Hyun-Woo Joo
Postdoctoral Associate
I am a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. I earned my Ph.D. from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea in 2022. My Ph.D. dissertation explored clay-bacteria interactions and their impact on the microstructure and large-strain settlement behavior of loose clay sediments. Before joining the Kang Research Group, I held postdoctoral appointments at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines in the United States.
My current research interests include mineral dissolution and precipitation and microbe, fluid, and mineral interactions. I use microfluidic experiments combined with geophysical monitoring to study pore-scale mineral dissolution and precipitation kinetics in porous media and how biological activity affects pore fluid dynamics in partially saturated environments.
I was born and raised in Daegu, South Korea. Outside of research, I enjoy spending time with my wife and our two adorable cats.