post Foundation Scholarship, 2009
  • Jane-Lewis Fellowship, 2006-2007; 2007-2008
  • Japan Atomic Energy Society, International Student Exchange Program, 2004
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