Editorial

Dear InterPore colleagues,

Composing the Newsletter means casually (and carefully) checking the text on readability, the lay-out, order of items, etc. Trying to make it as appealing as possible, a pleasure to scroll through and read. Scientific achievements, awards, meeting opportunities, courses, etc.

However, working on a text about our InterPore Journal having a special issue featuring articles from last year's Iranian chapter meeting, it quickly takes my mind away from my warm and safe desk. The world and its inhabitants are beautiful, but sometimes, it is just horrible. Let's strive for the beautiful side of things!

All the best,

Matthijs de Winter
Editor-in-Chief
InterPore News

Abstracts for poster or online presentations

Submissions for poster and online presentations are still open. There’s still time to share your work and join the InterPore2026 program!

Deadline for Early-Bird Registration Approaching

ApproachingRegistration for InterPore2026 is now officially open and early-bird rates are available until 20 March!

We encourage early registration to secure your place and take advantage of the discounted rates. We look forward to welcoming you—whether onsite or online—for an engaging and inspiring InterPore2026.

Sneak Peek InterPore2026

Check out the new promotional video for InterPore2026. Get a preview of the conference experience, we look forward to welcoming you in Nantes!

Special Session with Jan Carmeliet

Join us for a special lunchtime plenary on Natural Porous Media for Green Housing, featuring Jan Carmeliet (ETH Zürich). In his talk, “Porosity for cool cities: Turning down the heat,” he will show how porous materials can reduce urban heat stress through shading, evaporation, and transpiration.

The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Monika Woloszyn, with contributions from Antonin Fabbri, Céline Perlot-Bascoules, and Fionn MacGregor. Lunch will be served during this free event. 

Career Development Event

What comes after your PhD? Join the Student Affairs Committee (SAC) for the traditional Career Development Event during lunch on Wednesday and explore possible paths inside and outside academia.

A panel of professionals from diverse backgrounds will share their career journeys, key decisions, and lessons learned—followed by an open Q&A session. Lunch will be served. This free event is open to all InterPore2026 participants.

Enabling Parents in Nantes – Your Input Needed

InterPore is committed to supporting parents attending InterPore2026. A dedicated lactation room will be available throughout the conference, and additional family support options may be arranged based on interest.

If you would like to make use of these services, please contact us at equipore@interpore.org. You are also invited to join the MiniPore LinkedIn group to connect with fellow parents and share how InterPore can better support you as both a caregiver and a scientist.

Laboratory for Thermal Science and eNergy of Nantes

The Laboratory for Thermal Science and Energy of Nantes (LTeN) – a joint research unit of Nantes University (Polytech engineering school) and the CNRS – is conducting pioneering research into energy conversion to contribute to the energy transition. LTeN researchers are using advanced numerical methods based on topology optimisation (TO) to maximise the performance of thermal systems. They are designing porous solar absorbers made of silicon carbide that enable incoming air to reach temperatures of up to 1000 °C through contact with the heated porous structure. These innovative developments facilitate the integration of variable or intermittent renewable energies and contribute to the decarbonisation of industry.

InterPore2026 Promotional Partner: NGWA

NGWA is a community of groundwater professionals working together to advance groundwater knowledge and the success of our members through education and outreach; advocacy; cooperation and information exchange; and enhancement of professional practices.

We acknowledge our Promotional Partners, whose support helps broaden the visibility of InterPore2026 across related communities and networks.

Sightseeing Hunt... in Nantes

The Gulf of Morbihan is located 100 km west of Nantes and is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Rhuys peninsula. A small gap, only approximately 900 metres wide, between Port-Navalo and Kerpenhir lets water in and out with strong tidal currents. Most of the islands are privately owned, with the two largest and well-known, Île-aux-Moines and Île-d'Arz, being the only exceptions.

Photo credit: Yannick Le Gal

Call for Volunteers – Communications & Social Media

InterPore is looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help strengthen our communications and social media presence. We are currently seeking volunteers for two roles:

Chair of the Social Media Team
Coordinate InterPore’s social media activities and work with platform managers to maintain an active and engaging online presence.

Chair of the Communications Committee
Lead the Communications Committee and guide strategic efforts to enhance the visibility and impact of InterPore and its activities.

If you are interested in contributing to InterPore’s communication efforts and engaging with the porous media community, please contact Laura.Lenz@interpore.org for more information.

InterPore Journal's Newest Issue

The new issue of InterPore Journal for 2026 is now available online. This issue is a special issue featuring contributions associated with the 1st Iran InterPore Chapter Conference (September 2024). The full issue can be accessed here: 

Election Committee

InterPore welcomes the new Chair and members of the Election Committee: Mozhdeh Sajjadi (Chair, pictured), Juan Jose Hidalgo Gonzalez, Colm O'Dwyer, Rita Okoroafor, and Bin Pan.

The Election Committee leads the bi-annual elections for the Council Members and President of the InterPore Society.

