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kamini singha

311 deike building, university park, pa 16802
phone: +1 814.863.6649
email: ksingha@psu.edu

professional experience

2005-0000 Assistant Professor, Department of Geosciences at The Pennsylvania State University
2005-0000 Associate, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at The Pennsylvania State University
2003-2004 Lecturer, Department of Geophysics at Stanford University
2002-2004 Instructor, Outdoor Education Program at Stanford University
1997-2000 Student Trainee, Hydrology, Branch of Geophysics, U.S. Geological Survey

education

PhD - 2005 in Hydrogeology from Stanford University
BSc - 1999 with Honors in Geophysics from University of Connecticut

awards

2009 - Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society/Geonics Early Career Award
2008 - National Science Foundation CAREER Award (5 years)
2007 - Penn State Alliance for Earth Sciences, Engineering, and Development in Africa (AESEDA) Faculty Fellow (3 years)
2004 - Best Oral Presentation, School of Earth Sciences Research Review, Stanford University
2003 - Outstanding Student Paper, Hydrology Section, Fall AGU Meeting
2000 - STAR Fellow, Environmental Protection Agency (3 years)
1999 - Cecil Green Fellow, Stanford Geophysics Department
1999 - Outstanding Woman in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut
1999 - John B. Lucke Award for Outstanding Geology Student, University of Connecticut
1995 - Presidential Scholar, University of Connecticut (4 years)

research

general
  • hydrogeology
  • environmental geophysics
  • geostatistics

specific
  • physical processes controlling solute and contaminant mass transport
  • integration of geophysical imaging with flow and transport modeling to improve quantification of flow and transport processes
  • accounting for spatially variable measurement physics for establishing field-scale rock physics relations between geophysical and hydrogeologic parameters
  • solute response from groundwater-surface water exchange
  • impacts of small-scale mining on water quality in Ghana

more about our research

teaching

Geosc 452 - Hydrogeology (Fall)
Geosc 444 - Matlab Applications for the Earth Sciences (Fall)
Earth 100 - Environment Earth (Spring)
Geosc 397 - The Hydrogeophysics Field Experience (Summer/Fall)

other hydro-related courses at PSU
recent research papers (*=student author; click here for full list and pdfs)
Irving, J. and Singha, K. (submitted). Stochastic inversion of tracer test and electrical geophysical data to estimate hydraulic conductivities. Submitted to Water Resources Research.

Singha, K. and Loheide, S.P. II. (submitted). Linking Physical and Numerical Modeling in Hydrogeology using Sand Tank Experiments and COMSOL Multiphysics. Submitted to International Journal of Science Education.

Wheaton, D.*, and Singha, K. (submitted). Investigating the impact of advective and diffusive controls in solute transport on geoelectrical data. Submitted to Journal of Applied Geophysics.

Ward, A.S.*, Gooseff, M.N. and Singha, K. (submitted). Imaging Hyporheic Zone Solute Transport Using Electrical Resistivity. Submitted to HPToday.

Regberg, A.*, Singha K., Tien, M., Picardal, F., Zhang, Q., Roden, E. and Brantley S. (submitted). Electrical conductivity as a measure of iron reduction rates in abiotic and biological systems. Submitted to Geophysical Research Letters.

Nimmo, J.R., Perkins, K.S., Schmidt, K.M., Stock, J.D., Miller, D.M. and Singha, K. (2009). Hydrologic characterization of desert soils with varying degrees of pedogenesis: I. Field experiments evaluating plant-relevant soil-water behavior. Vadose Zone Journal, 8(2), doi: 10.2136/vzj2008.0052, p. 480-495.

Mirus, B.B.*, Perkins, K.S., Nimmo, J.R. and Singha, K. (2009). Hydrologic characterization of desert soils with varying degrees of pedogenesis: II. Inverse modeling for effective properties. Vadose Zone Journal, doi: 10.2136/vzj2008.0051, p. 496–509.

papers from 2008 and earlier


recent abstracts (*=student author)
Regberg, A*, Singha, K., Bond, D. R., Zheng, Q., Picardal, F., Roden, E. E., and Brantley, S. (2010). Quantifying the Effect of Dissimilatory Iron Reduction on Bulk Electrical Properties: Does Iron Reduction Increase Electrical Conductivity? Annual American Chemical Society Meeting, March 21-25, 2010, San Francisco.

Singha, K., Kuntz, B.*, and Toran, L. (2009). Exploring Lithologic Controls on Solute Transport at the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory. EOS Trans. AGU Fall Meet. Suppl. Abstract. Invited.

Kuntz, B.* and Singha, K. (2009). Solute transport in shale and shale-derived soils at the Shale Hills CZO. EOS Trans. AGU Fall Meet. Suppl. Abstract.

Ward, A.S.*, M.N. Gooseff, and K. Singha (2009). Imaging Hyporheic Zone Solute Transport Using Electrical Resistivity. EOS Trans. AGU Fall Meet. Suppl. Abstract.

F.D. Day-Lewis, L.D. Slater, R.J. Versteeg, T.C. Johnson, D. Ntarlagiannis, K. Mwakanyamale, K. Singha, A. Ward, J.W. Lane, Jr., W. R. Major. (2009). Geophysical Characterization and Monitoring of Hydrologic Properties and Processes: Recent Advances and Case Studies. Interagency Steering Committee on Multimedia Environmental Modeling. Oct 13-15, 2009, Washington D.C. Invited.

