Chin-Fu Tsang Coupled Processes Award

Chin-Fu Tsang is a pioneer in the field of “coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes” in geological media and was among the first to recognize their importance in safety assessment of nuclear waste geological repositories and other geoscientific activities. He initiated and organized a series of workshops on the topic held at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in the early 1980s. The findings from these workshops were summarized in a book “Coupled Processes Associated with Nuclear Waste Repositories” published in 1987.

For 15 years, he served as the chairman of the international DECOVALEX project from its inception in 1992 until 2007, which had the objective to lead research into coupled processes, to promote international cooperation and to encourage young geoscientists to enter this exciting multi-disciplinary field. Since Chin-Fu’s pioneering work, coupled THMC processes are today widely considered as critically important in a range of geoengineering activities, although they are known to be extremely complex and challenging to model, especially for fractured geological media.

In order to encourage further research and advancement of knowledge in THMC processes in fractured geological media, CouFrac has established the Chin-Fu Tsang Coupled Processes Award since 2018 to recognize outstanding contributions from geoscientists in their early careers in THMC coupling in rock formations. There will be one winner of ‘Chin-Fu Tsang Coupled Processes Award’ for each CouFrac conference. The award will be conferred during the conference.

CRITERIA FOR NOMINATIONS

Potential candidates should:

• Have no more than eight years of research experience past their PhD (at application deadline 1 May 2026)
• Have made significant contributions on THMC process (journal publications need to be provided and will be reviewed by the selection committee)

NOMINATION

Nomination should be submitted to Jonny Rutqvist (jrutqvist@lbl.gov) by 1 May 2026, with the following documents:

1. A nomination letter (2 pages max; could also be self-nomination/application)
2. A CV of the candidate (2 pages)
3. A list of up to 10 most relevant publications (2 pages max, including description of novelty and contribution of listed papers)
4. Copies of one, two, but no more than three, significant journal papers

The winner will be selected by the Selection Committee, which consists of the current conference Co-Chairs, members of the International Scientific Advisory Committee, and past recipients of this award. The winner will be presented an award certificate and honorarium to support his/her travel to the conference.

To ensure fairness and transparency in the Chin-Fu Tsang Award selection process, the following conflict-of-interest rules apply:

• Current Co-Chairs of the CouFrac Conference may not submit nominations.
• Nominators are excluded from the selection committee.
• No individual may participate in the selection if they have a close supervisory relationship with the nominee.

PREVIOUS WINNERS OF CHIN-FU TSANG COUPLED PROCESSES AWARD

• 2018 Adriana Paluszny, Imperial College London, UK
• 2020 Victor Vilarrasa, Spanish National Research Council, Spain
• 2022 Peter K. Kang, University of Minnesota, USA
• 2024 Qinghua Lei, Uppsala University, Sweden