Chris MacMinn

Chris MacMinn is a Professor of Engineering Science and Associate Head of Department (People) at the University of Oxford's Department of Engineering Science. He is a Non-Tutorial Fellow at University College, Oxford. His research focuses on fluid mechanics, poromechanics, and multiphase systems in porous media, with applications in subsurface science, soft materials, and environmental engineering.

MacMinn holds an SB (2005), SM (2008), and PhD (2012) from MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering. Before joining Oxford in 2013, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University, researching soft granular materials.

His research group, the Poromechanics Laboratory, integrates mathematical modeling, numerical simulations, and experiments to study flow, transport, and deformation in multiphase systems. Key projects include DEFTPORE (ERC-funded study on soft porous materials), POPFS (polymer fluids in soils), and FRIICFLOW (frictional flow dynamics).

Recent work explores solute transport in deformable porous media, gas bubble dynamics in sea ice, and episodic fluid venting in sedimentary basins. He serves on the EPSRC Peer Review College and reviews for top journals in physics, engineering, and geoscience.

MacMinn’s contributions span CO2 sequestration, granular material mechanics, and environmental fluid dynamics, with over 80 publications in high-impact journals. His research addresses global challenges in energy, climate, and geological processes.