Sustainability and development through the underground
The historical perception of the subsurface has been far from uplifting.
In The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri even described the subsurface as a remote, dirty, and dark place devoid of good where the nine circles of hell were located.
Sustainability and development through the underground
The historical perception of the subsurface has been far from uplifting.
In The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri even described the subsurface as a remote, dirty, and dark place devoid of good where the nine circles of hell were located.
Seven centuries later, the Subsurface Opportunities and Innovation Laboratory – SOIL – strives to offer an alternative perspective on the subsurface, grounded in science and laced with optimism and hope.
The subsurface offers multiple opportunities for more sustainable living and development on Earth and other worlds, such as the Moon and Mars: energy, space, and shelter. With this vision, at SOIL we perform theoretical and experimental research to promote sustainability and development via the underground. Our research is inherently cross-disciplinary. Grounded in mechanics – the science of how materials deform and potentially fail – our work also leverages and develops knowledge in energy, electrochemistry, and environmental science to address the pressing challenges and opportunities brought by climate change, urbanization, and decarbonization.
These challenges and opportunities are linked by one common problem: the complex influence of climatic and anthropogenic perturbations on geomaterials, geostructures, and geosystems – the backbone of the subsurface.
Motivated by fundamental and applied knowledge gaps, SOIL strives to unravel and control the influence of environmental perturbations on the structure, properties, and behavior of the subsurface. The work of SOIL is advancing geological energy production and storage, manufacturing, and construction, serving human development on Earth and beyond.
Research impact
Indices (Scopus)
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