Michael Cardiff

Michael Cardiff is a Professor and Department Chair at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focuses on characterizing aquifer heterogeneity to improve predictions of groundwater flow, transport, and reactions. He employs multi-physics numerical modeling, Bayesian inference, optimization methods, and advanced sensors to address hydrogeologic challenges. His projects include PoroTomo (DOE-funded geothermal reservoir modeling), fracture flow analysis for the Wisconsin DNR, and nitrate monitoring in agricultural settings.

He teaches courses such as Hydrogeology (GEOSCI/GLE 627), MATLAB for Geoscientists (GEOSCI/GLE 875), Groundwater Flow Modeling (GEOSCI/GLE 724), Environmental Geology (GEOSCI/GLE 106), and Geophysical Inverse Modeling (GEOSCI/GLE 793), often cross-listed with Geological Engineering programs.

Current graduate advisees include Rachel Breunig, G. Graham, Samantha Kershner, and Collin Roland. His research spans theoretical, field, and computational approaches to subsurface processes.