POSTPONED – [ERL FISH] Haruko M. Wainright (MIT)

This event has been canceled for 3/22 and will be rescheduled for later in the spring term.

“Data Integration across Scales: Bayesian Methods and Zonation Approaches”

Abstract: Subsurface research has been pioneering statistical and machine learning methods to characterize spatiotemporal variability across scales, particularly focused on uncertainty quantification and the use of correlated/proxy variables. These methods can be applied and extended in other environmental applications. This talk will focus on the two methods: (1) Bayesian methods with Gaussian process models to integrate disparate datasets with different scales and accuracies, and (2) zonation approaches to map co-varied heterogeneous properties. Three applications will be presented: (1) mapping co-varied bedrock-to-canopy properties based on airborne remote sensing data in mountainous watersheds, (2) mapping regional-scale radiation levels based on airborne and ground-based surveys in the Fukushima region, and (3) developing long-term in situ monitoring strategies for groundwater contamination.

Speaker bio: Haruko Wainwright is the Mitsui Career Development Professor in Contemporary Technology; Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT. She received her BEng in Engineering Physics from Kyoto University, Japan in 2003; her MS in nuclear engineering in 2006, MA in statistics in 2010 and PhD in nuclear engineering in 2010 from University of California, Berkeley. Before joining MIT, she was a Staff Scientist in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Her research focuses on environmental informatics, aiming to improve understanding and predictions in Earth and environmental systems through mechanistic modeling and machine learning.

[FISH] Friday Informal Seminar Hour – Earth Resources Laboratory

Postdoc-run seminar series within the Earth Resources Laboratory (ERL). Features talks by ERL members as well as special guests from academia and the energy industry on topics including geothermal energy, carbon sequestration, machine learning for geophysics, multiphase flow, subsurface imaging, and uncertainty quantification.

Contact: erl-info@mit.edu