"Max" Qinhong Hu Ph.D.

For nearly twenty years, Dr. Hu's educational training and work experience have focused on fluid flow and chemical transport in the intersection of the hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere, particularly on the nexus of energy, environment, and water resources. His current research interests include the application of various experimental and theoretical approaches to pore structure characterization and its implications in chemical transfer in various geologic media (e.g., enhanced gas production in nonconventional reservoirs; long-term contaminant release from contaminated sediments). His research has produced about 70 publications in peer-reviewed journals, with the h-index of 14.

Course Taught

• Lower-division Undergraduate Courses:
  • Earth Systems (Physical Geology)
• Upper-division Undergraduate/Graduate Courses:
  • Hydrogeology
  • Contaminant Hydrogeology
  • Tech Sessions (weekly department seminars)
  • Analytical Methods in Environmental Sciences
• Graduate Courses:
  • Reservoir Characterization

Research Interest

• Fracture-matrix interaction (solute moving between rock fracture and rock matrix)
• Pore connectivity of natural rock and its effect on fluid flow and chemical diffusion
• Coupled processes affecting production of shale gas
• Micro-scale elemental profiling with laser ablation-ICP-MS
• Permeability and diffusivity in tight rock
• Penetration of RDD particles in urban infrastructure
• Contaminant fate and transport in vadose and saturated zones
• Coupled physical, chemical, and biological processes on reactive transport
• Biogeochemistry of trace and redox-sensitive elements
• Sources and transport of radionuclides in the environment
• Urban hydrogeology