Dr. Aparimita Priyadarshini Naik

 


Brief Details:

I am Aparimita Priyadarshini Naik, and I received my master's (July 2016) and doctorate (February 2023) from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Water Resources Engineering and Management. My undergraduate education includes a B.Tech degree in Civil Engineering from the Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology Sarang, Odisha.

My research interests are in the areas of infiltration measurements, subsurface/vadose zone hydrology, unsaturated soil mechanics, and numerical modelling. I have been actively engaged in research in my specialized field, commencing with my master's degree program at IITG. During my master's studies, I acquired expertise in conducting in-situ infiltration experiments using various infiltrometers and permeameters. Additionally, I employed inverse modelling techniques to simulate and analyze flow measurements. During my Ph.D. research, I focused on the precise characterization of soil hydraulic and retention properties using near-surface infiltration measurements and water redistribution in the subsurface. The prime objective of this work was to propose a rapid and non-intrusive methodology for accurately characterizing soil hydraulic properties. Based on this research work, I have published four international peer-reviewed journal papers and one book chapter. I have also presented significant portions of my research at eight different national and international conferences.

In future, I am interested in interdisciplinary research and teaching to understand the implications of solute and pollutant migration within the vadose zone on groundwater contamination. Further, I aspire to extend my research to investigate groundwater recharge related issues and contribute to its management.

Research

My research journey spans over eight years, encompassing both my M.Tech and Ph.D. periods. My doctoral thesis, titled ‘Experimental and numerical evaluation of flow beneath mini disc infiltrometer for estimating wetting characteristics of soils’ delved into the essential task of characterizing soil hydraulic and retention properties. These properties play a crucial role in modeling water migration, predicting pollutant movement, and formulating effective soil management strategies to mitigate groundwater pollution. The main objective of my Ph.D. research was to address the limitations associated with existing methods for characterizing soil retention and hydraulic properties based on infiltration measurements. My thesis aimed to achieve accurate quantification of these properties for unsaturated soils by utilizing near-surface infiltration measurements and water redistribution information in the subsurface. My primary focus was to establish a rapid, non-intrusive, and non-invasive methodology for quantifying these dynamic characteristics. Throughout this research, I employed various infiltrometers and permeameters for flow measurements, with a particular emphasis on a miniature version of a tension infiltrometer known as the mini disc infiltrometer (MDI). This choice was made due to its advantages, such as ease of installation, compact setup, and the ability to conduct spatial replications. My research has significant contribution in proposing measurement durations and methods to accurately quantify soil hydraulic properties from MDI data across various soil textures. Additionally, this work showcased the efficiency of MDI infiltration measurements in estimating retention characteristics and hydraulic conductivity functions in a rapid and non-invasive way with the help of inverse modelling. This research has assisted me to gain expertise in performing and interpreting laboratory and field-scale experiments using various infiltrometers and sensor measurements. I have also acquired skills in handling diverse datasets of water flux and soil characteristics, including soil moisture and matric suction measurements. Further, I have developed proficiency in employing numerical modeling and optimization techniques to simulate variably saturated flow processes in porous media, and also in evaluating these processes mathematically and statistically. With these background skills and knowledge in subsurface flow modelling and evaluation, I plan to extend my research into groundwater hydrology. I aspire to investigate critical issues such as groundwater contamination, declining water levels, and propose strategies for their mitigation and effective management.

Teaching: 

Throughout my academic journey, encompassing both my M.Tech and Ph.D. studies at IITG, I was actively engaged in teaching assistantships and the mentorship of undergraduate and graduate students. As a teaching assistant, I contributed to several undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses, including Engineering Hydrology (both theory and laboratory), Transient Flow Analysis, Advanced Fluid Mechanics, and River Engineering. My responsibilities included preparation of course materials such as lecture notes, tutorials, laboratory guides, and PowerPoint presentations. Additionally, I played a pivotal role in assisting my supervisor with the preparation and evaluation of assignments for the NPTEL course (noc22-ce19) on Engineering Hydrology. My mentoring tasks (for UGs and M.Techs) broadly included familiarizing the students with the concepts of unsaturated soil mechanics and soil hydraulic characterization and demonstrating the experimental procedure, including, the use of infiltrometers in field and laboratory, preparation of instrumented soil columns, and the deployment of various sensors. Furthermore, I instructed students in the use of software tools like HYDRUS, RETC, and VS2DRTI for conducting flow modeling. I fostered a comprehensive understanding of these concepts and encouraged thorough analysis and discussion of the research outcomes. Drawing from my extensive experience as a teaching assistant and lab assistant for various water resources engineering courses, and a research mentor to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, I am well-equipped to teach courses related to Fluid Mechanics, Water Resources Engineering, Advanced Hydrology, Subsurface Flow Modeling, and Groundwater Hydrology. For my upcoming presentation, I will be covering the topic 'Unsaturated flow in porous media analyzed using inverse modeling.' This presentation will provide a concise overview of unsaturated flow in soil, its analytical components, and the quantification of unsaturated soil properties using inverse numerical modelling.

Google Scholar Link:

https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=ACfE5mwAAAAJ&hl=en

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