Call for Bids: Host InterPore2029

InterPore invites bids to host the InterPore2029 Annual Meeting, planned for a four-day period in the week of 14 May 2029. For this edition, bids are invited from venues located in Australia, Asia, North Africa, and Canada.

The venue selection will follow a two-stage process. In Stage 1, interested parties are asked to submit a concise bidusing the Stage 1 Bid Submission Form. Based on these submissions, the InterPore Events Committee and Executive Committee will shortlist up to four candidates, who will then be invited to submit detailed proposals in Stage 2.

Key deadline:
Stage 1 bid submission: 19 June 2026

Please send Stage 1 bids to Oleg Iliev (oleg.iliev@itwm.fraunhofer.de) with a copy to conference2029@interpore.org.

Brazil Chapter News

Registration for the 2026 Brazil InterPore Chapter Meeting is now open.

To register for the event, please fill out the form at the link below with your personal and presentation information: https://forms.gle/E7wxzLuyNZvyguUF8

The Brazil InterPore Chapter is about to launch a national version of Porous Media Tea Time Talks.

To help us choose the title, please vote at the following link: https://bit.ly/brtalkpoll

Meritorious Service Medal Winner 2026: Michel Quintard

Congratulations to Michel Quintard for being awarded InterPore Meritorious Service Medal for 2026. Michel Quintard is CNRS Research Director Emeritus at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics in Toulouse (France). His research interests cover all modeling aspects of multiphase, multicomponent, reactive transport in porous media, with emphasis on multi-scale phenomena.

Lifetime Achievement Medal Winner 2026: Jaime Gómez-Hernández

Congratulations to J. Jaime Gómez-Hernández for being awarded the InterPore Lifetime Achievement Medal. Prof. Gómez-Hernández is a Full Professor of Hydraulic Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), where he leads research and teaching in applied geostatistics, stochastic hydrogeology, and inverse modeling for groundwater characterization and uncertainty quantification. He has already received major international honors, and now also the InterPore Lifetime Achievement Medal.

Upcoming Academy Course

Join Michel Quintard, CNRS Research Director Emeritus at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics in Toulouse, France, for a course on "Upscaling Theories and Multiscale modeling of flow and reactive transport in porous media." The course will consist of four 3-hour lectures, taking place from 8:00 - 11:00 CEST on Friday 19 June, Monday 22 June, Wednesday 24 June, and Friday 26 June 2026.

International Science Council: Seeds of Science Asia

Seeds of Science Asia initiative is run by the International Science Council’s Regional Focal Point for Asia and the Pacific (ISC-RFP-AP) in collaboration with International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA-Asia) to offer a platform for the scientific community to engage with decision-makers, while giving policy-makers the opportunity to explore how science advice can best support their work.

Grants of up to A$15,000 are available for well-developed proposals to deliver workshops, training, advocacy, or other activities advancing science advice at an institutional or national level. Successful applicants will also receive mentorship from established experts in the science-policy nexus.

Applications close on 27 April 2026.

New Call from UNESCO-Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

Call for Remote Access and Training on the ScienceOne Platform for AI Use in Scientific Research by UNESCO and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Deadline: 31 March 2026.

New at InterPore Journal: Online publication of accepted articles

To make new research available more quickly, InterPore Journal will now publish accepted articles online shortly after acceptance. These appear in their accepted form and represent the version of record at the time of acceptance. They will later be updated with the final version of record once copyediting, typesetting, and proofreading are complete and the article is assigned to a journal issue.

Pareto-based Multi-Objective Optimization of Underground Hydrogen Storage Operational Condition Utilizing Machine Learning-based Surrogate Models

Hossein Kheirollahi, Shahab Ayatollahi, Hassan Mahani

A new study explores how machine learning–based surrogate models and genetic algorithms can optimize underground hydrogen storage in depleted reservoirs. The results highlight how cushion gas composition and well configuration strongly influence hydrogen recovery, purity, and economic performance. The approach enables efficient evaluation of storage strategies and supports the design of more effective large-scale hydrogen storage systems for the energy transition.

Multiphase Image Segmentation of Naturally Fractured Media: Benchmarking Deep Learning and Conventional Approaches

Behrad Tabrizipour, Saeid Sadeghnejad, Mastaneh Hajipour, Thorsten Schäfer

Naturally fractured reservoirs are among the most uncertain subsurface systems because open fractures enhance flow, while mineral-filled fractures can block permeability. In this study, U-Net is used strictly for multiphase image segmentation, benchmarking its performance against conventional watershed and multi-Otsu methods on fractured coal CT images with highly imbalanced classes (matrix, filled fractures, open fractures). The results demonstrate clear industrial value by enabling more trustworthy fracture network characterization, more accurate flow-related property estimation, and stronger decision support for fractured reservoir development, CBM/shale evaluation, and subsurface energy storage screening.

Check out the Events at InterPore

There is always something going on at InterPore! We have courses, workshops, and webinars through the InterPore Academy, Chapter Meetings across the globe, and the Annual Meeting in a new and different location every year. Check out the offerings through the button below.