Dr. Hafssa Tounsi

Hafssa Tounsi is a geomechanics engineer at Itasca Consulting Group, where she contributes to geomechanics projects in the mining and energy sectors. Her work includes stockpile stability analyses and modeling of enhanced geothermal systems.

She holds a PhD in Geosciences and Geoengineering from MINES ParisTech. Her doctoral research on thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) modeling of artificial ground freezing for underground mining received the Pierre Londe Award for the best PhD thesis in rock mechanics in France.

Following her PhD, Hafssa conducted postdoctoral research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Jonny Rutqvist. There, she worked on THMC modeling of nuclear waste disposal, CO₂ sequestration, and subsurface thermal energy storage.