research
Our group researches physical hydrologic processes on the surface and in the subsurface of the earth. We integrate geophysical techniques, hydrologic measurements, and mathematical simulation to explore a wide range of processes including groundwater flow in porous media and fractured rock, contaminant transport, and groundwater-surface water exchange, as well as many interdisciplinary projects, some of which fall under the umbrella of critical zone science.
I admit M.S. and Ph.D. students most years into the Hydrologic Science & Engineering Program, and I’ll also admit students through the Geophysics Department. You can find more information on the admissions process here. Application materials are due December 15 to be considered for funding; I will note that funding is preferentially given to Ph.D. students, but I also will not admit Ph.D. students without funding available. If I have funding available, an opportunity will be posted below. If you are thinking about applying to graduate school, check out this video on how to write a great application essay. I also often have a postdoc or two in the group.
Water-focused students graduating from Mines have gotten great jobs all over the country, including jobs in academia, government (e.g., U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, Colorado Department of Public Health, Army Corps of Engineers, the Colorado Division of Water Resources, and multiple National Labs), and industry (Leppert, HydroGeoLogic, BGC, HRS, Leonard Rice, Itasca, Barr, Neptune, Jacobs, AECOM, Brown and Caldwell, TetraTech, and SSPA, among others I’m sure I’m forgetting).
If you’re interesting in working with me, please consider sending me an email with 1) your CV, 2) your background in brief, and 3) why you are specifically interested in working with me and/or at Mines. I’m not interested in your grades and test scores, but I am interested in evidence of your curiosity, team skills, communication, perseverance, and independence.
Below, I outline current and past multi-year projects of significant size; numerous other smaller projects are not listed here for brevity.

Currently Funded Projects

WaDE: Watershed Dynamics And Evolution Science Focus Area
- Sponsor: Department of Energy Biological and Environmental Research, Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division
- Project Duration: 2023-2026
- PIs: Eric Pierce (Oak Ridge National Lab), Marie Kurz (ORNL), Elizabeth Herndon (ONRL), Scott Brooks (ORNL), Natalie Griffiths (ORNL), Alex Johs (ORNL), Scott Painter (ORNL), Mircea Podar (ORNL), Melissa Cregger (ORNL), Holly Barnard (University of Colorado-Boulder), Matt Cohen (University of Florida), Erin Hotchkiss (Virginia Tech), Kamini Singha, Adam Ward (Oregon State), Lydia Zeglin (Kansas State University)
- People Supported: Moses Adebayo (Ph.D. student, 2024-present)

Plant-mediated hydraulic redistribution: a valve controlling watershed solute transport?
- Sponsor: Department of Energy Biological and Environmental Research, Earth and Environmental Systems Sciences Division
- Project Duration: 2022-2025
- PIs: Pam Sullivan (Oregon State), Kamini Singha, Holly Barnard (University of Colorado-Boulder), Emily Graham (Pacific Northwest National Lab), Li Li (Penn State)
- People Supported: Marc Dumont (postdoctoral researcher, 2023-present)

- Sponsor: NSF Frontier Research in Earth Sciences
- Project Duration: 2021-2025
- PIs: Pam Sullivan (Oregon State), Kamini Singha, Jesse Nippert (Kansas State), Sharon Billings (University of Kansas), Li Li (Penn State), Daniel Hirmas (University of California-Riverside), Hoori Ajami (University of California-Riverside), Alejandro Flores (Boise State)
- People Supported: Karla Jarecke (postdoctoral researcher, 2022-present)

- Sponsor: NSF Critical Zone Observatories
- Project Duration: 2020-2025
- PIs: Steven Holbrook (Virginia Tech), Kamini Singha, Seulgi Moon (UCLA), Jorden Hayes (Dickinson), Cliff Riebe (University of Wyoming), Bradley Carr (University of Wyoming), Dario Grana (University of Wyoming), Ciaran Harman (Johns Hopkins), Harihar Rajaram (Johns Hopkins), Brady Flinchum (Clemson)
- People Supported: Joel Singley (postdoctoral researcher, 2021-2022), Annie Tucker (M.S. student, 2023-present)