Singha, K., Regberg, A.*, Day-Lewis, F.D. (2009) Can electrical geophysics help quantify reaction rates in situ? Penn State Center of Environmental Kinetics Analysis Annual All-Hands Meeting. Oct 1, 2009. Invited.

Ward, A.S.*, K. Singha, and M.N. Gooseff (2009). Assessment of Stream-Aquifer Interactions using Electrical Geophysics. PA Land Conservation Conference, May 7-9, 2009, University Park, PA.

Nimmo, J. R., K.S. Perkins, K.M. Schmidt, D.M. Miller, J.D. Stock, and K. Singha, (2009). Electrical Resistance Imaging for Evaluation of Soil-Water Behavior in Desert Ecosystems. EOS Trans. AGU 90(22) Spring Meet. Suppl. Abstract. NS13B-04 Invited.

Regberg, A.*, Singha, K., Brantley, S. (2009). Electrical Conductivity Associated with Dissimilatory Iron Reduction: Are Microbial Biofilms Conductive? Goldschmidt, June 21-26, 2009, Davos, Switzerland.

Singha K., Regberg, A.*, Picardal, F., Roden, E., and Brantley S. (2009). Toward quantifying kinetics of biotic and abiotic metal reduction with electrical geophysical methods. U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Sciences Remediation Program Annual Meeting, April 20-23, 2009, Landsdowne, Virginia.

Ward, A.S.*, Singha, K., and M.N. Gooseff (2009). Characterization of hyporheic solute transport during tracer tests using electrical geophysics. N. American Benthological Society Meeting, May 17-22, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

abstracts from 2008 and earlier
talks
2009
Invited Talk: American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting
Invited Talk: Binghamton University Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies
Invited Talk: Penn State Center for Environmental Kinetics Analysis Annual Meeting
Invited Talk: Worldwide Universities Network
Invited Talk: Symposium for the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems
Invited Talk: Dickinson College Dept. of Geology
Elizabeth City State University Dept. of History and Political Science
Invited Talk: Penn State Department of Geography Coffee Hour
2008
Invited Talk: Kutztown University Dept. of Physical Sciences Women in Science Project
Jackson State University Dept. of Physics, Atmospheric Sciences and Geoscience
Invited Talk: AGU Chapman Conference on Biogeophysics
Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting
Invited Talk: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich Institute of Geophysics, Switzerland
Invited Talk: Lancaster University Department of Environmental Science, UK
Invited Talk: University of Michigan Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Invited Talk: Ohio State University School of Earth Sciences
2007
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting
Invited Talk: Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, ICG-IV, Germany
Invited Talk: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne/Université de Lausanne Institut de Géophysique, Switzerland
Invited Talk: Oklahoma State University School of Geology
Alliance for Earth Sciences, Engineering, and Development in Africa Forum
2006
Invited Talks (2): American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting
Invited Talk: Penn State Water Resources Engineering
2005
Invited Talk: City College of New York Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting
Invited Talk: American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting
Invited Talk: U.S. Geological Survey Geophysical Unit of Menlo Park, CA
2004
Invited Talk: Stanford University Hydrogeology Group
Stanford University School of Earth Sciences Research Review
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting
Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting
Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Environmental and Engineering Problems
2003
Invited Talk: EPA Region 9 Science to Achieve Results Research Forum
Invited Talk: Bucknell University Department of Geology
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting
Geological Society of America, Annual Meeting
Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Environmental and Engineering Problems
2002
Invited Talk: Colorado School of Mines Department of Geophysics Heiland Lecture
professional memberships and societies of interest
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society (EEGS)
Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG)
Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG)
Engineers Without Borders (EWB)
International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH)
university and community service
  • Chair of the AGU Hydrogeophysics Committee (2009-present; Deputy from 2006-2008)
  • Associate Editor at Vadose Zone Journal (2009-present)
  • Member of the Executive Council for the AGU Near-Surface Geophysics Focus Group (2006-2008)
  • Member of the CUAHSI Hydrologic Measurement Facility Geophysics Advisory Group (2006-2008)
  • Chair of the Penn State Geosciences Computing Committee (2007-present)
  • Board member of the State College International Friendship House (2007-present)

  • Organizer of the Fall 2008 PSU EarthTalks seminar series: 'Quenching the Thirst: Managing the Water Resources of a Changing Planet'
  • Invited co-convenor of a joint Hydrogeology/Geophysics session at GSA 2008 entitled 'Hydrogeophysics: Characterization and Monitoring of Subsurface Parameters and Processes' (with F. Day-Lewis, USGS and A. Pidlisecky, U. Calgary)
  • Co-convenor of four Fall AGU 2007 Hydrology sessions entitled 'Watershed Characterization and Modeling' (with T. Ferré, Arizona; D. Hyndman, Michigan State and T. Wagener, PSU)
  • Co-convenor of one Spring AGU 2006 Union session entitled 'Near-Surface Geophysics: The State of the Art' (with L. Slater, Rutgers)
  • Co-convenor of two Spring AGU 2005 Near Surface Geophysics sessions for General Contributions (with R. Knight, Stanford)
  • Co-convenor of three Fall AGU 2004 Hydrology sessions entitled 'Hydrogeophysics: Characterization and Monitoring of Subsurface Parameters and Processes' (with F. Day-Lewis, USGS and M. Kowalsky, LBNL)