Hello, I'm Gabriel,

... a PhD qualified environmental engineer with expertise in physical and chemical hydrogeoscience. My passion lies in combining field or laboratory experiments with modelling to understand and quantify subsurface processes and properties. This includes groundwater resources and its interactions with surface water.

Currently, I am a Lecturer at UNSW's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and have had full teaching responsibility since 2015. I am affiliated with the Connected Waters Initiative, UNSW's multi-disciplinary and cross-faculty groundwater research centre, as well as Australia’s National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training.

I love to get my hands dirty in the field in order to make real-world observations. One of my favourite tasks is to deploy engineering approaches (i.e., hydraulic laboratory experimentation) to better understand and inform hydrogeosience phenomena. I am a specialist in problem based field monitoring and customised data acquisition for laboratory experiments. This is the reason why I enjoy the facilities provided by UNSW's Water Research Laboratory in Manly Vale, Sydney.

My research aims to improve fundamental process understanding and to develop methods for the quantification of processes and properties of hydrogeo-systems. Understanding and quantifying these processes must underpin the management of water as a single and connected resource.

Profiles

Experience

Dec 2016 - present: Lecturer

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Australia
Teaching position

Dec 2014 - Nov 2016: Associate Lecturer

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Australia
Teaching position

Dec 2011 - Nov 2014: Postdoctoral Research Associate

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Australia
Funded by the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia

Dec 2008 - Nov 2011: Research Associate

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
UNSW Sydney, Australia
Funded by the National Water Commission and the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation, Australia

Awards

2013: Finalist, Malcolm Chaikin Prize for Research Excellence

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney

2012: Outstanding Student Paper Award

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011

2011: Team finalist, National Water Commission Professor Peter Cullen Eureka Prize for Water Research and Innovation

Team: Prof. I. Acworth, A/Prof. B Kelly, Dr. M Andersen, A McCallum, A Greve and G C Rau

2009: Student Conference Sponsorship Award

International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), NSW Chapter, Australia

Certificates

Nov 2016: Higher Degree Research Supervision Essentials

Faculty of Engineering, UNSW Sydney, Australia
Training required for the supervision of PhD/MPhil research candidates

Oct 2016: Foundations of University Learning and Teaching

Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Education, UNSW Sydney
Teaching practice development by exploring a range of perspectives, ideas, theories, and practical approaches to learning and teaching in the higher education context.

Nov 2013: Solute and Reactive Transport Modelling

National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Australia

Education

2009 - 2012: Doctor of Philosophy

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
UNSW Sydney, Australia
Thesis: Experimental Analysis of Heat as a Tracer for the Quantfication of Thermal Dispersion and Water Flow in Sand

2002 - 2008: Diplom-Ingenieur Umweltschutztechnik

University of Stuttgart, Germany
Thesis: The Use of Natural Heat as a Tracer to Quantify Groundwater Surface Water Interactions: Maules Creek, New South Wales, Australia
This degree is comparable to a Master in Environmental Engineering