- Sponsor: NSF Critical Zone Observatories
- Project Duration: 2020-2025
- PIs: Holly Barnard (University of Colorado-Boulder), Eve-Lyn Hinckley (University of Colorado-Boulder), Li Li (Penn State), Katherine Lininger (University of Colorado-Boulder), Alexis Navarre-Sitchler (Mines), Kamini Singha, Pam Sullivan (Oregon State), Adrian Harpold (University of Nevada-Reno), Naomi Tague (UCSB)
- Students Supported: Sara Warix (Ph.D. student, 2020-present), Kenny Swift Bird (Ph.D. student, 2021-present), Emma Hicks (M.S., 2023), Dayana Arrue (M.S., 2023)

PFAS Exposure and Health Effects in El Paso County, Colorado
- Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Project Duration: 2019-2024
- PIs: John Adgate (University of Colorado-Denver), Anne Starling (University of Colorado-Denver), Deb Glueck (University of Colorado-Anschutz), Myles Cockburn (University of Colorado-Anschutz), Chris Higgins (Colorado School of Mines), Kamini Singha, John McCray (Colorado School of Mines), Kristi Celico (Rocky Mountain Collaborative Solutions), Kristy Richardson (Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment), Greta Wilkening (Children’s Hospital Colorado), Robin Vestergren (IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute)
- People Supported: Aaron Engers (M.S., 2021), Jessie Meeks (postdoctoral researcher, 2020-2022), Isabella Pedraza (M.S. student, 2023-present)

- Sponsor: NSF Instrumentation and Facilities
- Project Duration: 2018-2023
- PI: Kamini Singha
- Technician Supported: Jackie Randell (2018-2020), Luke Jacobsen (2020-2023), Katie Burgert (2023-present)
Previously Funded Research

Emergent hydrological properties associated with multiple channel-spanning logjams
- Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
- Project Duration: 2018-2021
- PIs: Ellen Wohl (Colorado State University), Kamini Singha, Audrey Sawyer (Ohio State University)
- Students Supported: Megan Doughty (M.S., 2019); Sawyer McFadden (M.S.(NT), 2021); Ian Gambill (M.S., 2023)

How do interactions of transport and stoichiometry maximize stream nutrient retention?
- Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
- Project Duration: 2017-2020
- PIs: Ricardo González-Pinzón (University of New Mexico), Kamini Singha, Mike Gooseff (University of Colorado-Boulder), Tim Covino (Colorado State University)
- Student Supported: Ariel Rickel (M.S., 2020)

- Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
- Project Duration: 2015-2019
- PIs: Kamini Singha, Diogo Bolster (Notre Dame), Matt Fantle (Penn State)
- People Supported: Megan Cardenas (M.S.(NT), 2016), Savannah Miller (post-M.S. researcher, 2016-2017), Allan Foster (M.S., 2019)

From Roots to Rock—Linking Evapotranspiration and Groundwater Fluxes in the Critical Zone
- Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
- Project Duration: 2015-2018
- PIs: Holly Barnard (CU-Boulder), Kamini Singha
- Students Supported: Rachel Feist Mares (M.S., 2015), Ryan Harmon (Ph.D. student, 2015-present)
- See a video about the Critical Zone Observatories here:

- Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
- Project Duration: 2015-2018
- PIs: Marty Briggs (USGS), Fred Day-Lewis (USGS), Jay Zarnetske (Michigan State), Kamini Singha
- Student Supported: Brandon House (M.S.(NT), 2016)

Coupled reactive transport and floodplain modeling of nutrient cycling
- Sponsor: Department of Energy/Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
- Project Duration: 2013-2018
- PIs: Reed Maxwell (Colorado School of Mines), Alexis Navarre-Sitchler (Colorado School of Mines), Kamini Singha
- Student Supported: Helen Malenda (M.S., 2018)
- See a video of field work here:

