Robert Viesca

Robert Viesca is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tufts University, where he has held academic roles since 2012. His research focuses on theoretical mechanics applied to geophysical and engineering problems, including earthquake nucleation, fault rupture dynamics, landsliding, and fluid-driven phenomena. Key areas of interest are seismology, tectonophysics, and porous media deformation.

Education: Ph.D. (2011) and M.S. (2006) in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University; B.S. (2005) in Civil Engineering from Tufts University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Dalhousie University (2011–2012) under Dmitry I. Garagash.

Research emphasizes fault mechanics, frictional processes, and fluid-rock interactions. He leads the Geomechanics FOR subsurface Clean Energy (GEOFORCE) group, exploring subsurface deformation and failure mechanics for geothermal energy and CO₂ storage applications. Collaborators include Federico Ciardo, Ilya Svetlizky, and Thomas Cochard.

Prominent former students/postdocs: Federico Ciardo (Northwestern University), Pathikrit Bhattacharya (NISER), Antoine Jacquey (Polytechnique Montréal), Sohom Ray (IIT Roorkee). Active in AGU meetings and international conferences, presenting recent work on thermohydro-mechanical fault modeling and seismic cycle dynamics.

Teaching and advising: Oversees Ph.D., M.S., and undergraduate research programs. Supports Tufts Summer Scholars for undergraduates and Cataldo Fellowships for department students.

Labs/Teams: GEOFORCE Group focuses on multiphysics modeling of subsurface deformation, integrating fracture mechanics and scaling arguments to address energy and seismic hazard challenges.