Editorial

Dear InterPore colleagues,

Here in Utrecht, the Netherlands, we are finally nearing the end of the summer holidays. Not a lot of activity her at the Utrecht University campus, but that will change soon when all the freshmen flock to the campus, and staff meetings start up again. The yearly vibrant, rejuvenated and re-energized atmosphere at the start of the new season, in anticipation of new great science and discoveries.

Right now, all is still quiet, which is also nice. No distractions from planning webinars, reading InterPore chapter reports and studying some fascinating papers that otherwise remain unread.

All the best,

Matthijs de Winter
Editor-in-Chief
InterPore News

New name, same award: InterPore Mid-Career Achievement Award

The former InterPore Award for Porous Media Research has been given a name update: it is now the InterPore Mid-Career Achievement Award.

This award is given to mid-career researchers in recognition of outstanding research in general porous media, with emphasis on research conducted over the past 5 years. The nominees should have a maximum of 12 years research experience after completing their PhD.

Please note that the award itself and its purpose remain unchanged - only the name has been revised for greater clarity.

Call for Nominations for InterPore Awards 2027

InterPore is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the InterPore Awards 2027. These awards recognize outstanding contributions to porous media research and to the advancement of InterPore’s scientific community.

We warmly invite nominations of colleagues whose work demonstrates excellence, innovation, and impact in porous media. Please note: you must have an active InterPore account in order to submit a nomination.

Deadline is 15 November 2026.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement.

Kazakhstan Chapter Kick-Off report

The kick-off meeting and official launch of the InterPore Kazakhstan Chapter took place on 5 August 2026 in the Senate Hall at Nazarbayev University, Astana.

Ann Muggeridge, President-Elect of InterPore, delivered welcome remarks and presented a lecture on “How Core-Scale Heterogeneity Affects Field-Scale Geological CO₂ Storage,” followed by a robust program showcasing advances in subsurface modelling, uranium recovery, environmental remediation, and computational technologies.

As InterPore’s first national chapter in Central Asia and the CIS, the Kazakhstan Chapter marks a significant milestone, fostering interdisciplinary research, international collaboration, knowledge exchange, and stronger academia–industry engagement.

Photo provided with permission by the InterPore Kazakhstan Chapter

Leadership Transition for the Academy Course Committee

After several years of outstanding service as Chair of the Course Committee, Ilenia Battiato is stepping down. Under her leadership, the Study Plan in Porous Media was established, course offerings expanded, and a strong community of instructors and contributors formed. We are grateful for her dedication and vision.

We are delighted to now welcome Hang Deng of Peking University as the new Chair. As an early and active committee member, Hang has contributed significantly to the Study Plan and Academy Courses.

A big thank you to Ilenia and congratulations and all the best to Hang.

Upcoming Academy Webinar

The next InterPore Academy webinar will take place on 15 September at 16:00 CEST with Bo Guo on the topic of “PFAS Transport in Unsaturated Porous Media Across Scales: Interfacial Partitioning, Thin Water Films, and Upscaling.”

Dr. Bo Guo is a University Distinguished Scholar and Associate Professor of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Arizona. He studies fluid flow and transport in porous media, with an emphasis on multiscale mathematical and computational modeling. As the 2027 Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecturer, he will travel around the world next year to present his research at universities, research institutions, and industry organizations. Click here to request to host Bo’s 2027 Darcy Lecture.

Image adapted from Chen & Guo (2023), Water Resources Research

Announcing Our Next Academy Course!

An exciting new course on imaging porous media across scales, led by Catherine Spurin (USA), Maja Rücker (The Netherlands), and Benzhong (Robin) Zhao (Canada) is organized to take place November. The new course is titled: PORE 2-2: Imaging porous media across scales: Methods, Data Processing, and Analysis.

Congrats to Monica Riva!

Prof. Monica Riva, InterPore Council Member, will receive the prestigious James B. Thompson Jr. International Distinguished Lecturer Award from the Geological Society of America at the 2026 GSA Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, USA. Monica is being honored for her exceptional contributions to the understanding and modeling of complex hydrogeological systems, as well as to the sustainable management of subsurface resources. Congratulations, Monica!

Bridging Nanoscopic Surface Heterogeneity and Macroscopic Nucleation Rates: A Perspective on Probabilistic Approaches

Helge Hellevang, Cornelius Fischer, Mohammad Nooraiepour, Sergi Molins, Mohammad Masoudi, Nikolaos I. Prasianakis

Nucleation is central to processes ranging from CO₂ mineralization to atmospheric physics, yet classical nucleation theory poorly captures the wide variability observed experimentally. In our new Perspective in Crystal Growth & Design, we argue that this uncertainty largely reflects nanoscopic surface heterogeneity. We review available probabilistic nucleation model, and propose a multisite, multipolymorph nucleation framework that links site-specific nucleation probabilities and densities to macroscopic rates, and show how high-throughput experiments, simulation, and machine learning can make such predictive, multiscale models tractable for reactive transport modeling efforts in porous media.

Explore our list of upcoming events and join us to connect, learn, and share insights!