Climatic Extremes, Mining, and Mycobacterium ulcerans: A Coupled Systems Perspective
- Sponsor: NSF Coupled Natural and Human Systems
- Project Duration: 2009-2015
- PIs: Petra Tschakert (Penn State), Kamini Singha, Erica Smithwick (Penn State), Anne Marie Ward (Penn State), Joseph Oppong (U North Texas)
- Project Website: https://sites.google.com/site/rebuildghana/home
- Student Supported: Julianne Hagarty (PSU M.S., 2012)

Geoelectrical Measurement of Multiscale Mass Transfer Parameters
- Sponsor: DoE Environmental Remediation Sciences Program
- Project Duration: 2009-2012
- PIs: Fred Day-Lewis (USGS), Kamini Singha, Roy Haggerty (Oregon State), Andy Ward (PNNL), Andrew Binley (Lancaster U), John Lane (USGS)
- Student Supported: Ryan Swanson (Mines Ph.D., 2014)

- Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
- Project Duration: 2009-2012
- PIs: Mike Gooseff (Penn State), Kamini Singha
- Project Website: http://goosefflab.weebly.com/seasonal-controls-on-stream-riparian-groundwater-exchange.html
- People Supported: Michael Fitzgerald (PSU postdoctoral researcher, 2010-2011), Adam Ward (PSU Ph.D., 2012)

CAREER: Mass Transport in Groundwater: an Integration of Research and Experiential Education
- Sponsor: NSF Hydrologic Sciences
- Project Duration: 2008-2014
- PI: Kamini Singha
- Students Supported: Daniel Wheaton (PSU M.S., 2009), Rachel Urban (PSU M.S., 2013), James Bethune (Mines M.S., 2014), Ryan Swanson (Mines Ph.D., 2014), Sydney Wilson (Mines M.S., 2015)
- Field Camp Participants 2009: Nathan Barber, Maurice Dukes, Erica Folio, Mitchell Johnson, Valentina Prado, Tamika Shannon, Ahmed Izzuddin Yusof, Nate Wysocki
- Field Camp Participants 2010: Tramond Baisden, Cody Bomberger, Adella Dexter, Derrell Mathis, Britton Mosley, Danielle Norcini, Claudia Shuman, Stephanie Troutman, Adam Wlostowski
- Field Camp Participants 2011: Stone Abdullah, Lindsey Anderson, Travis Darney, Fatimata Diop, Irena Gorski, Austin Green, Lindsay Kromel, Lizzie Starks, Thornton Wilson
- Field Camp Participants 2012: Cameron Boggan, Molly Cain, Brandon Clark, Ryan Creitz, Mercedes Gainor, Ammanuiel Kebede, Raleigh Koeberle, Bryan Tan

Toward quantifying kinetics of biotic and abiotic metal reduction with electrical geophysical methods
- Sponsor: DoE Environmental Remediation Sciences Program
- Project Duration: 2008-2010
- PIs: Kamini Singha, Sue Brantley (Penn State)
- Student Supported: Aaron Regberg (PSU Ph.D., 2011)

Regolith and the Critical Zone of the Susquehanna River Basin: The Shale Experiment
- Sponsor: NSF Critical Zone Observatories
- Project Duration: 2007-2012 (renewal 2013-2018)
- PIs: Chris Duffy (Penn State), Sue Brantley (Penn State), Kamini Singha, Rudy Slingerland (Penn State), Ken Davis (Penn State), Eric Kirby (Penn State)
- Project Website: http://criticalzone.org/shale-hills/
- People Supported: Brad Kuntz (PSU M.S., 2010), Pallavi Chattopadhyay (PSU postdoctoral researcher, 2012-2013)
- See movie on the field site here:

Development of Field-Scale Petrophysical Relations for Understanding Flow and Transport Studies in Fractured Media with Electrical Resistivity Tomography
- Sponsor: American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund
- Project Duration: 2006-2008
- PI: Kamini Singha
- Student Supported: Daniel Wheaton (PSU M.S., 2009)