About the Lab
tl:dr = academic lab, tailings & mine waste, liners, covers, contaminant transport, terramechanics, education, & outreach.
Our Geoenvironmental Lab focuses on applied and translational research and education in protecting and restoring the environment. The nature of geoenvironmental engineering is diverse and solutions typically require expertise of a variety of professionals who possess a similar breadth of background and training.
We often team with industry to educate and solve problems.
We are advocates for diversity.
This Geoenvironmental Lab is led by Joe Scalia, an associate professor at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, the CSU Site Director of the Tailings Center, with an affiliation with the Department of Mining Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, and a Principle Investigator of the University Consortium for Field Focused Groundwater. The lab is part of CSU’s geotechnical & geoenvironmental group, and we collaborate extensively with Chris Bareither and Chuck Shackelford. Many students in the lab are also officers in the CSU Student Organization of the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME).
Lab News
2023 December 14 - Congratulations Sami Fisher on successfully defending her MS Thesis!
2023 December 1 - Tailings Center hosts fall focus meeting on Building a Tailings Workforce Pipeline.
2023 September 28-29 - We hosted the 2023 University Consortium for Field Focused Groundwater Fall Focus Meeting at the CSU Spur in Denver. The meeting topic was “Getting to Sustainable Site Closure.” Amazing work Andrea pulling everything together!
2023 August 21 - We welcome new MS students Emily Jagerhorn and Abhishek Dongol as we start the fall 2023 semester!
2023 July 6 - Congratulations to MS student Matt Bullock on successfully defending his thesis on Predicting Unsaturated Soil Strength for Mobility Assessments!
2023 June 27 - Joe participates on a panelist on the Current Status and Future Directions of Enhanced (Polymerized) Bentonites for Chemical Containment Barriers at 9ICEG.
2023 June 25 - Joe attends the 9th International Congress on Environmental Geotechnics (9ICEG) in Chania, Crete, as a member of the Conference Program Committee.
2023 June 21 - Congratulations to MS student Theresa Centola on successfully defending her Master’s Plan B Report, Assimilative Capacity: A Sustainable Remediation Approach!
2023 June 05 - Congratulations to MS student Garret Martin on successfully defending his thesis on Predicting Water Content and Saturation in Mine Tailings with an Electromagnetic Soil Moisture Sensor! Garret is working for Newfields post-graduation.
2023 June 05 - Congratulations to MS student Heath Orcutt on successfully defending her thesis on Influence of Geochemical Processes on Geotechnical Stability of Tailings Storage Facilities!
2023 June 02 - Congratulations to Esther, student so profound, in geotechnics, she wears a laurel's crown, her Master's Plan B, she did stand to bear, with tools and techniques, none could compare. Congratulations, Esther, fair and bright, a scholar's journey, filled with steadfast might, in engineering's realm, you've found your place, defending your report with poise and grace. A geotechnical virtuoso true, your knowledge deep, your passion shining through, with diligence and skill, you did excel, In tailings liquefaction, you now dwell. So raise a toast to Esther, bright and keen, in her success, a scholar's dream is seen. Ester is working at SRK Consultants post-graduation.
2023 April 26 - Joe receives student-led “Funniest” professor award from the CSU Engineering College Council.
2023 April 13 - Congratulations to MS student Kevin Wickham on successfully defending his Master’s Plan B Report, Assessing Potential Relationships Between Topographic Attributes and Soil Texture Characteristics for Granitic Soils of North-Central Colorado!
2023 March 23 - Congratulations to PhD student Joe Bindner for receiving 1st Place in the AGU Hydrology Days Student Showcase (Session A). We are proud of you Joe!
2023 March 1 - Our SME student chapter receives Minerals Education Coalition Student Chapter Education Outreach Award.
2023 February 28 - Chris Sonntag (BHP) and Joe host session on “Assembling & Retaining Your Tailings Dream Team” at SME MINEXCHANGE 2023 in Denver.
2023 February 26 - PhD student Joe Bindner wins SME Presedintial Fellowship
2023 February 15 - New SERDP project funded! For the next 3 years we will be working with GSI Environmental Inc. on determining PFAS transport mechanisms within AFFF-impacted construction materials to develop better in-place and re-use management solutions.
2023 February 7 - Joe elected to International Geosynthetics Society North America Chapter (IGS-NA) Vice President position
2023 January 17 - Start of the spring 2023 semester at CSU!