Yukie TaninoView profile
Senior Lecturer
Dr. Yukie Tanino is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering at the University of Aberdeen, where she has been employed since 2012. She leads the Subsurface Flow and Transport Laboratory and holds multiple leadership roles including Chair of the School of Engineering Health & Safety Committee and Manager of the Materials Teaching and Petroleum Engineering Laboratory. Her academic journey began at MIT where she earned her BS, SM, and PhD in environmental engineering disciplines. Education: PhD in Environmental Fluid Mechanics (2008, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) SM in Civil and Environmental Engineering (2004, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) BS in Environmental Engineering Science (2003, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Dr. Tanino's research focuses on fluid dynamics and mass transport in obstructed flows through soil, groundwater, geological reservoirs, flood plains, and subsea wells. Her work spans environmental engineering, petroleum engineering, and fluid mechanics with particular emphasis on porous media flow under various wetting conditions. She employs advanced techniques including corefloods, microfluidics, X-ray microtomography, scanning electron microscopy, and various imaging methods to investigate subsurface flow phenomena at multiple scales. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a clear progression from fundamental fluid mechanics in vegetated flows toward increasingly complex subsurface systems, with recent work integrating AI methods with digital rock technology. Her research has evolved from studying simple cylinder arrays to investigating microplastics transport, fractured sandstone properties, and mixed-wet reservoir systems, reflecting both expanding scope and growing technical sophistication in experimental and computational approaches. Scientific Recognition: Associate Editor, Water Resources Research (2022-2025) Topic Editor, Frontiers in Energy Research (2021-2022) Lifetime Member, Society of Core Analysts Chapter Affiliate, Society of Petrophysicists and Well Log Analysts Tau Beta Pi Scholar (2002-03) Member, UK Royal Society International Exchanges Committee (2024-2026) Dr. Tanino actively supervises numerous PhD and MSc students working on diverse projects related to subsurface flow, including microplastics transport, grain roughness effects, and fractured media flow. Her research has been supported by substantial funding from NERC, BBSRC, Royal Society, EU programs, industry partners including COREX and CNOOC, and various student funding bodies. She collaborates extensively across disciplines with researchers in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and international institutions in France, China, and the US. As laboratory manager and principal investigator, she oversees the Subsurface Flow and Transport Laboratory and the Materials Teaching and Petroleum Engineering Laboratory, directing technical staff and maintaining advanced experimental facilities for porous media flow research. Her team employs cutting-edge imaging and simulation techniques to investigate fluid behavior at pore and Darcy scales.
