Hi, I'm Gabriel,

... a graduate water engineer with expertise in physical and chemical hydrogeoscience. My passion lies in the research of hydrogeologic processes based on field and laboratory experiments as well as modelling. In particular, I strive to improve our understanding of groundwater resources including 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) in order to better understand and inform hydrogeosience phenomena. I am a specialist at 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 hydro(geo)logic systems. Understanding and quantifying these processes must underpin the management of water as a single and connected resource.

Profiles

Experience

2017 onwards: Lecturer

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

2014 - 2016: Associate Lecturer

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

2011 - 2014: Postdoctoral Research Associate

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

2008 - 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

2016: Higher Degree Research Supervision Training

UNSW Sydney, Australia

2016: Foundations of University Learning and Teaching (FULT)

UNSW Sydney, Australia

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 MSc in Environmental Engineering with focus on Water Engineering